The Truth About Hillary Clinton and Verizon

By now, all of you will be aware of the fact that 39,000 Verizon workers are on strike. You might also know that both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton went to the picket lines to offer support. Here’s what you might not know.

From Salon:

In some ways, it would hard for Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton to be more different. 

Hillary Clinton, a Wall Street-backed multimillionaire, served for six years on the board of directors of Walmart, the world’s largest company based on sales. She remained silent at a time when the mega-corporation was viciously cracking down on workers’ attempts to unionize.

Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, has been unflinching in his support of the labor movement. Sanders has spoken passionately in support of striking Verizon workers on multiple occasions.

The Hillary Clinton campaign, meanwhile, has received tens of thousands of dollars from Verizon executives and lobbyists.

That’s not all. For a May 2013 speech, the corporation paid Clinton a whopping $225,000 honorarium, according to her tax records.

The bigger question is, who hasn’t paid Clinton $225,000 for a speech?

Verizon has also given between $100,000 and $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation, which investigative journalist Ken Silverstein has referred to as a “so-called charitable enterprise [that] has served as a vehicle to launder money and to enrich family friends.”

Moreover, the Clinton Foundation has partnered directly with Verizon, which is notorious for its vehement opposition to unions. The corporation is a partner in the Clinton Health Matters Initiative, and said it is “proud to partner with the Clinton Foundation.”

“Our work with the Clinton Foundation is just one more example of how we are bringing our vision to life,” the Verizon vice president said in 2012.

Verizon is one of many corporations and organizations on the 2013 Clinton Health Matters Initiative list of commitments, which totaled more than $100 million in investments.

In 2013, the Clinton Foundation held a forum on employee “effectiveness” and wellbeing. The organization noted that forum attendees included “executives from large and innovative employers including Verizon, Humana and Microsoft, among others.”

Verizon was also one of the corporations participating in the Clinton Global Initiative America program, which the organization says brings together business and civil society leaders together “to develop and highlight ideas for spurring economic growth and creating jobs.”

According to data collected by the watchdog NGO Open Secrets, 18 (90 percent) of the top 20 contributors to Hillary Clinton from 1999 to 2015 were corporations or firms that provide services to corporations.

On the other hand, 19 (95 percent) of the top 20 contributors to Bernie Sanders from 1989 to 2015 were unions.

Follow me on Twitter.