So, lots of anecdotes (and reputable studies) point to credit cards being responsible for a plethora of problems facing our society. From enabling (and encouraging) rampant consumerism, to predatory lending practices, to the estimated US consumer debt at $2.2 trillion - it’s no wonder I avoided the plastic plague for a long time.
But a few years back, I decided I should work on improving (creating, really) my credit score. So, I figured if I had to get in bed with the devil, I might as get one from Working Assets. Working Assets is a provider of long distance and cellular phone service and credit cards, with proceeds going towards a slew of progressive non-profits. (Full disclosure: Rainforest Action Network is one such recipient). They do really great stuff - donating over $50 million since they started, and raising awareness to their members on a lot of important issues. And they used to send free coupons for Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream with their bills! (I’m vegan, so just the sorbet for me)
But then I read an article a few years ago in the San Francisco Bay Guardian - looking at where your money really goes when you use Working Assets credit cards. Their cards are run through MBNA, which was bought by Bank of America. MBNA has strong ties to right-wing causes and candidates, and while some of the Guardian’s numbers are a bit questionable - it raised a good point. How much of each transaction does Working Assets send somewhere good, and how much does MBNA send somewhere bad? Can giant corporate tools can really stop the problems that giant corporations largely created in the first place?
Bank of America is also the company (along with Citigroup and others) that are financing some pretty climate-destructive projects around the world. These banks are the leading financiers of the US coal boom - and Bank of America in particular has strong ties to Massey Energy and mountain-top removal in Appalachia. While Bank of America does arguably have Wall Street’s best policy when it comes to climate issues - it remains to be seen how (and if) they will actually meet this promise to reduce the emissions related to their loans.
Grist Magazine (which if you don’t read regularly - you should) did an interview with Michael Kieshnick, President of Working Assets, and a reader asked the question directly about the relationships of Working Assets, MBNA, Bank of America, and Massey. I think his response was pretty right-on. He acknowledged the limitations and compromises of working in (or at least around) corporate America - and how groups like WA can reach a lot of people and influence issues in ways that can really help grassroots movements. And he’s right - Working Assets has been a solid supporter of stopping coal development, helping promote the issues and many events to their membership.
Check out the question and his response below. And while I honestly don’t use it much - I’m still keeping my Working Assets credit card!
-Matt
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What is Working Assets doing to influence or pressure its credit card provider, Bank of America, to divest in coal companies like Arch Coal and Massey Energy that are devastating the environment and peoples of Appalachia through mountaintop-removal mining? Have you considered changing credit card providers to a company that is in line with the Working Assets mission and philosophy so your customers do not have to fund mountaintop removal and dirty coal every time they use their Working Assets credit card? — Mark Smith, Willowick, Ohio
Unfortunately, we’ve never come across a credit card provider that is in line with the Working Assets mission and philosophy. There are some individuals who choose to eschew corporate influences and live off the grid. But for the rest of us, we offer credit cards and wireless phone alternatives to help consumers mitigate some of the negative implications of their transactions. We believe that the $50 million we’ve raised makes it worthwhile to swim in the stream of American commerce, but we have no illusions that it’s free of pollution.
That said, one of our major activism initiatives this year is to prevent the construction of all new coal-fired power plants. We are working with a broad coalition on this effort, including Rainforest Action Network’s Dirty Money campaign, which calls on banks to stop investment in new coal plants. Just like when we advocated against the bad bankruptcy bill rewrite, which the credit card companies pushed through, we won’t let our business relationships color our positions or philanthropy.
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Neat info. I always wondered about Working Assets…
Now if they would only give special cell phone discounts for organizers!
Matthew, before you spew advice you should do some fact checking. You incorrectly reported that MBNA was once owned by Fleet. Wrong! Bank of America acquired MBNA several years after they acquired Fleet. You might be thinking of the fact that MBNA was created as a spin-off from Maryland National Bank in 1991. Maryland National Bank merged with NationsBank in 1993, which later merged with, and the assumed the name of Bank of America.
I found other web resources that the a similar story to you, but say that Working Assets once used Fleet for providing card services, but that Fleet sold the contract to MBNA. That might we be, but it seems, wherever Working Assets started or ended, it was always destined to be with Bank of America.
I hope you do a better job of checking your facts on climate change because that is important to everyone, so we don’t want a lot of misinformation floating around. Bank of America is committed to the environment and tries to be a good corporate citizen while serving the publics’ best interest.
Daniel, thanks for the correction - but not sure why you have such an attacking tone. My reporting that “MBNA was once owned by Fleet” comes straight from the cited article by the San Francisco Guardian newspaper. “Working Assets says that’s impossible because of its contract with MBNA, which was purchased three years ago from Fleet Bank.”
But yes, you are correct that Fleet did not own MBNA - my error. However - your accusatory tone makes me wonder what motivated your response. The error you point out has literally zero significance to the issues brought up. And then you put forward the BoA is a “good corporate citizen” - while provide absolutely no information at all to back up that claim. Maybe I could attack your grammatical errors and accuse you of needing to check your facts, but that isn’t a constructive means for discussion.
The facts still remain - BoA and Citigroup are two of the largest financiers of coal development, and are maintaining our destructive path of accelerating climate change.
I didn’t intend for my tone to seem like an attack. I appreciate the work you do as well. It is equally important that we have defenders of the environment on guard. Thanks for caring so much as to run this forum where folks can speak their mind.