Alcoa

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Campaign to Fix the Debt
Company Profile
Company Name Alcoa
CEO Name Klaus Kleinfeld
CEO Compensation $14,043,692
CEO Retirement Assets $4,193,406
Underfunded Company Pension -$3,181,000,000
Annual Company Revenue $24,951,000,000
Territorial Tax Break $2,905,000,000
Federal Lobbying/Political Donations ('09-'12*) $9,140,000
Click here for sources.
2011 data unless otherwise noted.
©2013 Center for Media and Democracy
Alcoa
Type Public (NYSE: AA)
Headquarters 201 Isabella St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Area served Global
Key people Klaus Kleinfeld, CEO
Industry Metals & Mining Materials
Products Aluminum
Revenue $30.75 billion (2007)[1]
Net income ▲ $2.56 billion (2007)[1]
Employees 107,000 (2007)
Subsidiaries 47 subsidiaries
Website Alcoa.com

Alcoa Inc. is one of the world's largest aluminium smelting companies. According to their website, "Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary aluminum and fabricated aluminum, as well as the world’s largest miner of bauxite and refiner of alumina."

In 2011, the company recorded $24,951,000,000 in revenues.[2]

Ties to Pete Peterson's "Fix the Debt"

The Campaign to Fix the Debt is the latest incarnation of a decades-long effort by former Nixon man turned Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson to slash earned benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare under the guise of fixing the nation's "debt problem."

This article is part of the Center for Media and Democracy's investigation of Pete Peterson's Campaign to "Fix the Debt." Please visit our main SourceWatch page on Fix the Debt.

About Fix the Debt
The Campaign to Fix the Debt is the latest incarnation of a decades-long effort by former Nixon man turned Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson to slash earned benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare under the guise of fixing the nation's "debt problem." Through a special report and new interactive wiki resource, the Center for Media and Democracy -- in partnership with the Nation magazine -- exposes the funding, the leaders, the partner groups, and the phony state "chapters" of this astroturf supergroup. Learn more at PetersonPyramid.org and in the Nation magazine.


Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

Alcoa has been a corporate funder of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)[3]. See ALEC Corporations for more.

About ALEC
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our PRWatch.org site.

Power Portfolio

Alcoa also owns 37 electric generating stations in the U.S., which total 1,721 MW capacity; this electricity is largely used to power Alcoa's aluminum processing. Out of this total, 65.0% comes from coal, 31.4% from hydroelectricity, and 3.7% from natural gas. Alcoa owns power plants in Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.[4]

Coal-Fired Power Plants

Alcoa had 7 coal-fired generating stations in 2005, with 1118 MW of capacity. Here are details on Alcoa's coal power plants:[4][5][6]

Plant Name State County Year(s) Built Capacity 2007 CO2 Emissions 2006 SO2 Emissions
Warrick IN Warrick 1960, 1964, 1965, 1970 755 MW 6,682,000 tons 92,919 tons
Sandow TX Milam 1953, 1954 363 MW 2,011,000 tons 50,991 tons

In 2005, these two coal-fired power plants emitted 8.7 million tons of CO2 and 144,000 tons of SO2 (1.0% of all U.S. SO2 emissions).

Alcoa, Inc. Clean Air Act Settlement

On April 9, 2003 the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. EPA announced a settlement agreement with Alcoa Inc. for an estimated $330 million to install a new coal-fired power plant at its aluminum production facility in Rockdale, Texas with upgraded pollution controls to help eliminate sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

The settlement resolved allegations filed in federal court by the EPA and its co-plaintiffs, Neighbors for Neighbors, Inc., Environmental Defense, and Public Citizen that the company had unlawfully operated the Sandow Station since it overhauled the Rockdale power plant without installing necessary pollution controls and without first obtaining proper permits required by the New Source Review program of the Clean Air Act.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's executive director Margaret Hoffman said, “As a result of this joint investigation and cooperative effort between state and federal officials, Texans will enjoy cleaner air. That's a victory for everyone.”

The EPA notes that Alcoa's coal-fired plant, located in northeast of Austin, was the single largest non-utility source of SO2 and NOx emissions in the country. The plant generates electricity for two aluminum smelters and a strip-mining operation that supplies lignite coal for the power plant. The aluminum at the plant is used for truck wheels, cans, die-casts, machinery, components for telecommunication devices and appliances.

Alcoa also paid a $1.5 million civil suit and $2.5 million on two additional environmental projects in an attempt to offset past emissions.[7]

Personnel

Senior Management

Executives

  • Chris L. Ayers, President, Global Primary Products Executive Vice President, Alcoa Houston, Texas
  • Timothy D. Reyes, President, Alcoa Materials Management Alcoa Global Primary Products Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Rick Bowen, President, Energy New York, New York
  • Eric V. Roegner, Chief Operating Officer, Alcoa Investment Castings, Forgings, and Extrusions

President, Alcoa Defense Cleveland, Ohio

  • Andrey Donets, President, Global Packaging Moscow, Russia
  • Vitaliy V. Rusakov, President, Alcoa Fastening Systems Torrance, California
  • Olivier Jarrault, Executive Vice President - Alcoa and Group President - Engineered Products and Solutions Torrance, California
  • Jacques Vanier, President, Alcoa Forgings & Extrusions Lafayette, Indiana
  • Kay Meggers, Global President, Global Rolled Products Vice President, Alcoa New York, New York
  • Mark Vrablec, President, Global Aerospace, Ground Transportation, and Industrial and Specialty Products Global Rolled Products Chicago, Illinois
  • Glen Morrison, President, Alcoa Building and Construction Systems Norcross, Georgia
  • Bob Wilt, President, Global Primary Products – U.S.A. Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Tim D. Myers, President, Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products Cleveland, Ohio
  • Kenneth Wisnoski, President, Global Primary Products Growth, Bauxite and Africa Vice President, Alcoa New York, New York
  • Michael A. Pepper, President, Alcoa Power and Propulsion
  • Jiming Zhu, President, Consumer Electronics and President, Alcoa China Rolled Products[8]

Board of Directors

As of January 2013[9]

Former directors include[10]

Federal Lobbying

Alcoa's lobbying, 1998-2013. Source: Center for Responsive Politics

In 2014 (as of reports filed in October) Alcoa spent $1.9 million on federal lobbying, working through the firms Mercury, Van Scoyoc, and McBee Strategic Consulting.[11]

Alcoa spent $920,000 for lobbying in 2006. Five lobbying firms were used including Van Scoyoc Associates, Inc. and The Cohen Group. [12]

Subsidies and Mega-Subsidies

Alcoa made the list of "megadeals" collected by Good Jobs First into a 2013 report of the largest subsides made to corporations in the US. At the time, the single most expensive subsidy: "a 30-year discounted-electricity deal worth an estimated $5.6 billion given to aluminum producer Alcoa by the New York Power Authority."[13] According to Good Jobs First's subsidy tracker database, Alcoa has received a total of 101 subsidies worth an estimated $5,637,762,812, including subsidies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington in addition to the New York deal.[14]

A report by the National Employment Law Project (described below) raises questions about the value to the public of subsidizing jobs in the manufacturing sector.

Declining Wages and Job Security in Manufacturing Sector

As detailed by a 2014 report by the National Employment Law Project (NELP), manufacturing jobs in the US are now in the bottom half of all jobs in terms of pay, despite significant public subsidies and bailouts and widespread assumptions among politicians and the public that manufacturing is the backbone of the middle class. While the sector has rebounded somewhat since the 2008 financial crisis, the replacement jobs have on average lower pay, especially in the auto industry. [15] According to the report,

  • While in the past, manufacturing workers earned a wage significantly higher than the U.S. average, by 2013 the average factory worker made 7.7 percent below the median wage for all occupations.
  • Real wages for auto parts workers, who now account for three of every four autoworker jobs, fell by nearly 14 percent from 2003 to 2013—three times faster than for manufacturing as a whole, and nine times faster than the decline for all occupations.
  • In 5 of the 10 “Auto Alley” states—Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee—new hires at auto parts plants are paid roughly one-quarter less than the other auto parts workers in the state.
  • In 6 of the 10 Auto Alley states—Alabama, Mississippi, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois—auto parts workers saw real monthly earnings decline between 2001 and 2013. Alabama saw the steepest decline—24 percent—over that period.
  • About 14 percent of auto parts workers are employed by staffing agencies today. Wages for these workers are lower than for direct-hire parts workers and are not included in the official industry-specific wage data cited above.
  • Estimates based on U.S. Census Bureau data, however, indicate that auto parts workers placed by staffing agencies make, on average, 29 percent less than those employed directly by auto parts manufacturers.[16]

In a time when states and the federal government are increasingly competing to offer subsidies to manufacturers, the report concludes, "If these wage trends continue, manufacturing and auto jobs will not deliver on the promise of creating livable jobs with positive economic revivals in communities and for families."[16]

Conservation projects

  • "The Right Thing to Do - Alcoa Foundation donated $8.6 million to create a six-year, global conservation and sustainability fellowship program to conduct research which will be given away free to companies and nongovernmental organizations worldwide to spur better sustainable development practices."
  • "Preserving the Land - The first Corporate Park Achievement Award from the U.S. National Parks Conservation Association was given to Alcoa for preserving 10,000 acres of land next to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee."
  • "Living with Nature - The Alumar Environmental Park in Brazil."
  • "Conserving Biodiversity - Alcoa is working with Conservation International and Guinée Ecologie, Guinea’s national environment group, on maintaining the sustainable development of the region. Alcoa has access to some of the world’s largest bauxite reserves in Guinea."
  • "Alcoa’s San Ciprián (Spain) and Massena (U.S.) plants are enlightening youngsters about energy conservation. San Ciprián partnered with a local school to teach students about renewable energy. Through an Alcoa Foundation grant, Illa de Sarón de Xove Secondary Education Institution invested in an alternative energy generator project, a photovoltaic solar facility connected to a power grid and wind energy generator. Massena Operations is helping Cornell University Cooperative Extension build an interactive energy closet where children can monitor their energy use while at a summer camp." [1]

Contact Information

Corporate Addresses

Alcoa Global Center
390 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022
United States

Alcoa Corporate Center
201 Isabella Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15212-5858
United States

Phone: 412-553-4545
Fax:412-553-4498

website: http://www.alcoa.com


Articles and Resources

Featured SourceWatch Articles on Fix the Debt

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External articles

External resources

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alcoa, Inc., BusinessWeek Company Insight Center, accessed July 2008.
  2. ↑ Alcoa, "2011 Annual Report", organizational document.
  3. ↑ Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research, project of the Environmental Working Group, Information on American Legislative Exchange Council, archived organizational profile, archived by Wayback Machine December 2, 2000, accessed August 19, 2011
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2005, Energy Information Administration, accessed April 2008.
  5. ↑ Environmental Integrity Project, Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants, July 2007.
  6. ↑ Dig Deeper, Carbon Monitoring for Action database, accessed June 2008.
  7. ↑ "U. S. Announces Clean Air Act Coal-fired Power Plant Settlement with Alcoa - Settlement Will Reduce Nitrogen Oxide and Sulfur Dioxide Emissions from Facility by More than 90 Percent," U.S. EPA, April 9, 2003.
  8. ↑ Alcoa Company Website, Business Unit Leaders, accessed March 11, 2013.
  9. ↑ Alcoa, "Alcoa Directors and Committees", organizational website, accessed January 2013
  10. ↑ Alcoa, 2005 Alcoa Annual Report
  11. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, Alcoa lobbying profile, Open Secrets database, accessed January 5, 2014.
  12. ↑ Alcoa lobbying expenses, Open Secrets, accessed January 2008.
  13. ↑ Philip Mattera and Kasia Tarczynska with Greg LeRoy, "Megadeals:The Largest Economic Development Subsidy Packages Ever Awarded by State and Local Governments in the United States," Good Jobs First, June 2013. Accessed January 5, 2014.
  14. ↑ Subsidy Tracker, Alcoa, Good Jobs First, database accessed January 5, 2014.
  15. ↑ Nelson D. Schwartz and Patricia Cohen, "Falling Wages at Factories Squeeze the Middle Class," New York Times, November 21, 2014. Accessed January 5, 2015.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Catherine Ruckelshaus and Sarah Leberstein, "Manufacturing Low Pay: Declining Wages in the Jobs That Built America’s Middle Class," National Employment Law Project, November 2014. Accessed January 5, 2014.
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