PepsiCo: Of Quakers and Fakers

By DON ROLLINS

Will Rogers (not that one) has had enough Pepsi. Or at least enough of the mammoth mullti-national corporation that has profited from his faith tradition since 1877 — the year Quaker Oats was granted trademark status for the visage of a colonial-era figure straight out of Central Casting.

Rogers’ exception after all these years? That the company (now under the auspices of PepsiCo, revenue $86.4 billion for 2022) long ago pilfered the image of a very jovial William Penn, publicly anointed him “standard bearer of the Quakers [Society of Friends] and Quaker Oats,” then used the caricature to project “honesty, integrity, purity and strength” as part of its branding.

Rogers has gathered petitioners to join him in pressuring Quaker to either stop using his religion and one of its stereotypes, or begin sharing profits with the many fine Friends’ service agencies. The goal is to hold a multi-corporation accountable when no one else will.

The petition was sent and received last October. The company is yet to respond.

Unfortunately, when it comes having an ear, let alone a conscience, Quaker Oats mirrors its now parent entity, PepsiCo: The megacorporation’s current portfolio includes 23 lines across 200 countries, and in nearly half is either facing or has faced hundreds of legal actions, most owing to substandard labor practices, poor wages or environmental practices.

Four additional cases in point:

• October 2008: The US Department of Labor found PepsiCo in violation of workplace safety and health codes when three employees filed a grievance related to clearing unsafe machinery — neither the first nor last violation related to that particular job. The penalty for the initial violation was $195,000, about $280,000 in today’s dollars. PepsiCo will clear that amount by the time you to finish this sentence;

• January 2012: PepsiCo paid $1.3 million to settle a federal lawsuit based on the company’s misuse of background checks to screen applicants previously arrested, but not convicted. Given persons of color were, and remain disproportionately represented in that population, the practice was found discriminatory based on US equal opportunity laws;

• March 2020: A PepsiCo trucking subsidiary in California was fined $49,000, and required to retrofit its entire fleet to meet state antipollution standards. The penalty was in keeping with those leveled earlier that year in Texas and New York State, with all proceeds going to school programs for students with asthma and other cardiovascular conditions. PepsiCo continues to be near, or at the bottom when it comes to green practices, especially those involving transportation and plastics;

• December 2022: PepsiCo and its employees reached a $12.75 million settlement for the company’s failure to meet salary after its timekeeping system temporarily went offline due to unreliable software. PepsiCo was accused of using outdated systems that had previously failed, thus delaying or shorting workers’ pay for up to a month.

A simple internet search will yield hundreds more instances of the company’s penchant for doing what’s best for the bottom line, paying whatever financial hand slap may result, and faking good corporate citizenship until the next time. Such transgressions certainly don’t make PepsiCo unique, but given its sprawling global scale it does qualify it as one of the worst.

Postscript: The Guardian’s April 23, 2020, profile on how PepsiCo and rival Coca-Cola took advantage of Detroit’s clean water shortage is worth the time. And maybe the spike in blood pressure.

Don Rollins is a Unitarian Universalist minister in Jackson, Ohio. Email donaldlrollins@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, May 1, 2023

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