Home > Ralph Nader
2 Clash with the automobile industry
In 1965 he released Unsafe at Any Speed, a study claiming many American automobiles, especially those of General Motors, to be structurally flawed. GM tried to discredit Nader, hiring private detectives to investigate his past and attempt to trap him in a compromising situation, but the effort failed. Upon learning of this harassment, Nader then successfully sued the company for invasion of privacy, forced it to publicly apologize, and used the winnings to expand his consumer rights efforts.
3 Activist movement
Hundreds of young activists, inspired by Nader's work, came to DC to help him with other projects. They came to be known as "Nader's Raiders" and, led by Nader, they investigated corruption throughout government, publishing dozens of books with their results:
In 1971, Nader founded the NGO Public Citizen as an umbrella organization for these projects. Today, Public Citizen has over 150,000 members and numerous researchers investigating Congress, health, environmental, economic, and other issues. Their work is credited with helping to pass the Safe Drinking Water Act and Freedom of Information Act and prompting the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Their various divisions include:
- Buyers Up
- Citizen Action Group
- Congress Watch
- Critical Mass Energy Project
- Global Trade Watch
- Health Research Group
- Litigation Group
- Tax Reform Research Group
- The Visitor's Center
3.1 Non-profit organizations
In 1980 Nader resigned as director of Public Citizen to work on other projects, especially campaigning against the believed dangers of large multinational corporations. He went on to start a variety of non-profit organizations:
- Capitol Hill News Service
- Corporate Accountability Research Project
- Disability Rights Center
- Equal Justice Foundation
- Georgia Legal Watch
- National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
- National Coalition for Universities in the Public Interest
- PROD (truck safety)
- Retired Professionals Action Group
- The Shafeek Nader Trust for the Community Interest
- Congress Accountability Project
- Citizen Advocacy Center
- Pension Rights Center
- Foundation for Taxpayers and Consumer Rights
- Center for Auto Safety
- 1955: Princeton Project 55
- 1969: Center for the Study of Responsive Law
- 1970s: Public Interest Research Groups
- 1970: Connecticut Citizen Action Group
- 1971: Center for Science in the Public Interest
- 1971: Aviation Consumer Action Project
- 1972: Clean Water Action Project
- 1972: Center for Women's Policy Studies
- 1980: Multinational Monitor (magazine covering multinational corporations)
- 1982: Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
- 1982: Essential Information (encourage citizen activism and do investigative journalism)
- 1983: Telecommunications Research and Action Center
- 1993: Appleseed Foundation (local change)
- 1994: Resource Consumption Alliance (conserve trees)
- 1995: Center for Insurance Research
- 1995: Consumer Project on Technology
- 1997?: Government Purchasing Project (encourage the government to purchase safe and healthy products)
- 1998: Center for Justice and Democracy
- 1998: Organization for Competitive Markets
- 1998: American Antitrust Institute (ensure fair competition)
- 1999?: Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest
- 1999?: Commercial Alert (protect family, community, and democracy from corporations)
- 2000: Congressional Accountability Project (fight corruption in Congress)
- 2001?: League of Fans (sports industry watchdog)
- 2001: Citizen Works (promote NGO cooperation, build grassroots support, and start new groups)
- 2001: Democracy Rising (hold rallies to educate and empower citizens)
