UMASS Report: T-Mobile Plays the Corporate Rating Scam

A new research report by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Labor Center is questioning the validity of popular corporate ratings systems in "The Corporate Rating Sham: The Case of T-Mobile."

Tom Juravich, professor of sociology, evaluated the various awards and recognitions received by T-Mobile US from 2011-13, and concluded that these awards cannot be viewed as objective measures of corporate performance.

Why T-Mobile?

"The U.S. market has witnessed an explosion of corporate ratings programs in the last 20 years," Juravich said. "T-Mobile received at least 47 'best of' awards from 2011 to 2013, making the company an excellent candidate for our study."

The research took a close look at awards based on "employee surveys" that often tout T-Mobile as a "best place to work," in a geographic region or a particular group of workers. These "surveys" are mainly conducted by the employer, not a neutral third party, using a small number of workers.

A better indicator of T-Mobile's treatment of workers is the National Labor Relations Board national complaint issued against the company for its abuses of workers' rights, including harassing and firing workers who want union representation and other labor law violations.

"At the same time that T-Mobile was named 'One of the World's Most Ethical Companies' by one corporate ratings organization, a highly-respected independent analyst rating gave T-Mobile a CCC rating, the lowest score possible."

Read more about the labor program at UMASS and the full report here.