3M is screwing the US -- their Distributors are only selling to foreign countries

Oh hell. Some of the masks are actually here in the US and are being shipped out to other countries:

I Spent A Day In The Coronavirus-Driven Feeding Frenzy Of N95 Mask Sellers And Buyers And This Is What I Learned

At one point he received an update that 43 million masks were available in New Jersey, in the same time-frame that federal and state leaders were saying in press conferences that they were “scouring the globe” for masks. But the masks in New Jersey, along with many million more, didn’t go to any domestic buyer. Instead, according to the broker, they were all purchased by foreign buyers.

<snip>

By the end of the day, roughly 280 million masks from warehouses around the U.S. had been purchased by foreign buyers and were earmarked to leave the country, according to the broker — and that was in one day.

[link to www.forbes.com (secure)]

I'm sure they are responsible for much worse but here's something from not that long ago:

3M knew your non-stick pan was poisoning you in the ’70s


[link to www.fastcompany.com (secure)]

I'm sure they don't care about a few Americans dying on the frontlines because their states and hospitals can't purchase PPE.

It reads like none of those masks were owned by 3M anymore, but had been sold by them to others BEFORE the rush began.

Private inventory being sold by private owners that had been purchased by them before the rush began ... not sure what 3M can do about that since they don't own the product anymore and are unlikely to even know where it is physically located.

OH ... but let's blame 3M because entities that bought the masks previously, which were then picked up by those buyers at 3M's factory or warehouse and moved to their own warehouse, are now selling them.

Sell your car ... and 6 months later YOU get sued because the NEW owner drove it while drunk and killed someone ... is the same logic as blaming 3M for those third parties selling stuff that they, not 3M, own.

The world has gone crazy!!

You either work for 3M or own stock in the company. How in the world can you condone this??? They have been asked to control the distribution process but they have refused to do so.

3M has quite the history, don't they?


Maker of masks for health care workers accused of making defective earplugs for military

3M, the maker of tens of millions of respirator masks to be purchased by the U.S. government for health care workers battling the novel coronavirus, was accused several years ago of knowingly selling defective earplugs to the military in a federal lawsuit settled with the U.S. Justice Department.

[link to abcnews.go.com (secure)]

how much taxpayer bailout $$ has 3M, like GM, Ford, etc gotten over the years?

Moskowitz claimed to have reached out to many 3M authorized distributors in the United States to confirm his suspicions, and said he was shocked to find American companies quietly partnering with foreign buyers at a time of national crisis.

"They're specifically saying, 'Listen, we are sorry your order got pushed down, but ... there are foreign countries who do business differently and they're showing up with cash.'"

Moskowitz said he has a hard time grappling with "the idea that an American company is selling masks away from our hospitals, away from our doctors ... away from the real heroes on the front lines" and called for investigations into what he described as "criminal" activity.

[link to www.foxnews.com (secure)]

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

We hit 3M hard today after seeing what they were doing with their Masks. “P Act” all the way. Big surprise to many in government as to what they were doing - will have a big price to pay!

[link to twitter.com (secure)]

Looks like 3M wants to continue their nefarious business practices:

Slammed By Trump, 3M Says N95 Mask Exports From U.S. Should Continue

3M, a key maker of N95 respirator masks, is arguing against a Trump administration request to keep U.S.-made masks in the domestic market, saying the policy could backfire by triggering retaliation. Trump signed a Defense Production Act order Thursday specifically aimed at 3M, requiring the company to prioritize orders from the U.S. government.

The president and others have criticized 3M, with some officials saying it allows or even encourages profiteering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[link to www.kuow.org (secure)]

Bullshit, Robert Kraft just bought a whole planeful and flew them back from China.