Monday, December 30, 2013

9 Out Of 10 Americans Are Completely Wrong About This Mind-Blowing Fact


Watch this, then share it.  This is what the labor movement is about.  We can organize to make the American Dream available to everyone.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Right-to-Work advocates lose to labor leaders on Boeing deal

The song remains the same...

From the Missouri Times

One lawmaker, who supported Right-to-Work, put it more bluntly.  “This is a great opportunity to begin building a coalition next year to put something like this on the ballot,” the lawmaker says, asking not to be named. “It was a good opportunity to begin that fight.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

ALEC is in trouble because public opinion matters.   Corporations will support right wing groups like ALEC until their bottom line takes a hit.  Keep the pressure on by going to ALEC Exposed, http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed and taking action!


Three Signs That The Power Of Secret Lobbying Group ALEC Is Fading

BY ANNIE-ROSE STRASSER AND AVIVA SHEN ON DECEMBER 3, 2013 AT 2:55 PM

CREDIT: AP
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The Guardian published a series of leaked documents from the conservative legislation-crafting group American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) on Tuesday, which together paint a picture of a flailing group looking to regain support after a year of negative press.
ALEC lost 106 of its members over the past two years, largely thanks to the group’sinvolvement in the Stand Your Ground law that originally allowed George Zimmerman to walk free on the night he killed Trayvon Martin. ALEC has also been behind the push to expand oil and coal’s power while rolling back renewable energy standards, and has coordinated voter identification laws across the U.S.

The Guardian documents reveal that ALEC is paying the price for its unpopular policies. Here are some of the most damning facts from the leaked papers:
1. Membership is dropping. ALEC’s ranks shrank dramatically since its activities came to light in 2011. Nearly four hundred state legislators have jumped ship, bringing membership down from its peak of 2,200 in 2011 to 1,810 in 2013. Corporate membership has also declined from 280 to 214 over the past two years. Through a new initiative called “The Prodigal Son Project,” the group is struggling to win back former members who distanced themselves after the controversy, targeting corporate giants like Blue Cross Blue Shield, McDonald’s, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Walgreens, and General Electric. Members in the financial services have also backed away from ALEC “due to controversy,” the report notes.
2. Finances are in bad shape. As it sheds prominent members, the organization’s finances have taken a hit. The leaked documents reveal a budget shortfall of $1.4 million as of June 30, 2013 on expected dues of $3.9 million. Membership support had a gap of $440,792, while conference sponsorship fell short of expectations by $547,500.
3. Legal trouble is on the horizon. ALEC is creating a new lobbying wing in 2014 that will act separately from the rest of the organization. This new wing, called the “Jeffersonian Project,” will “provide greater legal protection or lessen ethics concerns,” the documents say. This means ALEC is trying to create an organization without a tax-exempt status so it doesn’t get in trouble for lobbying for the passage of bills. The documents show that ALEC would still like the Jeffersonian Project tightly linked, though. “No action can be taken by the Jeffersonian Project unless it is supported by a current ALEC policy,” the documents read. The project is also spun more positively with the board saying it “will be a new revenue source.”
The news isn’t all bad for ALEC. Hidden within the document are also plans for recruiting a mix of new companies, trade associations, and law firms — “2013 Prospects” — that include major corporations such as Boeing, Home Depot, Motorola, Expedia, Orbitz, Sprint, ConocoPhillips, and Microsoft. The group also still maintains its stronghold on state legislatures; even after the years of bad publicity, nearly a quarter of all state lawmakers are ALEC members. In both Iowa and South Dakota, 100 percent of legislators are ALEC members.