Corporations

News

Amazon.com 16th Corporation to Dump ALEC

by Rebekah Wilce — May 24, 2012 - 11:43am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations

    • Amazon.com General Counsel Michelle Wilson announced at a shareholder meeting in Seattle this morning that Amazon has decided not to renew its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) this year. Dave Johnson, a Fellow at Campaign for America's Future, is reporting from the shareholder meeting and confirmed to the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) that he heard the announcement.

    Members of ColorOfChange.org, CREDO Mobile, People for the American Way, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, SumOfUs, and Fuse Washington carried a petition to the shareholder meeting containing over 500,000 signatures and calling on Amazon.com and other corporations to stop funding ALEC. According to ColorOfChange.org, organizational representatives tried to deliver the petition signatures to the meeting but were turned away.

    News

    Scantron 15th Corporation to Dump ALEC

    by Rebekah Wilce — May 22, 2012 - 12:02pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Education

    • Scantron Corporation, a $200 million for-profit educational testing and online tutoring company that makes, among other things, those ubiquitous scan forms for standardized tests (please make sure you fill in the bubble completely and clearly with a #2 pencil, etc.), joined the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) late in 2010, but a company spokesperson told CMD that it is no longer a member. Scantron's departure makes it the 15th corporation to cut ties with ALEC.

    Press Release

    CMD Calls on Reps. Fitzgerald and Suder to Comply with WI Open Records Law

    by PRW Staff — May 22, 2012 - 11:36am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy

    • FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 22, 2012

    CONTACT: Brendan Fischer, brendan@prwatch.org

    Lawful Open Records Requests for Their ALEC-Related Records Have Been Disregarded for Months

    The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is calling on Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald and Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder to follow Wisconsin's open records law and release emails relating to the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Fitzgerald is a long-time ALEC member and Suder is the ALEC Public Sector Co-Chair for Wisconsin, and both legislators are known to have received ALEC-related records in their office and email systems. Yet neither legislator has made these records available to the public, as is required by law.

    News

    ALEC in Wisconsin: The Hijacking of a State

    by Mary Bottari — May 21, 2012 - 8:11am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Politics

    • Wisconsinites were shell shocked in 2011 by a wide-ranging legislative agenda in their State Capitol that seemed to come out of the blue. Anti-consumer bills, union busting legislation, voter ID, enormous tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy along with requirements for "super majority" votes to raise revenue were fast tracked through the legislature.

    The extreme agenda sparked massive protests regularly topping 100,000 and an 18-day Capitol occupation. In the middle of all this, mild mannered UW Professor William Cronon posted a personal blog speculating that the legislative onslaught may not be home grown, but might have to do with a little known cadre of politicians and corporations known as the American Legislative Exchange Council. The Wisconsin GOP kicked up a media firestorm when it demanded all of Cronon's emails in a fruitless attempt to prove that this highly regarded historian was involved in partisan political activities.

    Press Release

    CMD Applauds Senator Van Wanggaard's Move to Distance Himself from Corporate-Funded ALEC Scholarships, Asks That He Renounce ALEC Membership

    by PRW Staff — May 18, 2012 - 9:25am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Politics

    • FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 18, 2012

    CONTACT: Sara Jerving, sara@prwatch.org

    The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) applauds Senator Van Wanggaard's move to distance himself from the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) "scholarship" program, and is asking that he now renounce his membership in the organization.

    Press Release

    CMD Releases New Report: "ALEC Exposed in Wisconsin: The Hijacking of a State"

    by PRW Staff — May 17, 2012 - 10:02am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Politics

    • FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 17, 2012

    CONTACT: Sara Jerving, sara@prwatch.org

     

    Groups Call for Attorney General Investigation
    of ALEC Lobbying Activities

    MADISON -- Today, the Madison-based Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) released a new report that details the exclusive network of corporate lobbyists and special interest groups that influence the Wisconsin legislature through the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

    Special Report

    CMD Special Report: ALEC's Gun Agenda Flourished with Koch Industries on Board, as with other Koch-Funded Groups (Part Two)

    by Lisa Graves — May 16, 2012 - 8:58am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Crisis Management, Corporations, Democracy

    • PART TWO: ALEC's Extreme Gun Agenda Was No Secret Since Koch Joined its Board

    A new examination of the gun agenda of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) reveals numerous extreme bills advanced on the watch of Koch Industries as a leader and funder of ALEC. Koch has had a seat on ALEC's board for almost two decades, as many NRA bills became ALEC's "policy" and priority. An exploration of other entities funded by David or Charles Koch shows that this is no outlier and that other Koch-fueled organizations have also helped advance the NRA's efforts in a variety of ways.

    Special Report

    CMD Special Report: New Documents Confirm Koch Was on ALEC Crime Task Force Led by NRA (Part One)

    by Lisa Graves — May 14, 2012 - 12:22am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Crisis Management, Corporations, Democracy

    • PART ONE: New documents show that Koch Industries had a seat on the controversial "Public Safety and Elections Task Force" of the American Legislative Exchange Council as of at least 2011. (Part two of this special report detailing the extent of the gun agenda over the past two decades is available here.)

    ALEC announced it was dropping that task force in the wake of the controversy over the tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin and so-called "Stand Your Ground" (SYG) laws. However, the co-leader of that task force, Rep. Jerry Madden (R-TX), revealed ALEC's announcement to be a PR maneuver when he reassured The Christian Post that his task force's work would continue through other ALEC task forces.

    Press Release

    Syngenta Hired Guns Attack New Documentary

    by PRW Staff — May 11, 2012 - 12:37pm
  • Topics: Agriculture, Atrazine Exposed, Corporations, Public Relations

    • For Immediate Release:

    May 11, 2012

    Contact: Paul Towers, Pesticide Action Network, 916-216-1082

    Syngenta Hired Guns Attack New Documentary

    PR firm and paid spokespeople mount aggressive response to new film "Last Call at the Oasis"

    San Francisco, CA -- As a new film highlights water contamination throughout the U.S. Midwest from Syngenta's flagship herbicide atrazine, the world's largest pesticide company has mounted a PR counter-attack downplaying the human and environmental health risks of a chemical linked to birth defects, low birth weight and certain cancers. Atrazine was banned in the EU in 2003, leaving the U.S. market as one of Syngenta's most profitable and vigorously guarded markets.

    Op-Ed

    Caught on Tape: Walker Plans for a Single Party State

    by Mary Bottari — May 11, 2012 - 5:51am
  • Topics: Right Wing, Tort Reform, Corporations, Economy, Wisconsin Protests

    • Video was obtained and released by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel less than a month before the June 5th recall election for Wisconsin governor that shows newly elected Governor Scott Walker in a frank conversation with one of his biggest supporters.

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