Corporations

Guest Contributor

At ALEC Meeting, Indiana Regulator Advises Coal Companies on Delaying EPA Climate Rules

by PRW Staff — December 13, 2012 - 4:54pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Energy, Environment, Politics

    • -- by Connor Gibson, Greenpeace

    You're probably familiar with the old "fox in the hen house" story, but what about when a hen joins the fox den?

    This is the case with the recent American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meeting in Washington, DC. Leaked documents obtained by Greenpeace reveal that ALEC's anti-environmental jamboree was inundated with coal money and featured an Indiana regulator advising coal utilities on delaying US Environmental Protection Agency rules to control greenhouse gas emissions and hazardous air pollution.

    News

    From Capitol Hill, Rep. Hank Johnson Highlights ALEC Connection to MI Right to Work Law

    by Brendan Fischer — December 13, 2012 - 9:42am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Politics

    • U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) took to the floor of the House of Representatives Wednesday night to criticize the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for pushing "Right to Work" in Michigan, describing it as politically motivated "crush-the-union legislation" and noting the identical language between the ALEC model and Michigan's law.

    News

    Michigan Passes "Right to Work" Containing Verbatim Language from ALEC Model Bill

    by Brendan Fischer — December 11, 2012 - 1:38pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Labor, Politics

    • Amidst massive pro-labor protests, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed sweeping legislation attacking private and public sector unions, just hours after passing the lame-duck legislature. The operative language in the bills is nearly identical to the American Legislative Exchange Council's "model" Right to Work Act.

    Op-Ed

    ALEC's So-Called "Right to Work" Bill as Political Revenge in Michigan

    by Lisa Graves — December 11, 2012 - 8:00am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Right Wing, Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Labor, Politics

    • As concerned workers come together across Michigan in protest, partisan politicians are poised to make one of the strongholds for America's blue-collar worker rights into a so-called "Right to Work" (RTW) state -- in accordance with the ALEC blueprint to change to state laws at the behest of some of the biggest corporations in the world. Yet, 42 corporations, including General Motors, have distanced themselves from ALEC this year after ALEC's role in controversial and divisive legislation was exposed.

    News

    Will Wisconsin Follow Minnesota's Lead and Ban ALEC "Scholarships?"

    by Brendan Fischer — December 7, 2012 - 9:11am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Politics

    • Minnesota's ethics board has long banned the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) "scholarship" scheme that allows corporations to fund legislator travel, providing further evidence that the practice should be banned in Wisconsin and other states. Recently obtained documents also show that corporations pay upwards of $80,000 to sponsor issue-focused ALEC "academies," which legislators attend on the corporate dime.

    News

    Why is State Farm Involved in Education Policy? Conservative Think Tank Exposes ALEC as Exchange of Dollars rather than Ideas

    by Brendan Fischer — November 30, 2012 - 9:54am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Education, Politics

    • A press release from a conservative think tank criticizing the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) provides crucial insight into how the organization works -- and helps illustrate that while ALEC says its purpose is to facilitate an exchange of "practical, state-level public policy issues," it instead sells policy to the highest bidders. The release documents how the "exchange" that happens at ALEC is more like a stock exchange than a free marketplace of ideas.

    News

    Bank of America Cuts Ties to ALEC

    by Rebekah Wilce — November 29, 2012 - 11:28am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Politics

    • Bank of America (BofA), one of the largest banks in the United States with a major role in the financial crisis, is cutting ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). A company spokesperson informed Timothy Smith, Senior Vice President of Walden Asset Management, by phone that Bank of America is not renewing its membership in ALEC for 2013 "due to budget constraints." BofA did not return the Center for Media and Democracy's (CMD's) calls to independently verify this information.

    News

    After a Controversial Year, ALEC Convenes in Washington with Damage Control at Top of Agenda

    by Brendan Fischer — November 29, 2012 - 10:00am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Lobbying, Politics

    • At the end of a tumultuous year that has seen the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) come under unprecedented scrutiny for its role in advancing a slate of right-wing legislation, the corporate-friendly organization of state lawmakers and special interest lobbyists convenes this week in Washington, DC to try and salvage its viability.

    News

    Taxpayer-Enriched Companies Back Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education, its Buddy ALEC, and Their "Reforms"

    by Lisa Graves — November 28, 2012 - 5:04pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Right Wing, Front Groups, Third Party Technique, Children, Corporations, Democracy, Education, Lobbying, Think Tanks

    • This week in Washington, DC, Jeb Bush's "Foundation for Excellence in Education" (FEE) is meeting just five blocks away from the post-election conference of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the controversial corporate bill mill working on profitizing public education among other legislative changes, but the ties between the two groups are even closer.

    Guest Contributor

    Corrections Corporation of America Used in Drug Sweeps of Public School Students

    by Beau Hodai — November 27, 2012 - 8:00am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Children, Corporations, Education

    • An unsettling trend appears to be underway in Arizona: the use of private prison employees in law enforcement operations.

    The state has graced national headlines in recent years as the result of its cozy relationship with the for-profit prison industry. Such controversies have included the role of private prison corporations in SB 1070 and similar anti-immigrant legislation disseminated in other states; a 2010 private prison escape that resulted in two murders and a nationwide manhunt; and a failed bid to privatize nearly the entire Arizona prison system.

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