Template:ALEC News

ALEC News

Adelante! El Dia Sin Latinos en Wisconsin Latino families, friends, supporters and business owners took to the streets surrounding Madison’s Capitol Thursday to protest a pair of anti-immigration bills being fast-tracked in the GOP-controlled legislature. The crowd was so large, organizer Christine Neumann-Ortiz could barely contain her joy, declaring from the stage "This is a great day!" Protesters came in from all over the state: Marshall, Waukesha, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Green Bay, and Milwaukee to declare that Wisconsin is NOT Arizona. Wisconsin is the latest state to try crushing local protections for immigrant rights. Across the country, with help from groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), right-wing state lawmakers have increasingly been turning to state "preemption" measures to override an array of progressive policy gains at the city or county level. Read the rest of this item here. Ford Becomes Latest Major Corporation to Dump ALEC Ford Motor Company confirmed to the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) that it is cutting ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an organization that has drawn heavy criticism for promoting climate change denial and for opposing the development of renewable energy sources. "As part of our annual budget review, we have adjusted our participation in several groups. We will not be participating in ALEC in 2016," wrote Christin Baker, a Ford spokesperson in an email to CMD. Its products might be "Ford Tough," but in making the decision to stop funding ALEC, Ford executives are responding to consumer concern over its membership in the controversial, Koch-funded ALEC, which has both an extreme anti-worker agenda as well as an anti-environmental agenda. The departure makes Ford the 108th identified company to cut ties with ALEC in recent years. Read the rest of this item here. Koch-Fueled Playbook against WV Working Families Exposed by CMD 270 West Virginia Senate President Bill Cole's spokesman said Monday that Cole "will travel throughout West Virginia and beyond...." to talk about his legislative agenda that limits workers' rights. And, boy, did he go beyond, according to David Gutman of the Charleston Gazette-Mail. Cole flew to a world far away from West Virginia when he traveled this weekend to the luxurious Esmeralda resort, which describes itself as creating “an atmosphere of luxury and relaxation unmatched” in Palm Springs, California. Read the rest of this item here.