How do these bills attack working people?
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Through this "model legislation," corporations are eroding the rights of workers. These bills:
- Limit union rights through "right to work" legislation, and specifically limit the rights of firefighters, police, teachers, and other public workers by:
- Push international agreements that undermine the opportunities of American workers by:
- Favoring so-called "free trade" agreements that ship good-paying American jobs overseas to developing nations that pay workers subsistence wages. See the list here.
- Use tax dollars to subsidize for-profit corporations for work traditionally performed by government, such as:
To see a full list of these bills, click here.
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Union-Busting in Wisconsin
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Wisconsin Governor and ALEC alumni Scott Walker took a cue from ALEC's corporate wish list and introduced a radical bill in February, 2011 to cripple public employee unions. Wisconsin Act 10 inspired months of protests and has been subjected to a series of legal challenges. There is no ALEC bill that exactly mirrors Walker's proposal, but the Wisconsin bill does comport with ALEC's sweeping anti-union agenda, which includes decades of support for "Right to Work", Paycheck Protection" legislation and other measures to disempower and defund unions. On collective bargaining, ALEC's "Public Employee Freedom Act" declares that "an employee should be able to contract on their own terms" and "mandatory collective bargaining laws violate this freedom." This ALEC bill, and the "Public Employer Payroll Deduction Act", prohibit automatic payroll deductions for union dues, a key aspect of the Walker bill.
Have any of these bills been introduced or enacted in YOUR state?
Helpful Resources
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Additional resources on ALEC's corporate agenda:
- ALEC Funding, PRWatch (2011)
- American Legislative Exchange Council and other related articles, SourceWatch (2011)
- A Case Study in How Corporations Get What they Want, Nieman Watchdog, (2008)
- Ghostwriting the Law for Corporate America, American Association for Justice (2010)
- Climate Denial Report on ALEC and Exxon Funding for ALEC, Greenpeace (2011)
- Governing the Nation from the Statehouses, Progressive States Network (2006)
- Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, Common Cause (2006)
- Exposing ALEC, blogging group, Daily KOS (2011)
- ALEC: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests In State Legislatures, People for the American Way (2011)
- Corporate America's Trojan Horse in the States, Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources Defense Council (2002)
- Ghostwriting the Law, Mother Jones (2002)
- ALEC Report, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (2011)
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In what ways do these bills undermine consumer rights?
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These bills restrict the rights of consumers in favor of the big banks, predatory lenders, and others by:
To see a full list of these bills, click here.
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Did You Know about these Bills?
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Telecom Deregulation in Wisconsin
Bruce Kushnick, writing for Nieman Watchdog in 2008 (part of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University), identified several Wisconsin "telecom" bills inspired by ALEC model legislation:
- The Broadband Deployment Act of 2003, which frees the telecom industry from oversight, resembled the ALEC Broadband and Telecommunications Deployment Act. The bill was introduced by Sen. Ted Kanavas (R) & soon-to-be-discredited Rep. Scott Jensen (R).
- A Municipal Broadband bill from 2004 blocked municipalities from competing with corporate providers of broadband services, and resembles the ALEC Municipal Telecommunications Private Industry Safeguards Act. Co-sponsored by Sen. Kanavas (R) & Rep. Phil Montgomery (R), who was given an ALEC "legislator of the year" award in 2005.
- The Video Competition Act, eliminating municipal cable franchises and freeing companies from their previously-negotiated contracts, looks like the ALEC Cable and Video Competition Act. It was co-sponsored in 2007 by Rep. Montgomery (R) & Sen. Jeff Plale (R) and passed the legislature, but the most anti-consumer provisions were vetoed by former Governor Jim Doyle (D).
- A 2007 Telephone Deregulation Bill, ending public oversight and regulations in Wisconsin for telephone services, looks like the ALEC Advanced Voice Services Availability Act of 2007. It was co-sponsored by Rep. Montgomery & Rep. Plale.
Authorizing "Car Title Pledges" for Predatory Lenders
One model bill approved by ALEC corporations would authorize a form of short-term lending that many states have recognized as unfair and predatory to low-income consumers. Specifically, it advances the interest of lending companies in giving short-term, 30-day renewable loans backed by a borrower's car title, loans that usually have high interest rates, which are very difficult for people in tough financial circumstances to keep up with.
Consumer groups have opposed this type of lending not only because the high interest rates and short-term repayment period can trap consumers in a cycle of debt, but also because they risk losing their cars, which they often need to get to work. The bill also provides few consumer protections, for example failing to include a private right of action with strong remedies, and requiring that all claims be brought within one year. This provides little deterrence for predatory lenders, and because the budgets of regulatory agencies are limited, the state cannot adequately protect against abuses.
The Consumer Federation of America, USPIRG, and the Center for Responsible Lending sent a letter to ALEC opposing "car title pledges" in November 2005, enumerating many examples of predatory title lending, and also pointing out the distorting influence of campaign contributors from this sector of sound public policy. Bills like this have become law in Mississippi, Tennessee, and elsewhere. The ban on this type of predatory lending was also rolled back in Wisconsin after ALEC alumni Scott Walker became governor in 2011.
Have any of these bills been introduced or enacted in YOUR state?
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