Corporations Abandon ALEC In Droves
July 11, 2012 9:22 am
Progressive groups are seeing real results in their campaign against the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). On Tuesday, Hewlett-Packard Co., CVS Caremark, Deere & Co., MillerCoors LLC and BestBuy all announced that they would not renew their memberships with the lobbying group — just the latest of 29 companies to announce they are severing ties with ALEC in recent months.
The exodus is a direct result of pressure applied by progressive groups in response to ALEC’s far-right lobbying agenda. In a letter to ColorOfChange, part of the coalition, HP’s deputy general counsel Gregg Melinson wrote: “Although HP appears to have worked with ALEC in the past, HP is not currently a member of the organization.” ALEC’s support of “Stand Your Ground” laws drew increased publicity after the Trayvon Martin case, yet the lobbying group also supports discriminatory voter ID laws, right-to-work and anti-union legislation, and minimum wage reduction.
ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson thanked the companies for leaving the group: “”We want to thank these companies for making the right decision, and we continue to call on all major corporations to stop funding ALEC given its involvement in voter suppression and its work pushing policies designed to benefit rich and powerful corporations at the expense of people of color, workers, and the environment.”
ALEC, an alliance of conservative lawmakers and their corporate allies, is headed by Indiana House Republican Dave Frizzell, and had an annual operating budget of 7 million prior to this campaign. The group will hold its yearly meeting this month.
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