Stink Tanks exposed as front groups for Koch brothers

A national network of <a href="http://stinktanks.org/national/" rel="nofollow"><strike>stink</strike></a> think tanks is quietly pushing the agenda of anti-worker groups with funding from Koch brothers-affiliated organizations, according to a report released today.<br /><br />Today our friends at the <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/" rel="nofollow">Center for Media and Democracy</a> exposed the State Policy Network, which claims to fund 'independent' think tanks in all 50 states. The State Policy Network, disturbingly, is tax-exempt and so are the stink tanks it funds. <br /><br />SPN's stink tanks use 'dark money' from the <strike style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;"><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2011/10/bombshell-kochs-sold-oil-equipment-to.html" style="color: #336699;">Benedict Arnold</a></strike> Koch brothers and their ilk to push an anti-worker, anti-consumer corporate-empowerment agenda in the states -- while pretending to be nonpartisan. <br /><br />If this is sounding a lot like the corporate dating service for state lawmakers known as <a href="http://alecexposed.org/" rel="nofollow">ALEC</a>, it is. Lisa Graves, executive director of the CMD, told Politico the SPN, like ALEC, is part of the <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/koch-brothers-think-tank-report-99791.html" rel="nofollow">Kochtopus</a>.<br /><br />According to CMD:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">SPN has played a major role in supporting ALEC, serving as a "chairman" level sponsor of the 2013 and 2011 ALEC Annual Conferences and acting as a voting member of several task forces. SPN affiliates push parts of ALEC's agenda in their respective states, and ALEC is also an associate member of SPN. SPN and its affiliates have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to ALEC. </blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>Politico quoted Graves today:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">“These aren’t just little think tanks that are doing nonpartisan research based on what’s happening in the state and really reflective of the culture of those states,” said Lisa Graves....“These are a lot of groups that put together pretty cooked books on the issues they are peddling and have been criticized in state after state for how shoddy their research has been.” </blockquote>In a <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12302/reports-expose-extreme-pressure-groups-masquerading-think-tanks" rel="nofollow">press statement</a>, Graves said,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The 'experts' of State Policy Network groups get quoted on TV, in the papers, or in the legislature as if they were nonpartisan, objective scholars on issues of public policy. But in reality, SPN is a front for corporate interests with an extreme national policy agenda tied to some of the most retrograde special interests in the country, including the billionaire Koch brothers, the Waltons, the Bradley Foundation, the Roe Foundation, and the Coors family.</blockquote><br />Teamsters have tangled with these groups before. In Wisconsin, the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2011/04/meet-think-tanks-paid-to-wage-war-on.html" rel="nofollow">MacIver Institute</a> promoted<a href="http://cognidissidence.blogspot.com/2013/03/scott-walkers-austerity-agenda-is-real.html" rel="nofollow"> <strike>job-killer</strike></a><strike style="text-decoration: underline;"> </strike> Gov. Scott Walker's union-busting Act 10 as good for the economy. <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/business/wisconsin-added-24305-private-sector-jobs-in-12-months-ended-in-march-b99106575z1-225348792.html" rel="nofollow">It wasn't</a>.<br /><br />In Michigan, the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/01/koch-linked-mich-think-tank-accused-of.html" rel="nofollow">Mackinac Center for Public Policy</a> pushed job-killer <a href="http://www.snyderfails.org/" rel="nofollow">Gov. Rick Snyder</a>'s right to work for less law with the same arguments and the same results. In Missouri, it's the <a href="http://stinktanks.org/missouri/" rel="nofollow">Show-Me Institute</a>. In Ohio, the <a href="http://stinktanks.org/ohio/" rel="nofollow">Buckeye Institute</a>. And so on.<br /><br />If you're getting a whiff of foul odors from your state capital, check out the CMD's new website, <a href="http://www.stinktanks.org/">www.stinktanks.org</a>. If you think it's a stink tank, it probably is.

Kochs Michigan Rick Snyder scott walker stink tank wisconsin Stink Tanks exposed as front groups for Koch brothers

A national network of stink think tanks is quietly pushing the agenda of anti-worker groups with funding from Koch brothers-affiliated orga...

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Why billionaires want to hide their campaign contributions

The influence of billionaire dark money groups has dramatically expanded to every level of government ever since the Supreme Court ruling on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._Federal_Election_Commission" rel="nofollow">Citizens United</a>. The high court decision allowed outside organizations like corporations and trade associations to spend unlimited money on political campaigns.<br /><br />Dark money groups are nonprofits allowed to fund campaigns without disclosing donors to anybody. In the last election cycle, they spent over $400 million.  The Americans for Prosperity super PAC, the <strike><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2011/10/bombshell-kochs-sold-oil-equipment-to.html" rel="nofollow">Benedict Arnold</a></strike> Koch brothers political slush fund,  <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000024046&cycle=2012" rel="nofollow">directly spent at least $36 million in the 2012 election alone</a>. The group <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/10/Kochs-illegal-campaign-finance-network-exposed.html" rel="nofollow">contributed money to other dark money organizations</a> that poured money into elections as well.<br /><br />Billionaires hide donations in these shady organizations so voters don't know where the funding comes from.  Fact is, when workers learn where the shady campaign money comes from -- and what it's actually pushing into law -- the billionaires lose.<br /><br />The Koch brothers' fund poured over $15 million into advertising for a 2012 anti-worker California referendum.  But, because workers were aware of how devastating the measure was, millions of workers came out to crush the measure at the polls -- <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/10/Kochs-illegal-campaign-finance-network-exposed.html">including over 25,000 Teamsters voting for the first time</a>.<br /><br />Even in campaigns as small as city council elections, the Koch influence is real.  In Coralville, Iowa, a town with fewer than 20,000 people, Koch volunteers have been blanketing the town in flyers.  But <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/04/us/politics/koch-group-has-ambitions-in-small-races.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp" rel="nofollow">local workers are having none of it</a>. Reports the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/04/us/politics/koch-group-has-ambitions-in-small-races.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hp&">New York Times</a>,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div itemprop="articleBody">Americans for Prosperity seems to be winning few adherents here, or at least anyone willing to admit so publicly. Thumbing through a survey at Kathyl Jogerst’s door on a rainy afternoon last week, John Sevier, a 22-year-old volunteer with Americans for Prosperity, started a question to her by saying the City Council had moved $5 million out of the school district budget. </div></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div itemprop="articleBody"> </div><div itemprop="articleBody">Ms. Jogerst, 61, cut him off.  “No, they didn’t,” she said. “I know the agenda with your group.” </div></blockquote>It is important to know the truth about where this group <a href="http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/05/13/top-hard-money-donors/" rel="nofollow">and others like it </a>come from.  After all, once people are aware of the truth, no amount of billionaire cash can change their minds.

campaign finance Citizens United Kochs Why billionaires want to hide their campaign contributions

The influence of billionaire dark money groups has dramatically expanded to every level of government ever since the Supreme Court ruling on...

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Today's Teamster News 11.04.13

<a href="http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/15809/osha_weaknesses_force_workers_to_choose_report_safety_violations_or_keep_th/" rel="nofollow">OSHA Weaknesses Force Workers to Choose: Report Safety Violations, or Keep Their Jobs?</a>  In These Times   ... the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspects only 1 percent of workplaces in the United States in a given year. In the absence of inspections, that means more of the burden to report safety abuses falls on individual workers themselves. However, the CEG study shows that due to weak protection laws, many workers find themselves choosing between reporting a safety violation and keeping their jobs—creating a vicious cycle that can lead to workers too fearful to report potentially deadly workplace hazards...<br /><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/19786-state-department-apologizes-for-calling-unionization-a-security-threat" rel="nofollow">State Department Apologizes for Calling Unionization a Security Threat </a> truthout   ...at a private meeting with labor groups earlier this month, the State Department opened the door to collective bargaining by workers who perform critical services for the American government overseas...<br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2483652/William-Gross-Californian-billionaire-apologizes-wealth-accumulated-workers-expense.html" rel="nofollow">Billionaire apologizes for wealth he accumulated 'at expense of workers' and says rich should pay more taxes</a>  Daily Mail   ...‘Congratulations. Smoke that cigar, enjoy that Chateau Lafite 1989. But (mostly you guys) acknowledge your good fortune at having been born in the '40s, '50s or '60s ... and having had the privilege of riding a credit wave and a credit boom for the past three decades,’ he writes...<br /><a href="http://www.greens.org/s-r/60/60-06.html" rel="nofollow">Inside the Psyche of the 1%</a>  Synthesis/Regeneration   ...Do the rich and super-rich tend to be psychopaths, devoid of guilt or shame? Are the 1% lacking in compassion? Does their endless accumulation of possessions actually bring them little to no happiness? To each of these, the answer is “yes”—but a very qualified “yes” with lots of subtleties...<br /><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/citi-rich-families-are-hoarding-cash-2013-11" rel="nofollow">CITI: Rich Families Are Hoarding Cash</a>  CNBC   ...A new survey of family offices by Citi finds that the wealthy are cash heavy—meaning they may fall short of the investment returns they're expecting...<br /><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/02/u-s-food-banks-struggle-to-meet-new-demand-caused-by-food-stamp-cuts/" rel="nofollow">U.S. food banks struggle to meet new demand caused by food stamp cuts</a>  Raw Story   ...37 million Americans were reliant on food banks to meet their nutritional needs in 2010, up from 25 million in 2006. The numbers have only grown through the recession brought on the deregulation of the financial markets and cuts to social programs...<br /><a href="http://angrybearblog.com/2013/11/another-congressman-and-stunning-subsidies-to-his-district.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Hzoh+%28angrybearblog.com%29" rel="nofollow">Another Congressman and stunning subsidies to his district</a>  Angry Bear   ...AB had a post on Congressman Steve King, an advocate of austerity and shut down yet received $9.17 billion in subsidies 1995-2012 for his district without offering cut backs for his district to share the sacrifices needed for austerity...<br /><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/koch-brothers-harry-belafonte-ku-klux-klan-99282.html" rel="nofollow">Koch brothers slam Harry Belafonte’s Ku Klux Klan remark</a>  Politico   ...“Already we have lost 14 states in this union to the most corrupt group of citizens I’ve ever known,” Belafonte said at the First Corinthian Baptist Church, according to Capital New York. “They make up the heart and the thinking in the minds of those who would belong to the Ku Klux Klan. They are white supremacists...<br /><a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10952" rel="nofollow">Colombian Farmers and Union Activists Under Attack</a>  The Real News   ...In Colombia terror is systematically used as a weapon for social oppression, violence against farmers and unions continues; and while President Santos allowed protests, there are still scars of Uribe government’s alleged violence and ties to paramilitary organizations...<br /><a href="http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2013/11/exclusive-govchristie-to-teacher-i-am.html" rel="nofollow">EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: @GovChristie to Teacher: "I Am Tired Of You People!"</a>  Jersey Jazzman   ...Is it not obvious that there has been an enormous amount of frustration and anger building up over Chris Christie's condescension toward teachers, parents, and students?...

austerity Chris Christie Colombia hunger inequality Kochs organizing OSHA workplace safety Today's Teamster News 11.04.13

OSHA Weaknesses Force Workers to Choose: Report Safety Violations, or Keep Their Jobs?  In These Times   ... the Occupational Safety and He...

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Today's Teamster News 09.03.13

<a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/318795-five-reasons-for-optimism-about-unions-this-labor-day#ixzz2dDzjgGWO" rel="nofollow">Five reasons for optimism about unions this Labor Day</a> (opinion) The Hill   ...most Americans hold favorable views of unions. According to a June 2013 poll by the Pew Research Center, 51 percent of Americans hold favorable views of labor unions, a 10 percent increase from the number in the same poll conducted two years earlier...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/02/workers-are-better-off-now-than-in-1894_n_3829698.html" rel="nofollow">9 Ways We're Better Off Now Than We Were On The First Labor Day (And 5 Ways We're Not)</a>  Huffington Post   ...The federal minimum wage, <a href="http://www.dol.gov/whd/minimumwage.htm">which currently stands at 7.25 an hour</a>, is <a href="http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/cepr-blog/raising-minimum-wage-to-9-not-enough-to-ensure-that-families-with-fulltime-workers-live-above-poverty-line">not enough to keep American families out of poverty</a>, according to the Center For Economic And Policy Research...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-elk/union-busting-ended-my-lo_b_217015.html" rel="nofollow">Union Busting Ended My Love Affair with a Beer</a>  Huffington Post   ...Yuengling had illegally busted their union...<br /><a href="http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/guest-commentary/guest-commentary-labor-day-message-we-can-fix-this/article_407f64db-5bfd-5d60-b78d-e0d8ddb8f0a2.html" rel="nofollow">Labor Day message: We can fix this</a> (opinion)  NWI   ...We must embrace the new worker activism we see popping up at places like fast-food chains and retail establishments whose workers merely hope to raise their families on a livable wage...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-a-mccartin/labor-day-2013-religion-workers-rights_b_3854319.html" rel="nofollow">"What's Outrageous? Poverty Wages!" The Role of Religious Leaders in Worker Justice </a> Huffington Post   ...The faith leaders now rallying to support fast food workers' demands for a living wage are reviving one of America's oldest and most powerful arguments for social justice, one deeply rooted in religious ideals...<br /><a href="http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2013/09/gdp-drag-from-state-and-local.html" rel="nofollow">GDP drag from State and Local Governments</a>  Calculated Risk   ...However state and local government spending has made a negative contribution for 13 of the last 14 quarters...<br /><a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10631" rel="nofollow">Wall Street Eager to See Larry Summers Nominated Fed Chair </a> Real News   ...if you had to trace the collapse of the 2007-2009 financial crisis on one person--and, of course, you can't really trace it to one person--but if you did, I think you could make a fair argument that Larry Summers is more to blame for the financial crisis that we experienced than any other person...<br /><div><a href="http://www.nationalmemo.com/making-too-big-to-fail-banks-help-poor-borrowers/" rel="nofollow">Making ‘Too Big To Fail’ Banks Help Poor Borrowers</a> (opinion)  The National Memo   ...Predatory lenders are folding fast in New York State, thanks to a savvy banking regulator who takes his duty to protect the public as seriously as his duties to the financial industry — and knows how to use the law to get quick action...<br /><div><a href="http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/09/01/director-of-dia-selling-art-tantamount-to-closing-museum/" rel="nofollow">DIA Director: Selling Art Tantamount To Closing Museum</a>  CBS Detroit   ...Detroit’s Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has stated that the some of the art could be sold as part of the city’s bankruptcy deal Beal says the art being considered as “assets” are those that were bought by Detroit between 1922 and 1931– that’s about 3,300 pieces...<br /><a href="http://www.plunderbund.com/2013/08/23/ohio-gop-grassroots-lead-to-billionaire/" rel="nofollow">Ohio GOP grassroots lead to billionaire</a>  Plunderbund   ...Americans for Prosperity. … That’s the right-wing outfit whose work is fashioned  by billionaire David Koch...<br /><br /></div></div>

banks Detroit bankruptcy Kochs Labor Day minimum wage tea party union-busting wages Today's Teamster News 09.03.13

Five reasons for optimism about unions this Labor Day  (opinion) The Hill   ...most Americans hold favorable views of unions. According to a...

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