As waters rise in Texas, SPN & Koch Bros aim "mortal blow" at public sector workers

[CousinIT]

. . .SPN WANTS TO DEAL A “MORTAL BLOW” TO THE “AMERICAN LEFT”

In public, SPN “think tanks” claim to be “independent,” “non-partisan,” “charitable organizations.” Behind closed doors, its all politics.

SPN’s secret campaign to get rid of public sector unions was brilliantly exposed yesterday in the Guardian as part of a political effort to deal a “mortal blow” to the “American left” and the Democratic Party.

“A network of conservative thinktanks with outposts in all 50 states has embarked on a ‘breakthrough’ campaign designed to strike a ‘mortal blow’ against the American left. The aim is to ‘defund and defang’ unions representing government employees as the first step towards ensuring the permanent collapse of progressive politics,” writes the Guardian‘s Ed Pilkington.

Documents uncovered by the Madison-based Center for Media and Democracy, including a SPN secret “toolkit” of bills that can be used to destroy unions and a fundraising letter for a $8 million campaign (documents also attached below), do just that. As a point of comparison ALEC is only about an $8 million dollar organization; it works hand in hand with SPN peddling state laws, like the anti-worker “right to work” and Voter ID, that rig the system in favor of Republicans and disadvantage Democrats.

SPN’s union-busting “tool kit,” a series of bills including one borrowed from Governor Scott Walker’s Act 10 bill. It requires unions to annually re-certify by a vote of 50 plus one of the bargaining unit (not just the majority of those voting like in a normal campaign). With poll-tested spin, SPN is pushing this law in the name of “worker voting rights,” but it really a poison pill that forces unions to spend all their time and energy on internal elections. Imagine if a law was passed forcing corporations to reincorporate annually in the name of “shareholder rights.”

As SPN tweets about its numerous panels focusing on the destruction of unions, over 1,000 registered nurses from 49 states and Puerto Rico have answered the call from one of the largest nurses unions in the country National Nurses United for Hurricane Harvey volunteers. How can all those wonderful nurses afford to head to Texas? Why because their union is paying for it of course.

http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2017/08/31/state-policy-network-attacks-public-sector-workers-waters-rise-texas/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=be82e5ab-2600-472b-af9c-422c62dfad93

[dlk]

1. Totalitarian Capitalism...

[procon]

2. This is new, I can't recall ever hearing about SPN, but they are out there.

Just a quick snippet from wiki:

The grant proposals sought funding through SPN from the Searle Freedom Trust. According to The Guardian, the proposals documented a coordinated strategy across 34 states, "a blueprint for the conservative agenda in 2014." The reports described the grant proposals in six states as suggesting campaigns designed to cut pay to state government employees; oppose public sector collective bargaining; reduce public sector services in education and healthcare; promote school vouchers; oppose efforts to combat greenhouse gas emissions; reduce or eliminate income and sales taxes; and study a proposed block grant reform to Medicare.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Policy_Network

Go check out the major consumer brands that sund and support the actions of this shady rightwing ALEC-type group.

Why do Republicans have so many shadow organization dumping corporate cash into the pockets of politicians and spreading a Nazi style propaganda campaign? Dems have nothing like this level of underhanded scheme -- is that a good or bad thing? -- and it shows, we aren't gaining political traction at any level.

[CousinIT]

3. State level version of ALEC. n/t

[sharedvalues]

4. See also http://unkochmycampus.org - ways to take action

You can donate or volunteer. They are doing great Pro-America, anti-Koch work.

[TexasBushwhacker]

5. All to make the wealthy wealthier

That's what I just don't get. The US is approaching 3rd world status in terms of wealth inequality. Not only is this horrible for the 99%, it's bad for the American economy. Why can't these people take the long view?

More good jobs means more money in more pockets means more money is spent on homes, cars, restaurants, vacations and TAXES. If the wealthy are so worried about their taxes being too high (they aren't) the need to realize the money has to come from somewhere. It is in THEIR best interests for more Americans to have healthy standards of living. We wouldn't gave to talk about wealth redistribution if the wealth was already redistributed naturally with better jobs for more people.

For that matter, there is a bigger market for American goods when other countries have healthy economies as well. Say what you will about NAFTA. It helped lift many Mexican citizens into the middle class, so more stayed in Mexico (or even returned) than coming into the US. There are still undocumented immigrants coming THROUGH Mexico, but most are from Central America.

I'm not an economist, but this isn't rocket science economics either.

[Initech]

6. The Koch Brothers are economic terrorists. This is economic terrorism.

[moondust]

7. Terminal greed.