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ALEC News

The Two Faces of Janus: The Billionaires Behind the Supreme Court Case Poised to Dismantle Public Sector Unions The Roman god Janus was known for having two faces. It is a fitting name for the U.S. Supreme Court case scheduled for oral arguments February 26, Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 31, that could deal a devastating blow to public-sector unions and workers nationwide. In the past decade, a small group of people working for deep-pocketed corporate interests, conservative think tanks and right-wing foundations have bankrolled a series of lawsuits to end what they call "forced unionization." They say they fight in the name of "free speech," "worker rights" and "workplace freedom." In briefs before the court, they present their public face: carefully selected and appealing plaintiffs like Illinois child-support worker Mark Janus and California schoolteacher Rebecca Friedrichs. The language they use is relentlessly pro-worker. Read the rest of this item here. Arizona "Ground Zero" for Koch Attack on Public Education The annual Koch donors summit took place at the five-star Indian Wells Resort and Spa in the California desert at the end of January. The millionaires and billionaires called to the posh resort from all parts of America by the Koch brothers pledged $100,000 or more for a $400 million effort to keep the U.S. House and Senate in Republican hands in 2018. At the same time, the donors pledged to go to war with parents and teachers in Arizona who are fighting to block the state's massive school voucher expansion. Since taxpayer "vouchers" for private and religious schools were first put on the ballot in Michigan in 1978, they have been consistently rejected by voters who remember their roots in the segregationist south and understand that the well-off will take the money and run, leaving community schools without the funding they need and deserve. Read the rest of this item here. The ALEC Emperor's New Clothes ALEC named Republican North Carolina state representative Jason Saine its new national chairman late last year. Saine, who took office in 2011, has co-sponsored many bills held dear to ALEC, including those on charter schools, limits to speech on campus, a constitutional convention and federal preemption of state and local rules governing fracking. (View his voting record here.) For pushing the ALEC agenda, Saine was awarded the 2014 ALEC "Legislator of the Year," an award that seems to be a requirement for its top post. Despite his ALEC accolades, Saine's legislative career in the Tar Heel state has been mired in controversy. Read the rest of this item here.