Limiting Worker and Consumer Rights, Privatizing Government Services, and Pushing "Free" Trade
Through the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council, global corporations and state politicians are voting behind closed doors to try to rewrite state laws. Bills on this page limit workers rights and drain labor unions of resources for protecting employees, undermine consumer protections, favor the Wall Street financial agenda, limit the ability to cap exorbitant interest rates on credit cards and big bank fees. The bills and resolutions here also attempt to funnel tax dollars to for-profit corporations through privatization schemes and push the "free trade" agenda that has shipped good-paying American jobs overseas. Through ALEC, corporations have both a VOICE and a VOTE on specific state laws to change worker and consumer rights. Do you?
Watch Joel Rogers, professor of law, political science, public affairs, and sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Director of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, discuss ALEC and the corporate efforts to undermine worker rights.
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Learn MORE about the "Model Bills" ALEC Corporations Are Backing to Rewrite YOUR Rights
The Center for Media and Democracy analyzed the bills ALEC politicians and corporations voted for. More analysis is available below and also at ALEC Exposed's sister sites, PRWatch and SourceWatch.
How are corporations undermining workers through these bills?
These bills erode the rights of workers in favor of corporate interests by:
Limiting union rights, or the rights of firefighters, police, teachers, and other public workers by:
Repealing the prevailing wage paid for government projects, which lowers wage standards, potentially lowers the quality of public works projects, and undermines the competitiveness of potential contractors that have union employees.
Pushing 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.
Using tax dollars to subsidize for-profit corporations for work traditionally performed by government, such as:
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.
How are corporations undermining consumer rights in these bills?
These bills restrict the rights of consumers in favor of the big banks, predatory lenders, and others by:
And among other things, limiting the ability to fund comprehensive transportation policies through a state Constitutional Amendment requiring that revenues from gas taxes and vehicle-related fees be used for highways, rather than investment in light rail, bike lanes or other options less profitable for oil companies.
Some of this Corporate Agenda Has Already Become Law:
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. To learn more about this story, PLACEHOLDER. Have any of these bills been introduced or enacted in YOUR state?
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