How ALEC Cuts Your Paycheck

StandUpToALEC starts off the series discussing wages and income inequality. It notes that while most U.S. observers see that the gap between the rich and the rest of America has grow exponentially, ALEC not only denies that it is a problem, the group actively works to increase the gap. The corporations that fund ALEC pay for a policy agenda that targets workers and lowers wages. In specific, ALEC pursues an agenda that:

• Opposes raising the minimum wage, and supports its repeal altogether.
• Opposes establishing living wage laws.
• Wants to repeal prevailing wage laws.
• Opposes mandating equal pay for men and women.
• Supports eliminating anti-poverty programs and then requires former beneficiaries to work jobs that pay below the minimum wage.

ALEC’s agenda isn’t a minor effort, either. StandUpToALEC examines the comprehensive nature of the attacks on working families, citing research from several nonpartisan groups. The National Employment Law Project (NELP) documentedALEC’s role in the creation of nearly 70 bills sponsored or co-sponsored by ALEC-affiliated legislators that would repeal or weaken minimum wage and other wage-related bills. This was part of an overall assault on low-wage workers that saw 105 such bills introduced in 31 states since 2011.

According to NELP, at least 29 ALEC-affiliated bills to repeal or suspend prevailing and living wage laws were introduced in at least 10 states. In 2013, similar bills also appeared in 10 states.

The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) shows how ALEC has created bills to repeal or block paid sick days. According to CMD, ALEC legislators were given a list of states to target, prepared by the National Restaurant Association, in August 2011.

Don’t sit back and let ALEC lower wages. Join the campaign at StandUpToALEC.org to tell state legislators to reject ALEC and instead focus on helping working families. You also can follow the campaign on Twitter (@StandUpToALEC) and Facebook.com/StandUpToALEC.

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This has been reposted from the AFL-CIO.