Elections in late 2010 that swept Republican Party conservatives into control of the U.S. House of Representatives and a majority of state legislatures and state governorships were followed in 2011 by an explosion of legislative initiatives. Those initiatives intended to weaken legal protections for workers against anti-union discrimination, limit or terminate collective bargaining rights for millions of public sector employees as well as eliminate important sources of financial support for trade unions and curtail their ability to advocate on behalf of their members in the political and public policy arenas.
A substantial percentage of these bills were drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a corporate-funded organisation whose “members” - some 2.000 conservative legislators and more than 300 of the world’s largest corporations - meet together behind closed doors to develop and vote on model legislation sought by corporate interests that the legislators then introduce and promote in the US Congress and in state legislatures around the country.
In addition to weakening unions and rolling back worker rights, ALEC’s agenda includes enactment of voter eligibility rules making it harder for minorities, the poor, students and the elderly to vote; reductions in and privatisation of public services; limitations on government regulation of commerce to protect consumers, the environment and public safety and health; and other measures to benefit particular industries and corporations that provide its corporate support.