At least 117 bills introduced in 2013 fuel a "race to the bottom" in wages, benefits and workers' rights and resemble "model" bills from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), according to a new analysis by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), publishers of ALECexposed.org .

Not everything is OK in Oklahoma and as far as Sooner State working families are concerned, that includes the extremist and corporate-backed American Legislative Exchange Council ( ALEC ).  This afternoon hundreds of union and community activists will join the Fire Fighters ( IAFF ) for a  rally and march  in Oklahoma City to ALEC’s annual meeting at the city’s Cox Convention Center.

A live stream of the rally, which will include IAFF President Harold Schaitberger, will begin at 4 p.m. (CDT).  

Earlier this week, we told you that a coalition of unions and community groups were able to move  a paid sick leave bill to near fruition  in New York City, while we also brought you  a column by Ellen Bravo , director of  Family Values @ Work , that explored the momentum behind the growing paid sick leave drive in cities across the country.

The American Legislative Exchange Council’s ( ALEC 's)  long history of influencing state legislators —sometimes  even writing legislation  for them—to pass laws and promote policies that advance a corporate profit agenda, and at times an extreme conservative agenda, is  well documented .

Now a new report shows another group—led by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush—is following the ALEC blueprint in pushing state education policy backed by for-profit education corporations.

Starting this weekend on PBS stations across the country, Moyers and Company will air “United States of ALEC.” ( Find the date and airtime in your area .) The American Legislative Exchange Council describes itself as a “nonpartisan public-private partnership.” But “United States of ALEC” finds that:

Behind that mantra lies a vast network of corporate lobbying and political action aimed to increase corporate profits at public expense without public knowledge.

We’ve traced the fingerprints of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to the growing voter suppression efforts in more than a dozen states under Republican control in recent election season blog posts. But don’t forget that the extremist, corporate-backed ALEC is attacking working families on many fronts. A new report from In the Public Interest tracks ALEC’s footprints down the path of privatization.

Thirteen more Texas legislators, including 10 Republicans, have severed their ties with the extremist American Legislative Exchange Council ( ALEC ). Earlier this year, another dozen Lone Star State lawmakers said goodbye to ALEC. Matt Glazer, executive director of Progress Texas , the group that has helped expose ALEC’s influence in the state legislature, says:

These legislators have shown the courage of their convictions by standing up to a corporate bill factory and declaring their support for the people of Texas above all else. 

Five more major corporations severed their ties with the extremist American Legislative Exchange Council ( ALEC ). Their exit brings the number of big corporations to 25—plus four major non-profit groups and 55 lawmakers—that have recently left ALEC and its agenda of voter suppression , union-busting  and immigrant bashing . The five latest companies, according to Reuters, are Hewlett-Packard, CVS Caremark, Deere & Co., MillerCoors and Best Buy.

For those of us keeping score, 19 major corporations and 54 state legislators have cut their ties with the extremist American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Now pressure is mounting for other major corporations to join the exodus from ALEC  and its agenda of voter suppression, union-busting and immigrant bashing.

Two other big corporations—including Amazon—and several state lawmakers are the latest to sever their ties with American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), as the group’s influence and radical agenda—one that includes voter suppression, union-busting and immigrant bashing—is further exposed .