Dwight Kirk sent us this from the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) convention in St. Louis. With more than 50 CBTU chapters across the United States and Canada, CBTU includes 2.1 million black workers represented by unions.

The parents of slain Trayvon Martin got a big union hug and a standing ovation yesterday in a ballroom packed with members of CBTU, who attended the opening session of CBTU’s 41st international convention in St. Louis. The 17-year-old Trayvon was murdered during an encounter with George Zimmerman, who followed the teenager just because he fitted a negative racial profile.

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.

A new report reveals the “extraordinary influence” the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has had in the Wisconsin legislature during the past 16 months—the same 16 months since Gov. Scott Walker (R) took power. The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), which released the report, says ALEC's influence:

undermines the rights of Wisconsin families while advancing the agenda of huge corporations.

The extremist American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has announced it is disbanding its task force that developed and pushed the rash of voter suppression and “stand your ground ” laws passed in recent  years by Republican-controlled state legislatures. But don't believe that ALEC is backing off its attacks on workers, their wages and their unions. Meanwhile, the group continues to lose key members, with two more major companies severing ties with the right-wing group

Carrying signs that say “Don’t Shoot Me,” activists from civil and human rights groups, unions, community organizations and faith groups, inlcuding AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Shuler, will protest at noon tomorrow at the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The activists will demand that ALEC, the corporate-sponsored author of model state legislation, including Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” or “Kill at Will” law being used to justify the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, disclose funding it receives from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and stop promoting this legislation in other states.

Guess who's behind Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law that's been spotlighted since the Feb. 26 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., by a neighborhood watch volunteer?

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), at the behest of the National Rifle Association. ALEC is the corporate-funded boiler room churning out model legislation attacking collective bargaining rights, voting rights and more that's being adopted by states with Republican-led legislatures.

Ryan J. Reilly at Talking Points Memo has the story.