Common Cause Calls on Companies to Quit ALEC

This week's announcements that Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Kraft Foods have withdrawn from the American Legislative Exchange Council are a testament to the power of citizen activism and an example other ALEC member companies should immediately follow, Common Cause said today.

"Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Kraft have begun an inevitable cascade of corporate departures from ALEC," said Bob Edgar, president of the nonpartisan government watchdog group. "Companies are beginning to realize that it's bad business to be part of a lobbying organization that manipulates our elected officials and is dedicated to undercutting voting rights and public schools, pushing laws like Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' statute, and assaulting collective bargaining."

"ALEC is a key weapon in a war on working families, voting rights, and government-for-the-people being waged by the Koch brothers and their ideological brethren," Edgar added. "Companies like Pfizer, State Farm and UPS should not risk their good names by being part of it. Many of them actually have forward-thinking internal policies that conflict with ALEC's radical goals."

Edgar noted that some ALEC member firms are attempting to justify their involvement in the group by insisting they participate only in developing ALEC legislation that directly impacts their companies. "That defense won't wash," he said. "ALEC doesn't offer partial memberships. When companies join, they link themselves to its entire agenda."

"It's time for more companies, like Johnson & Johnson, Bayer and ExxonMobil, to align themselves with the 99% of Americans who buy their products, not the 1% who want to return our country to the era of the Robber Barons," Edgar said. "We urge CEOs to shun profiteering and polarization and publicly depart from ALEC now."

Below is a partial list of ALEC member companies

Altria

AT&T

Bayer

Diageo

ExxonMobil

GlaxoSmithKline

Johnson & Johnson

Koch Industries

Pfizer

State Farm

UPS

Walmart