...Citizens United, 2 years old
(From Page 12)
foster commerce,” declared U.S. Sen.
Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in a Jan. 20 press
statement.
Merkley is one of 22 co-sponsors of
a resolution from U.S. Sen. Tom Udall
(D-N.M.) that would amend the Con-
stitution to overturn Citizens United.
U.S. Sen Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) added
his name as a co-sponsor Jan. 26.
On Jan. 10, U.S. Rep. Earl Blume-
nauer (D-Ore.) became the 12th co-
sponsor of a companion bill in the
House; his fellow Oregon Democrat
Peter DeFazio is also a co-sponsor.
To amend the U.S. Constitution re-
quires a two-thirds vote in the House
and Senate and then ratification by
three-fourths of the states.
Janice Thompson, executive direc-
tor of the Oregon chapter of Common
Cause, sees a Constitutional amend-
ment as one of three approaches to ad-
dress Citizens United. The other two
are public finance, and public disclo-
sure.
On public disclosure, there’s been
some movement. Last October, Center
for Political Accountability reported
that some of America’s largest publicly
traded companies are voluntarily mov-
AFL-CIO launches new TV ad campaign
The AFL-CIO has launched a multi-
million dollar television advertising
campaign telling the country that union
workers are just like everyone else —
and that they deserve their rights.
The ads first aired in Austin, Texas,
and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and will
soon be airing in Portland.
The cost of the initial ad campaign
is pegged at $1.5 million.
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz
Shuler said the ads are meant to rise
above the daily controversies of the po-
litical world and show the connections
of unions and unionists to the world of
work — and how workers benefit from
unionization.
“This campaign showcases the val-
ues that America’s unions share with all
working people: Hard work, quality
work, and how every one of us is con-
nected,” she elaborated.
The ads feature workers from a wide
range of occupations. The ads are ac-
companied by messages over social
media, online advertising and an inter-
active website, www.WorkConnect-
sUsAll.org.
The ad campaign also emphasizes
the divide between the 99% and the
richest 1 percent of the population and
emphasizes the decline of the middle
class — while laying that development
at the feet of the rich. The ads also refer
to the new activism in the labor move-
ment in response to Big Business/Re-
publican schemes to rob workers of
their rights and their livelihoods.
The ads’ punch line, in English and
Spanish, is: “As work changes, we
change with it. Work doesn’t separate.
It’s what binds us together. I teach your
kid, you fix my car, he builds my city,
she keeps it safe…work.”
ing to disclose their corporate expendi-
tures on politics. Together with re-
searchers at University of Pennsylvania
Wharton School, the group reported
that 57 of the largest 100 publicly
traded corporations disclose direct cor-
porate political spending on their web-
sites, while 43 disclose some informa-
tion about indirect spending through
trade associations or other tax-exempt
groups; and 24 have stated they will not
make independent expenditures, even
though Citizens United allows them to
do so.
Some elected leaders, like Oregon
State Treasurer Ted Wheeler, would like
to make those disclosures mandatory. In
October, Wheeler came out in support
of a petition calling on the Securities and
Exchange Commission to require public
companies to disclose to shareholders
the use of corporate resources for polit-
ical activities. More robust reporting
would increase accountability of com-
panies to their shareholders, Wheeler
said, including the state funds he’s re-
sponsible for managing.
Last April, the Obama Administra-
tion announced it was considering an
executive order to require companies
with federal contracts to disclose their
electoral spending. But the Administra-
tion backed off when the business lobby
opposed it.
Delk, at least, remains undaunted. “I
try not to involve myself in things that
are impossible,” he told the Labor Press.
“Citizens United is becoming a tip-
ping point,” adds Thompson. “Ameri-
cans are really taking a look at amend-
ing the U.S. Constitution.”
EE
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Mon-Fri 9:30-7:30 Sat 9:30-5:30 Sun 12-6
PAGE 10
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
FEBRUARY 3, 2012