Oklahoman’s Protest ALEC Meeting – March for Middle Class and Working Families

Before last month’s deadly tornado outbreak that devastated communities all around Oklahoma City, almost 600 labor activists came there to protest the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meeting being held. This was the first time that state labor groups came together to protest ALEC in force, and it was the largest ever held.
The day was overcast, windy and cold for early May, but hundreds of union members attended the rally. Protesters arrived on busses from cities almost 200 miles away, thanks to the organizing efforts of the Oklahoma State AFL-CIO and its many affiliated unions.
Jimmy Curry is the president of the Oklahoma State AFL-CIO and a TWU member from Local 514 in Tulsa. Curry’s leadership and his Local were instrumental in planning the protest and printing hundreds of protest signs for the marchers. Local 514 member Teresa McMillen worked with local volunteers to make signs at the union halls shop days before the march.
Dennis Hall, another Local 514 member, and president of the North East Oklahoma Central Labor Council, assisted in rallying other local unions and retiree’s to protest the ALEC meeting in Oklahoma City.
The Working Family Rally and March for the Middle Class was kicked off by International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold Schaitberger, who led the crowd from the Coca Cola Event Center to the Cox Convention Center where ALEC members were holding their Spring Task Force Summit.
Over thirty Local 514 members’ attended, with about twenty making the trip to Oklahoma City on buses provided by TWU and IAFF Local 176.
Local 514’s State Conference representative Joe McGill came to the ALEC protest, “I was impressed with such a turnout on a cold dismal looking day. The group was spirited and vocal as we marched toward the Cox Convention Center,” McGill said.
At the Convention Center, marchers watched the Bill Moyers’ documentary, “United States of ALEC.” If you haven’t seen the film, McGill highly recommends it because it exposes ALEC for what it really is – a ritzy front group for anonymous fat cats.
Following the Moyer’s film, Stephen Spaulding from Common Cause moderated a panel discussion, exploring the many ways ALEC’s “model legislation” are drafted. The discussion revealed how ALEC backed legislation can negatively affects workers, teachers and students, the environment, minority communities, and voting laws if passed.
Hall wished everyone well and gave a special thanks to those attending and the Oklahoma State AFL-CIO for organizing the events. Hall also recognized the Oklahoma Building Trades for providing hot dogs and snacks after the successful march against the ALEC meeting.
Are you curious about ALEC? Investigate their political shenanigans for yourself, visit: http://alecexposed.org/wiki/