The Extremist Right-Wing Network WANTED For Crimes Against Working Families and Conspiracy to Kill Off Unions ● The Koch brothers, David of Environmental Protection, and Charles, were born into the Securities and Exchange privilege. Commission, Social Security, Their father, Fred Chase Medicaid and Medicare. The Koch, made his fortune by platform also called for the ab- founding the Wood River and olition of public schools. Refining Co. in 1940. His com- ● The Koch brothers are fi- pany profited handsomely by nancial backers of right-wing helping Hitler and Stalin es- efforts to weaken—or even tablish oil refinaries in their destroy—public employee countries. Fred Koch was a unions. founder of the extreme right They supported the legis- John Birch Society. He op- lative and political attack on posed the Civil Rights Act and public employee unions in the Voting Rights Act. David Koch Charles Koch Wisconsin, where Gov. Scott ●The family company is now Walker pushed for legislation known as Koch Industries. Besides oil refining, the that deeply weakened unions’ collective bargaining company’s operations include agriculture, fertilizer, power and ability to represent members. petroleum, chemicals and consumer goods (Dixie cups, Membership in teachers and other public employee Brawny paper towels, and Quilted North toilet paper). unions plummeted. Wisconsin has become the model Together, the Koch brothers were worth $102.4 bil- for supporters of the nationwide war on public service lion in 2017. The Koch family is the second wealthiest worker unions and government services. family in the United States. ● The Koch brothers are major financial backers of the ● David and Charles have a long history of political Right to Work Foundation, whose legal arm is behind involvement in which they have worked with right-wing anti-union court cases, including Janus v. AFSCME, politicians and other allies to push for restrictions on which is before the U.S. Supreme Court. The case aims to unions, tax cuts for corporations and the rich, extremist cripple public employee unions by restricting their ability free-market policies, small government and the estab- to collect dues used to provide services and benefits. lishment of conservative beacheads in the universities. They spent $412 million in the 2012 election cy- ● The Kochs have poured millions of dollars into the cle. This dwarfed what the top ten labor unions spent anti-government and anti-union right-wing campaign ($153.4 million). They projected they would spend $889 of their network of dozens of conservative public policy million in the 2016 elections. think tanks and institutions. These groups include the ● In the 1980 election, David Koch ran as the candi- Cato Institute, the Reason Foundation, Americans for date for vice president of the Libertarian Party. Prosperity, and the American Legislative Exchange The party’s platform targeted many federal agen- Council, which provides model legistlation for conser- cies and programs for elimination: the CIA, FBI, Dept. vative politicians around the country. We must resist. Join the union fight for a shared prosperity!
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District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO • 212-815-1000 • Henry Garrido, Executive Director