Update to Corporate Accountability: Defund The Chambers of Commerce:
72 Black business executives published a letter in The New York Times urging corporate leaders to speak out.
Nearly 200 companies speaking out against voting law changes in Texas, other states:
Nearly 200 companies on Friday joined in a strong statement against proposals that threaten to restrict voting access in dozens of states, in a further sign of corporate willingness to speak out on social justice issues. [E]xecutives from at least 193 companies — including Dow, HP, Twitter and Estée Lauder — urged the protection of voting rights across the country. The joint statement was organized by Civic Alliance, a nonpartisan group of businesses focused on voter engagement.
The Greater Phoenix Leadership Letter re: Business Leadership Opposition to Senate Bills 1485, 1593 and 1713. See the GPL Link for the signatories.
Here’s the catch. While these corporations are now taking a stance against GQP Jim Crow 2.0 voter suppression laws, and publicly stating that they support democracy and easier access to voting for all Americans, they also continue to fund the anti-democratic U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and here in Arizona, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, organizations which have overwhelmingly funded the GQP legislators advancing these Jim Crow 2.0 voter suppression laws.
In the case of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, it has taken a position opposing H.R. 1/ S. 1 the For The People Act, which would halt in its tracks these Jim Crow 2.0 voter suppression laws GQP state legislatures are enacting. Chamber of Commerce Urges Senators to Reject Voting Rights Bill. (It is safe to assume the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry also opposes H.R. 1/ S. 1 the For The People Act).
Reuters reported U.S. Chamber rewards Senators Manchin, Sinema for opposing Biden initiatives.
The Hill reports today that another 70 companies call on Senate to pass voting right bill:
More than 70 businesses have signed on to a letter urging the Senate to pass a sweeping voting rights bill.
The letter, which was spearheaded by Declaration for American Democracy, Vote.org, and Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote, said the Senate should pass the bill to address legislation that has already been introduced and passed in states aimed at restricting voter access, among other concerns.
“These bills work in stark contrast to our interests, and make it more difficult for Americans to have a say in key decisions from healthcare to the economy by limiting our ability to register to vote and cast a ballot early or by mail. Voting is a fundamental right in our country, and it is up to our elected officials to protect it,” the letter said.
“The For the People Act would override many of the abusive state laws that make it harder for millions to cast their ballots, and set national standards for free and fair elections,” the letter added.
Some of the companies that have signed the letter include Ben & Jerry’s, Lime, National Hockey League, Patagonia, and Youth To The People. In addition to promoting the For the People Act, the signatories of the letter also said similar bills, including the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, should also be passed.
“We applaud the House for passing the For the People Act, and urge the Senate to follow suit and do its part to protect our democracy. Together, we can ensure our employees and communities can safely and freely cast their ballots so every voice is heard and our elections reflect the will of the people,” the letter said.
Many corporations in America and the anti-democratic U.S. Chamber of Commerce are diametrically opposed to one another on voting rights. So why do these corporations continue to fund the anti-democratic U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its state affiliates?
A new campaign from government watchdog Accountable.US is trying to drive home this point for corporate accountability. New TV Ads Call Corporations’ Bluff: They Can’t Support Both Voting Rights and the U.S. Chamber:
Government watchdog Accountable.US is launching a wave of television and digital ads as part of its “Drop The Chamber” campaign – a major effort challenging corporations that claim to support voting rights to prove it by cutting ties with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over its well-documented history of funding voter suppression efforts and opposing voting rights measures, such as its ongoing lobbying blitz against H.R.1, the For the People Act. The ad ‘Voices’ airs this week in the Washington D.C., Seattle, San Francisco and Minneapolis-St. Paul media markets.
The ad is now running on cable in Arizona – I just saw it.
The ad directly calls out Microsoft, Target, and Salesforce [Click to View Each Version] where they are based, while in the nation’s capital the ad appeals to all other U.S. Chamber member companies that signed onto a recent ad in the New York Times claiming to oppose “any discriminatory legislation or measures that restrict or prevent any eligible voter from having an equal and fair opportunity to cast a ballot.” The effort includes digital ads on YouTube, display ads on key news websites, and social media ads targeting employees of these corporations.
The media blitz comes after Accountable.US’ letters appealing directly to the CEOs of Microsoft, Target, and Salesforce to demonstrate their values were effectively ignored last month. An analysis from Accountable.US found these companies have been particularly out front on the issue of voting rights.
“Companies can’t have it both ways: They can’t tell their shareholders, employees and customers they support voting rights while funding a group leading the charge to undermine that right, particularly in communities of color,” said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US.“They must either drop the U.S. Chamber or go against their corporate values and public commitments to protect voting rights for all Americans.”
It is critical that corporations be consistent in their values on this issue at a time when there is a large-scale assault on voter access taking place in state legislatures across the country, including Georgia, Arizona, Florida, and Texas – efforts that could go unchecked if the Chamber’s “fierce” opposition to H.R. 1 and its voting rights reforms are successful.
“Paying lip service to voting rights while backing its opponents is an insult to the millions of Americans, including their employees, who will be subject to a wave racist voter suppression laws that are already taking hold,” added Herrig.
The Arizona Chamber of Commerce has been behind every effort to restrict your constitutional right to citizens initiatives, referendum and recall, lawsuits to reverse your successful citizens initiatives, like Prop. 208 Invest In Ed, and GQP Jim Crow 2.0 voter suppression bills. etc. The Chamber of Commerce funds the campaigns of the anti-democratic insurrectionist Sedition Party.
Corporate accountability means cutting off any funding to this anti-democratic organization.
Hold these corporations which claim they support voting rights accountable. They can’t have it both ways by paying lip service to voting rights and then fund the anti-democratic Chamber of Commerce which lobbies against voting rights.
Discover more from Blog for Arizona
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Hold them accountable. Axios reports that Japanese Company “Toyota leads companies in election-objector donations”, https://www.axios.com/toyota-leads-donations-among-election-objectors-ebae427b-6f47-4591-aa28-31f366e6e2e0.html
Nearly three-dozen corporate PACs have donated at least $5,000 to Republicans who objected to certifying the 2020 election, yet Toyota leads by a substantial margin.
Data compiled by the left-leaning watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington show Toyota gave $55,000 to 37 GOP objectors this year.
The Japanese automaker’s donations this year included a February contribution to Rep. Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican who has been one of Congress’ most vocal election conspiracy theorists. According to an organizer of the “Stop the Steal” rally prior to the Capitol attack, Biggs also helped put on that event, a charge Biggs has denied.
According to CREW data shared with Axios, 34 companies have donated at least $5,000 to the campaigns and leadership PACs of one or more election objectors this year.
Other notable names on the list include Koch Industries, telecom giant AT&T, health insurer Cigna and tobacco company Reynolds American.
Hold them accountable. The Daily Beast reports, “12 Companies Start Giving to Election Objectors Again”, https://www.thedailybeast.com/12-companies-start-giving-to-election-objectors-again?ref=home
At least a dozen corporate PACs that paused political contributions after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol have resumed giving money to officials who objected to the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to The Daily Beast’s analysis of recent campaign finance disclosures.
The largest donor of the group is defense contractor Lockheed Martin, which last month racked up 31 contributions between $1,000 and $2,500 to members of the so-called “sedition caucus,” federal filings show. Notable companies also include UPS, Ford, General Motors, and multinational law firm McGuireWoods.
Another defense firm, Leidos Engineering (formerly SAIC), donated to 15 objectors in May—second only to Lockheed—and additionally gave to leadership PACS belonging to two of those 15 Republicans. Three other Pentagon contractors who had suspended donations—Northrup Grumman, Boeing, and Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering—also wrote recent checks to officials who sought to overturn President Biden’s victory.
All but one—American Express—had pledged to suspend contributions to all federal candidates in the wake of the Capitol riot. But AmEx went even further, releasing a statement five days after the insurrection vowing specifically to pull its funding for elected officials who attempted to “subvert the presidential election results and disrupt the peaceful transition of power.”
But then, on April 16, AmEx gave $2,500 to the Republican Legislative Victory Fund. That group bankrolls Arizona Republican state senators, who for several weeks prior to the donation had been organizing a plan to do exactly what the AmEx CEO decried: subvert the election results, through a bizarre and controversial audit of 2020 presidential votes cast in Maricopa County.
American Express did not reply to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
No other financial companies appear to have gone back on their pledge. But The Daily Beast found multiple companies in the transportation, energy, and defense sectors which have ended their short freeze after the Capitol Riot and immediately—and often quietly—thrown financial support behind officials who six months prior had attempted to undermine American democracy.
Amid public outrage after the attack on the Capitol, dozens of companies announced changes to their contribution strategy. The initial commitments made headlines, and most companies upheld their pledges, though not all.