During the Minnesota legislature's hearings last session on industrial sand mining, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49 Political and Legislative Director Jason George talked about finding" a way that protects the environment and creates these good, family-sustaining jobs.”
Now, he's hanging out with a Koch Brother and dark-money funded climate-change denier group called the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow.
George presented a talk on“Labor on Energy- Creating Sustainable Middle Class Jobs and the Fight with Environmentalists” to the CFACT’s Sunny Side Up Breakfast Club on Monday, August 26 at the Embassy Suites- Airport Hotel's Magnolia Room. Participants paid $25 a pop for the breakfast meeting.
Given the anti-union sentiments expressed by the group's leadership (see #4 here) and the massive amounts money the Koch Brothers and Donors Trust/Donors Capital Trust have poured into the fight to break America's unions (and paying those union and prevailing wages that George fights for), Bluestem is a bit puzzled at this meeting.
Perhaps this isjust an illustration of the split illustrated in Baird Helgeson's article in Sunday's Strib, Dayton feels heat as environmentalists, labor allies clash on mining.
We are left to wonder if for the 49ers, the enemy of their enemies are their friends, even if they're massively part of another enemy camp. Let's hope that the 49ers will be chaste in their scolding of Governor Walker's plans to bust union power next door in Wisconsin.
CFACT's funding: Koch Brothers, Donors Trust
The Donors Trust/Donors Capital Trust conservative cash nexis was recently explored by Twin Cities Daily Planet Behind the Story columnist Sheila Regan in Nude Fringe plays, travel grants and the conservative agenda. Regan focused on the funding of the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, sponsor of Watchdog.org, by Koch Brothers and Donors Trust.
But the Koch Brothers and Donors Trust shopping spree doesn't stop at setting up conservative media outlets. There's also the anti-environmental and climate change outlet, CFACT, George's newest ace boonies.
In February, Polluter Watch reported in Secret Climate Denial Finance: Koch and Others Hide tens of Millions through Donors Trust & Donors Capital Fund:
For those familiar with the effort of ExxonMobil and the Koch brothers to bankroll a network of organizations denying basic climate science, a new article in the Guardian offers some revelatory information on the secret funding network that outweighs even top denier sugar daddies like Koch and Exxon. . . .
Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund, based out of the DC suburb of Alexandria, VA, have sent $118 million to the 'climate denial machine' from 2002-2010, according to a Greenpeace analysis featured in the Guardian. The graph above, from the article, illustrates the significance of this money as compared to giants like Koch and Exxon.
Of course, the Koch brothers are part of the Donors Trust network, using the DONORS groups to hide their own giving to a variety of corporate front groups. Because of the obscurity provided by DONORS, we don't know exactly who is getting exactly how much of the Koch payments to Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund.
An accompanying article by the Guardian shows how the DONORS groups provide large portions of organisations' entire budgets, such as the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow, which even among climate deniers is notably anti-scientific.
The support helped the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (Cfact), expand from $600,000 to $3m annual operation. In 2010, Cfact received nearly half of its budget from those anonymous donors, the records show.
The group's most visible product is the website, Climate Depot, a contrarian news source run by Marc Morano. Climate Depot sees itself as the rapid reaction force of the anti-climate cause. On the morning after Obama's state of the union address, Morano put out a point by point rebuttal to the section on climate change.
CFACT is among over a dozen organizations that get 30%-70% of their total budgets from the two DONORS groups. As we reported on PolluterWatch last October using 2010 IRS tax filings:
- Americans For Prosperity Foundation got $7.6 million from DONORS groups in 2010, 43% of its budget. AFP Foundation is chaired by David Koch and has received millions in direct funding from Koch foundations since the Koch brothers founded it.
- Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) got $1.3 million from DONORS in 2010, 45% of its budget.
And over at the Guardian, Suzanne Goldenberg reported in How Donors Trust distributed millions to anti-climate groups:
Some of the groups on the Donors Trust list would have struggled to exist without being bankrolled by anonymous donors.
The support helped the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (Cfact), expand from $600,000 to $3m annual operation. In 2010, Cfact received nearly half of its budget from those anonymous donors, the records show.
The group's most visible product is the website, Climate Depot, a contrarian news source run by Marc Morano. Climate Depot sees itself as the rapid reaction force of the anti-climate cause. On the morning after Obama's state of the union address, Morano put out a point by point rebuttal to the section on climate change.
The gregarious Morano is a former aide to the Republican senator Jim Inhofe notorious for declaring climate change the greatest hoax on mankind.
According to Cfact's tax filings, Morano, listed as communications director, was the most highly paid member of the organisation.
How lovely that George has joined forces with these folks. But at least the Operating Engineers aren't part of the Blue Green Alliance. We'll give them that.
Bonus: Brian Johnson, a freshman Republican Minnesota House member serving in 32A (who doesn't like "forced unionization" caused by union organizing campaigns and elections) attended George's CFACT presentation, tweeting:
Listening to Jason George of the 49ers at @CFACT Great information on need for projects to go forward for good jobs & a gr8er MN economy
— Brian Johnson (@Brian32A) August 26, 2013
Here's the invite:
Photo: Jason George, the friend of the working man and Koch Brother-funded groups as well.If you enjoy reading posts like this on Bluestem Prairie, consider throwing some coin in the tip jar:
Editor's note: An entertaining redirect from the event's organizer, Bluestem had no idea that CFACT is a partisan, Republican organization, but thanks Bill Gilles for bringing noting that this event is a "Reach across the aisle."
Indeed, my point about a union official appearing at a CFACT event wasn't about partisan politics, but about a union official talking to a climate-change denying group that is supported by dark money funders who are also anti-union--and which itself is known to support anti-union positions. Nice attempt at spinning this into a partisan battle, but instead, Gilles' fallacy of distraction demonstrates the problem.
Bluestem thinks that Gilles could readily make a better point, however, if CFACT released an unedited video of the event.
The original note:
"Reach across the aisle" - "Find Consensus" - "Create a Dialogue"
Bluestem response - participate in any of that and go to Hell.
As the organizer of the event, I want to thank Jason for accepting our invitation to speak to our group before he spent the rest of the day at the Local 49er booth at the State Fair. He had the same message for Fair goers as he did for us "find a way that protects the environment and creates these good, family-sustaining jobs.”
He was well received but did have to field polite disagreement from some participants about the Union's endorsement of Obama (George's response - Romney was bad for prevailing wage) and disagreement over Right to Work legislation.
While there existed clear disagreements, in stark contrast to this blog, the tone was civil.
So Bluestem, thank you kindly for exposing your contempt for "Reaching across the aisle" - "Finding Consensus" - and "Creating a Dialogue". We all know now that if anyone on the left ever dares address a group that supports free markets and personal liberty, they will also need to show courage in the face of the 800-lb poo-flinging gorilla on their team.
Posted by: Bill Gilles | Aug 29, 2013 at 11:52 AM