Real Koch Facts

Kochs Continue War on Workers by Lobbying to Repeal Wisconsin’s Prevailing Wage

April 2, 2015

Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity is joining forces with other anti-worker organizations to lobby the Wisconsin state legislature in hopes of ending the state’s prevailing wage. The prevailing wage creates an even playing field for workers on local and state public works and constructions projects. Republican lawmakers are citing a study funded by a trade association called Associated Builder and Contractors (ABC) to argue that the prevailing wage is unnecessarily adding to the cost of such projects.

However, the study seems to be deeply flawed; one economics professor even called it “a mirage.” If AFP and its cronies are successful in ending the prevailing wage it could drive workers away from the state.

State Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca said, “Repealing prevailing wage would be another huge hit against the middle class and small businesses in Wisconsin. Over the last decade, Wisconsin has been the worst state in the nation for […]

The Continued Koch Assault on American Workers

May 8, 2015

The Kochs’ model Governor, Indiana’s Mike Pence, did even more damage to Indiana’s reputation this week when he signed a bill into law repealing Indiana’s common construction wage. The repeal does away with local boards that ensure construction workers earn a fair wage when building public projects.

The Kochs, who have attacked minimum wage laws nationwide, came out with full-throated support of Pence’s bill. Americans for Prosperity, the Kochs’ political arm bought radio ads in Indiana pushing the bill. The Kochs’ love affair with Pence goes back a long way. As Governor of Indiana, Pence enacted tax cuts, which benefited the state’s top earners — a move straight out of the Koch playbook. Also, at least three different former Pence staffers who are now embedded in the Kochs’ political network. Indeed, AFP operatives are so enamored with Pence’s Koch-backed policies that they held up Indiana as a example of a “model state” […]

NEW REPORT: Show Me The Money: Kochs Fight Against Working Families In Missouri

October 25, 2016

Today, Bridge Project is releasing a new report on the Koch brothers’ influence in the Show-Me State, called “Show Me The Money: The Kochs Fight Against Working Families In Missouri.”

As the 2016 election comes to a head, the billionaires aren’t slowing down the fight to protect their puppets at the cost of Missouri families. As Republican Senator Roy Blunt struggles in his fight for re-election, the Kochs are flooding Missouri with money in hopes of rescuing the vulnerable senator and Republicans across the state.

Senator Roy Blunt has voted with the Kochs 86% of the time according to his Americans for Prosperity lifetime score.
During the 2016 election cycle, AFP spent nearly $500,000 attacking Democratic candidate Jason Kander.
Sen. Blunt is the “largest recipient of campaign contributions from employees of Koch Industries,” and Koch Industries was a top ten contributor to Blunt in 2016.
The Kochs’ PAC donated at least $161,700 to […]

Selfish Billionaires Who Fight Policies That Help Working Families Pretend To Care

August 2, 2016

Selfish Billionaires Who Fight Policies That Help Working Families Pretend To Care

Charles And David Koch Oppose Fair Wages, Paid Sick And Family Leave, Pay Equity, And Collective Bargaining.

This weekend the Kochs and their donor-network of millionaires and billionaires gathered at the swanky Broadmoor resort to pay lip-service to the problem of income inequality. Hollow rhetoric aside, the Kochs only care about preserving their profits. The industrialist duo have habitually pushed back on any meaningful solutions to narrow income inequality and help working families.

“Charles Koch has spent his entire life creating income inequality by helping to elect the Kochs’ cadre of puppet-politicians to pass legislation that pads the Kochs’ bottom line,” said Eddie Vale, Vice President of American Bridge. “The Koch network spends hundreds of millions of dollars on elections and lobbying for their self-serving agenda. Whether it’s a minimum wage increase, the right to collectively bargain, pay equity, paid sick leave, protection of retirement income, or any issue […]

NEW REPORT: “The Kochs Spend Tons of Cheddar Badgering America’s Dairyland”

April 27, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 27, 2016

CONTACT
Dawn Le, 202-549-6798, dle@americanbridge.org

The Kochs Have Spent At Least $44 Million to Hijack Wisconsin
Bridge Project Releases “The Kochs Spend Tons of Cheddar Badgering America’s Dairyland” about the Koch Brothers’ Corporate Lobbying and Political Front Groups in Their Effort to Maximize Profits

Milwaukee, WI—For the 2016 election cycle, Charles and David Koch have announced they are on track to spend nearly $900 million to elect politicians that would push their self-serving agenda. In Wisconsin, the Koch brothers have spent more than $44 million since 2010, helping to foster the rise of Gov. Scott Walker, Speaker Paul Ryan, Sen. Ron Johnson, and to fund political astroturf groups to carry their water.

“What the Kochs are doing in Wisconsin is emblematic of what they’re doing across the country, all their political efforts and PR shams boil down to self-interest and higher profit shares,” said Eddie Vale, the […]

Kochs Dump $23.4 Million into Wisconsin Politics

April 1, 2016

Though this weekend all eyes may be on Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary election, Wisconsin politics have been in the sights of the Koch brothers for some time.

From discovering a “rising star” in Gov. Scott Walker to their strong support for current Speaker of the U.S. House, Paul Ryan, Charles and David Koch have spent at least $23 million since 2010 buying their way into the Badger State to advance an agenda that is far from “Wisconsin nice.”

As governor, Scott Walker worked hard for his patrons, making teachers, social workers, and snow plow operators his Public Enemy #1. He slashed funding for senior centers, food banks, public schools, and universities, while at the same time gave tax breaks for the wealthiest and rewrote laws to help his corporate friends get off the hook. Walker was such a promising political investment for the Kochs that they had hoped to back him all the way to the White […]

Scrambling To Hide Koch Commitments, GOP Field Boots “Biggest Weakness” Question

October 29, 2015

Wednesday night’s debate opened with a question that — while simple — gave the GOP field some trouble: “What’s your biggest weakness?” Each of the candidates ducked and dodged the question to the best of their respective abilities — some better than others. (To paraphrase Donald Trump, some of them “just don’t have it”: Blah, blah, blah, etc.)

But the reason the candidates struggled is no more complex than the question itself: Rubio, Bush, Cruz, and the rest of the crew couldn’t exactly go up there and tell the truth — they couldn’t admit that they’re boxed in by an inflexible fealty to Charles and David Koch and their selfish agenda. It’s not exactly voter-friendly to admit that, in everything you do, in any legislation you push, the Kochs’ agenda — and their bottom line — will always supersede the interests of the American public.

Three candidates in particular,

Koch Industries’ Plant Closure Will Leave Most Workers Unemployed

May 11, 2015

Most of the workers at a shuttering Georgia-Pacific plant are facing unemployment at the end of the year due to Koch Industries most recent cuts. Koch subsidiary, Georgia-Pacific, announced the closure of its Dixie Plant in Parchment, Michigan on Friday. The Kochs’ move is a devastating loss to the city as it was the last remaining paper producer in the town nick-named “Paper City” for the many paper companies it once was home to. Parchment Mayor Rob Heasley said he was shocked by the move since he believed the plant was doing well.

The impending closure is a stark reminder — while the Koch brothers gear up to spend nearly $900 million picking a conservative Republican and try to buy the White House, they have a long history of destroying livelihoods and families. The historic closing is just the Kochs’ latest maneuver to increase Georgia-Pacific’s profits. In Michigan, the Kochs’ Americans for Prosperity is