The Center for Media and Democracy, a progressive watchdog organization, calls SPN “the tip of the spear of a far-right, nationally funded policy agenda in the states that undergirds extremists in the Republican Party.” Indeed, the SPN is financed by Donors Trust—a private foundation bankrolling libertarian organizations that has been described as the “dark money ATM of the conservative movement”—and has received donations from mega-corporations like Microsoft, AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, Philip Morris, Facebook, and GlaxoSmithKline. Using this funding, the SPN has been successfully privatizing public schools, denying climate change, cutting taxes on the wealthy, blocking healthcare reform, and chipping away at the strength of organized labor for over three decades. In 2017, SPN president Tracie Sharp outlined the network’s plan to “defund and defang” public sector unions in order to “deal a major blow to the left’s ability to control government at the state and national levels.” One year later, the SPN-affiliated Liberty Justice Center helped win the Janus decision.
The Anti-Union Lobby’s Newest Weapon
Source: Jewish Currents | Published: 5/10/2024