Shining a Light on Corruption in Politics

CWAers joined the crowd of 200 public interest activists who rallied outside the White House to urge President Obama to issue an executive order requiring contractors that do business with the government to disclose their political spending.

The group is shining a light on corporation corruption and is pushing measures to help curb the obscene flood of money in politics. Petitions signed by more than half a million citizens were presented, calling on the President to take action.

Currently, corporations that bid for government contracts don't have to disclose their campaign spending. The result: a "pay to play" system under which government contractors can give dollars to elect the very lawmakers who are responsible for awarding government contracts.

The Washington, D.C. event was just one of the rallies, vigils and other events held in 30 states across the country, to mark the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's McCutcheon decision. By a 5-4 decision the Court struck down previous aggregate limits on political contributions, enabling a single super-wealthy donor to contribute as much as $5.9 million to candidates, campaigns and PACs. It's "pay to play politics," not democracy.

CWAers from Local 2222 and headquarters joined activists from Common Cause, Public Citizen, NAACP, People for the American Way, Sierra Club, Center for American Progress, the Postal Workers and other unions and other groups fighting to get "money out and voters in."