Drops ALEC like first period English...

T-Mobile Drops Membership in Conservative Group ALEC

The major telecom company announced Wednesday it had parted ways with the controversial group.

By Dustin Volz

Telecom company T-Mobile announced Wednesday it has severed ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council, becoming the most recent of a bevy of major corporations to bolt from the controversial conservative group in recent months.

"T-Mobile is affiliated with many public policy organizations, and we regularly evaluate these affiliations and associations based on our priorities," a company spokeswoman said in a statement provided to National Journal. "In line with this practice, in 2015 we decided not to renew our membership with ALEC."

The mobile carrier did not explain further why it left ALEC, a coalition of corporations and mostly Republican state legislators that progressive groups accuse of backing "climate-denial" bills. But the group has endured a prolonged wave of high-profile departures in recent months—an exodus led chiefly by tech companies.

An ALEC spokesman said T-Mobile's departure was "old news," claiming the separation actually took place sometime in 2014.

Last fall, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt kicked off a waterfall of departures from the group when he publicly accused the council of "just literally lying" about climate change. Several other tech behemoths—including Facebook, Yelp, and eBay—soon followed.

In March, oil-and-gas giant BP dropped ALEC, amounting to one of the nonprofit's most significant losses yet, given its pursuit of legislation that opposes environmental regulations.

Progressive groups quickly cheered news of T-Mobile's exit and signaled they intended to ratchet up pressure on larger telecom giants. T-Mobile is the fourth-largest carrier in the U.S.

"In recent years, AT&T and Verizon have been taking their cues from wireless maverick T-Mobile, which has relieved customers of many of the billing practices they so despise," said Todd O'Boyle, director of the media and democracy program at Common Cause, a progressive lobbying organization. "Once again, other telecom companies should follow T-Mobile's example by exiting ALEC straightaway."

ALEC has for years been a sort of boogie-man target for liberal activists. In 2012, the organization witnessed a separate fleet of companies leave—including Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo—amid heavy scrutiny of its then-support of controversial "Stand Your Ground" laws, which gained extraordinary public attention during the Trayvon Martin case. ALEC says it no longer works on firearm issues or social issues and instead focuses solely on a free-market economic agenda.

ALEC sent a number of progressive groups cease-and-desist letters last month that threatened legal action if those groups did not refrain from referring to the council as a "climate denier." Those groups, including Common Cause, made public this week their intent not to comply with ALEC's request.