SO Not Related to Those Guys…
www.KochSisters.org
New National TV Ad: http://bit.ly/Wd9IBd
(Washington, DC, September 4, 2014) – Every antagonist needs a protagonist.
You’ve heard of the multi-billion dollar political colossus known as the Koch Brothers. No matter where you live in America, their corporate cash has flooded your airwaves, shown up on your doorstep or influenced your life in some fashion. But while their money dominates the American political and legislative spectrum, their values and ideals do not.
Today, the AFL-CIO is introducing “The Koch Sisters” to the American electorate – a national project featuring two women, Karen and Joyce, who share the same last name, but not the same values as the Koch Brothers. The Koch Sisters will bring the issues most Americans care about – from fair wages to protecting Social Security – to the forefront of the political debate.
Like most Americans, Karen and Joyce have worked hard all of their lives and want to ensure their children and grandchildren have the same opportunities they did. They share a belief that working families of this country should have every opportunity to get ahead. In that regard, the Koch Sisters are an ideal, embodied in millions of Americans.
Through a multifaceted campaign beginning with national television advertising, America will get to know the virtues of these two hard-working women. Karen and Joyce Koch share the same last name as the notorious Koch Brothers, but that’s where the similarities end. While not biological siblings, they are sisters in spirit, and in their union bond.
Karen Koch
Karen Koch is a teacher and mother of two. As a college professor, she has spent her career preparing students for internships and their first jobs. She is a member of the Michigan Education Association and comes from a United Automobile Workers family. – “We’re just two average women who have raised families and worked hard all our lives.”
Joyce Koch
Joyce Koch is a mother of two, grandmother and wife of a retired American Federation of Teachers teacher. She worked most of her career as a social worker as well as an administrator for an anti-poverty organization. – “We don’t have billions of dollars to spend on political campaigns, but we do have our convictions and our voices. We think that’s important.”
Unlike the Koch Brothers, the Koch Sisters don’t have billions of dollars and they certainly aren’t trying to buy democracy. But they care about our country, and what money in politics is doing to it. And they believe that their voice, and the voices of countless Americans are as important as the special interests that use their vast wealth to influence politics and policy.
“For years, the Koch Brothers have epitomized how corporations and the super-rich have tried to systematically destroy our democracy,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. “Today, they’re finally meeting their match.”
“The Koch Sisters stand for the right things that matter most at the right time. I admire Joyce and Karen’s courage,” said AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Liz Shuler. “I am a Koch Sister, too! Let’s all join them and become a nation of Koch Sisters!”
While the Koch Brothers wield unprecedented and unrivaled money to pollute American politics, the labor movement has and will always support the strongest political force in America: working people. The AFL-CIO intends to lift up the voices of Karen Koch, Joyce Koch and all the “Koch Sisters” in America and the values they stand for as a major part of grassroots efforts in the 2014 elections and beyond.
Contact: Josh Goldstein (202) 637-5018