Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC)

The Western Organization of Resource Councils has an annual budget of about $2 million which is primarily used to pay 18 staffers working out of offices in Billings, Montana; Montrose, Colorado; and Washington, D.C. ⁵ WORC staff, alumni, and board members have numerous ties to the Democratic Party, especially the Montana Democratic Party.

Structure

The Western Organization of Resource Councils is a 501(c)(4) coordinating organization for eight left-leaning activist groups: Dakota Rural Action, Dakota Resource Council, Idaho Organization of Resource Councils, Northern Plains Resource Council, Oregon Rural Action, Powder River Action Resource Council, Western Colorado Congress (formerly the Western Colorado Alliance for Community Action), and the Western Native Voice. ⁸

The Western Organization of Resource Councils’ board is comprised of representatives from the eight affiliated member organizations. ⁵

The Western Organization of Resource Councils is a 501(c)(4), which is an IRS nonprofit designation that allows political activity. WORC is closely affiliated with Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project, a charitable organization which is an IRS designation for charitable, educational nonprofits largely prohibited from political activities. ¹

Funding

About half ($1,393,118) of the Western Organization of Resource Councils 2017 annual budget of $2,801,745 was donated by the Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project. ⁹

Donors to the Western Organization of Resource Councils are primarily left-leaning and include former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D) through Bloomberg Philanthropies,¹⁰ the Nell Newman Foundation,¹¹ and the Cinnabar Foundation. ¹²

History

The Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) formed in 1979. ¹³ In the 1990s, WORC members engaged in blocking trucks transporting farm products from Canada to the United States to protest policies that increased agricultural trade with Canada. ⁷

Activities

Keystone Pipeline

The Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) and its subsidiary organizations testified in Congress, petitioned federal agencies, filed lawsuits, and organized protests in efforts to block planned extensions or completion of the Keystone Pipeline. ^14151617

Energy development

The Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) works to restrict development of coal, oil, and gas energy through lobbying, filing lawsuits, demanding increased regulation, and engaging in activism. ^{18 19 20 21}

In August of 2019, WORC won a lawsuit that barred the Trump administration from acting on the advice of a government panel created to propose policies to increase both energy production and royalties paid by energy companies to taxpayers. WORC’s lawsuit contended environmental activists were not represented on the panel. ²²

Agricultural policy

The Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) supports agricultural trade agreements that favor domestic producers. WORC lobbies for mandated labeling of domestic-produced beef to encourage consumers to choose it over Canadian beef or beef from other countries. ²³

The WORC also lobbies for federal rules that would favor livestock producers over meatpackers and meat product marketers in contracts and market negotiations. ²⁴

People

Linda Weiss

Linda Weiss is a Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) board member appointed by the Dakota Resource Council as of 2019. ²⁵