Shadowbosses: Government Unions Control America and Rob Taxpayers Blind (43 page)

35
For example, in Communications Workers of America v. Beck, when the union’s case depended on it, the Communications Workers of America union could show only 21 percent of its budget actually going toward collective bargaining. Communications Workers of America v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735 (1988).

36
U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, “The Use of Mandatory Union Dues for Politics: Lessons From Washington State,” written testimony by Bob Williams, June 20, 2002,
http://archives.republicans.edlabor.house.gov/archive/hearings/107th/wp/uniondues62002/williams.pdf
, accessed January 2012.

37
Many federal and some other government workers are compensated according to a government pay scale. Many of these workers are under union collective bargaining representation even though their government employee unions cannot negotiate wages or some benefits on their behalf. But their unions do lobby the government for increases to the workers’ pay scale and benefits as well as to expand their collective bargaining power over more government workers.

38
As explained above, some states permit unions to give donations to state and local candidates out of their general treasury, and these funds are in the political activities budget, described above.

39
“Are You Funding Your Union’s Federal PAC (Political Action Committee) Unknowingly or against Your Will?” National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation,
http://www.nrtw.org/d/illegalpac.htm
, accessed January 2012.

40
See “Service Employees International Union Expenditures,” OpenSecrets,
http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/expenditures.php?cmte=C00004036&cycle=2010
. See “Big Labor: A $20 Billion-a-Year Business,” National Institute for Labor Relations Research, July 19, 2007,
http://www.nilrr.org/files/Big%20Labor%2020%20Billion%20A%20Year%20Business%20Update.pdf
, accessed March 2012. While this rule of thumb is difficult to demonstrate for all unions for all years, a comparison of direct campaign contributions by top unions when compared to their disclosed political spending bears this out. For example, the NEA’s PAC made $2,083,600 in contributions in 2010, while its national headquarters alone reported spending $29,712,732 on political activity (without taking into account its $91,352,936 in contributions, gifts, and grants, most of which are political as well). Similarly, the SEIU made contributions of $5,563,250 to all candidates in the 2010 cycle, and its national headquarters alone spent $55,108,669 on political activity.

41
Kevin Bogardus, “AFL-CIO Chief Amplifies Warning to Democrats,”
The Hill
, June 7, 2011,
http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/165151-afl-cio-chief-amplifies-warning-to-democrats
, accessed January 2012.

42
W. James Antle III, “A Piece of the Action: Labor Expects Much from the Next Congress, New Administration,”
Labor Watch
, Capital Research Center, December 2008,
http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1228146537.pdf
, accessed January 2012.

43
Matthew Kaminski, “Let’s ‘Share the Wealth,’ ”
Wall Street Journal
, December 6, 2008,
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122852244367484311.html
, accessed April 2012.

44
Ann Coulter, “Look For The Union Fable,”
Human Events
, February 23, 2011,
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=41971
, accessed January 2012.

45
Lindsay Renick Mayer, “Labor and Business Spend Big on Looming Unionization Issue,”
OpenSecrets(blog
), February 26, 2009,
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2009/02/labor-and-business-spend-big-o.html
, accessed December 2011.

46
Jean Merl and Antonio Olivio, “Solis Trounces Martinez in Bitter Race,”
Los Angeles Times
, March 8, 2000,
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/mar/08/news/mn-6735
, accessed January 2012.

47
Jean Merl, “Solis Prepares to Take Another Step Up,”
Los Angeles Times
, December 28, 2000,
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/28/local/me-5513/2
, accessed January 2012.

48
Ezra Klein, “Hardball Time on Health Care Reform,”
Washington Post
, March 12, 2010,
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/03/hardball_time_on_health-care_r.html
, accessed January 2012.

49
In fact, of the thirty-four Democrats who voted against Obamacare, only thirteen won reelection. But the reasons for this probably have little to do with the withdrawal of union support in this case. It is well known that moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives lost their seats in 2010 in far greater numbers than for Democrats generally. About one in four Democrats in the House lost his seat in 2010 generally, whereas 62 percent of the Democrats who voted against Obamacare lost their seats.

50
Daniel DiSalvo and Fred Siegel, “The New Tammany Hall,”
Weekly Standard
, October 12, 2009,
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/017/031citja.asp?page=2
, accessed January 2012.

51
David Postman, “Gephardt Gives Boeing Advice,”
Seattle Times
, September 23, 2005,
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002514352_gephardt23.html
, accessed January 2012; see also Sebastian Jones, “Dick Gephardt’s Spectacular Sellout,”
The Nation
, October 19, 2009,
http://www.thenation.com/article/dick-gephardts-spectacular-sellout?page=0,1
, accessed January 2012.

52
Amanda Ripley, “The Story of Barack Obama’s Mother,”
Time
, April 9, 2008,
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1729685-3,00.html
, accessed January 2012; Russell Goldman and Devin Dwyer, “Hawaii Gov. Says Proof of Obama’s Birth Certificate Exists but Hasn’t Produced the Document,”
ABC News
, January 20, 2011,
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-birth-hawaii-gov-proof-presidents-birth-certificate/story?id=12721552
, accessed January 2012.

53
DiSalvo and Siegel, “The New Tammany Hall.”

54
Ibid.

55
David Postman, “Republicans Say They’ve Found 249 More Felons Who Voted,”
Seattle Times
, January 29, 2005,
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20050129&slug=felons30m
, accessed January 2012.

56
Gregory Roberts, “Judge Upholds Gregoire’s Election; Rossi Won’t Appeal,”
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Reporter
, June 5, 2005,
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Judge-upholds-Gregoire-s-election-Rossi-won-t-1175262.php#page-1
, accessed April 2012.

57
DiSalvo and Siegel, “The New Tammany Hall.”

58
Ibid.

59
Rachel La Corte, “State Workers Sue Gregoire over Canceled Raises,” Associated Press, December 23, 2008,
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/State-workers-sue-Gregoire-over-canceled-raises-1295728.php
, accessed January 2012.

60
Mayer, “Labor and Business Spend Big on Looming Unionization Issue.”

61
David Catanese, “Romanoff Cans Caddell in Colorado,”
Politico
, February 17, 2010,
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/33058.html
, accessed April 2012.

62
“About,” America Votes,
http://www.americavotes.org/about
, accessed February 2012.

63
Thomas B. Edsall, “ ‘527’ legislation would affect Democrats more,”
Washington Post
, March 28, 2006,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/27/AR2006032701386.html
, accessed April 2012.

64
Anna Burger, “Catalist Analysis of SEIU’s 2008 Voter Contact Programs,”
SEIU.org
, September 16, 2009,
http://www.seiu.org/catalistreport-SC3.pdf
, accessed January 2012.

65
Ibid.

66
Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, April 15, 2008,
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/SEIURelease.pdf
accessed May 2012. The SEIU itself said that while its members were at the conference to protest, the “protest was mostly peaceful.” Jesse J. Holland, “2 Labor Groups Bicker over a Michigan Scuffle,” Associated Press, April 16, 2008.

67
Jamie Court, “Will Andy Stern Repudiate Violence in the Union Hall?”
Huffington Post
, April 15, 2008,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-court/will-andy-stern-repudiate_b_96841.html
, accessed January 2012; Deborah Burger, “SEIU’s Latest Disgrace: Violent Attack on Michigan Meeting of Union Members and RNs,”
Huffington Post
, April 13, 2008,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-burger/seius-latest-disgrace_b_96399.html
, accessed May 2012.

68
Steven Greenhouse, “Two Unions, Once Bitter Rivals, Will Now Work Together,”
New York Times
, March 19, 2009,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/health/19union.html
, accessed March 2012.

69
Michelle Malkin, “ ‘Brown Shirts’ vs. Purple Shirts,”
Townhall.com
, August 12, 2009,
http://townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/2009/08/12/brown_shirts_vs_purple_shirts
, accessed January 2012.

70
A 2005 Zogby poll of likely voters shows that 32 percent of unionized voters said the NRA spoke for them. “Disorganized Labor,” Zogby International, August 10, 2005,
http://www.ibopezogby.com/news/2005/08/10/disorganized-labor/
, accessed April 2012.

71
See
http://aftmichigan.org/files/compare_guns-unions.pdf
.

72
Jake Tapper, “Obama Explains Why Some Small Town Pennsylvanians Are ‘Bitter,’ ”
Political Punch
(blog),
ABC News
,
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2008/04/obama-explains-2/
.

73
“US Elections: How Groups Voted in 2008,” Roper Center,
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/elections/how_groups_voted/voted_08.html
.

74
John Lott, “President Obama’s Anti-Gun Agenda Shows No Sign of Stopping,”
Fox News
, December 28, 2011,
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/12/28/president-obamas-anti-gun-agenda-shows-no-sign-stopping/
, accessed January 2012.

75
“National Organizations with Anti-Gun Policies,” National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action,
http://www.nraila.org/issues/factsheets/read.aspx?id=15
, accessed January 2012. See also “NRA to Promote ‘Gun Control’ Petition Drive,” NRA,
http://www.nrawinningteam.com/0007/nea.html
. The defunct organization ACORN, which was considered by many to be the political action arm of SEIU, is also antigun. See Dave Kopel, “What’s That Smell?” Second Amendment Project,
http://davekopel.org/2A/Mags/ACORN.htm
.

Chapter 4. Union-Label President

1
William McQuillen, “AFL-CIO Drops Criticism to Endorse Obama, Citing Focus on Jobs,”
Bloomberg Businessweek
, March 14, 2012,
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-14/afl-cio-drops-criticism-to-endorse-obama-citing-focus-on-jobs
, accessed March 2012; Harold Meyerson, “Under Obama, Labor Should Have Made More Progress,”
Washington Post
, February 10, 2010,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/09/AR2010020902465.html
, accessed March 2012.

2
“New Leadership on Health Care: A Presidential Forum,” transcript, March 24, 2007,
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/events/healthforum/fulltranscript.pdf
.

3
Peter Nicholas, “Obama’s Curiously Close Labor Friendship,”
Los Angeles Times
, June 28, 2009,
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/28/nation/na-stern28
, accessed December 2011.

4
Because of division within the SEIU over endorsing a candidate in the Democrat primary in the 2008 election, Andy Stern let each separate SEIU affiliate make its own endorsement. By January 9, 2008, five SEIU state councils had endorsed Senator Obama. Steven Greenhouse, “Obama Received Union Endorsements,”
The Caucus
(blog),
New York Times
, January 9, 2008,
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/obama-to-get-union-endorsement/
, accessed January 2012.

5
Nicholas, “Obama’s Curiously Close Labor Friendship.”

6
Steve Early,
The Civil Wars in U.S. Labor
(Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2011), p. 260.

7
“Obama’s Remarks to the AFL-CIO,” Real Clear Politics, April 2, 2008,
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/04/obamas_remarks_to_the_aflcio.html
, accessed April 2012.

8
Steven Greenhouse, “AFL-CIO Endorses Obama,”
The Caucus
(blog),
New York Times
, June 26, 2008,
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/afl-cio-endorses-obama/
, accessed December 2011.

9
“The NEA: Organized, Energized and Mobilized for Barack Obama,” National Education Association, August 25, 2008,
http://www.nea.org/home/11141.htm
, accessed March 2012; see also Jason Koebler, “National Education Association To Endorse Obama,” High School Notes,
U.S. News & World Report
, May 13, 2011,
http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2011/05/13/national-education-association-endorses-obama
, accessed March 2012.

10
Barack Obama, “AFSCME National Convention—Challenge for Labor,” August 7, 2006,
http://obamaspeeches.com/086-AFSCME-National-Convention-Obama-Speech.htm
, accessed December 2011.

11
Ibid.

12
Ibid.

13
Peter Wallsten, “AFSCME Votes to Endorse Obama for Reelection,” Post Politics,
Washington Post
, December 6, 2011,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/44/post/afscme-votes-to-endorse-obama-for-reelection/2011/12/06/gIQAjJanZO_blog.html
, accessed December 2011.