NJ-GOV

SEIU Mailer: Corzine Will Work With Obama, Christie Will Fight Him

Eric Kleefeld | October 22, 2009, 11:51AM

SEIU is stepping up its campaign efforts in the New Jersey gubernatorial race, tapping into the state's Democratic leanings by tying Dem Gov. Jon Corzine to the much more popular President Obama -- and Republican candidate Chris Christie to the very unpopular former President George W. Bush.

Here's a new mailer, telling recipients that "One man will work with the president. The other will fight him." Christie's service as a U.S. Attorney, which has been the centerpiece of his political appeal, is also tied to "Bush-era corruption": "George W. Bush made Chris Christie his top New Jersey lawyer after Christie and his lobbyist friend raised about $350,000 for Bush and the National Republican Party."

(Click images to enlarge.)

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SEIU

SEIU: We've Gotten Threatening Phone Call Involving The Second Amendment

Eric Kleefeld | August 7, 2009, 3:25PM

SEIU says it has now received an apparent threat involving gun violence from a right-winger in reaction to the union bringing their own people to town halls, Greg Sargent reports.

A woman identifying herself as Diana from Oregon left a voicemail with the union, denouncing their "thuggish" tactics, and then ending on a doozy of a punch-line:

"I suggest you tell your people to calm down, act like American citizens, and stop trying to repress people's First Amendment rights," said Diana. "That, or y'all are gonna come up against the Second Amendment. Stop the violence."

Health Care

Anti-Health Care Reform Protester Encourages Physical Violence, Use Of Firearms

Brian Beutler | August 7, 2009, 2:20PM

Based on the news that health care events are edging into violence, an anti-health care reform protester in New Mexico named Scott Oskay is calling on his hundreds of online followers to bring firearms to town halls, and to 'badly hurt' SEIU and ACORN counter protesters.

Popularized in part by conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, the hashtag symbol he's using, #iamthemob, has gone viral on twitter, appearing several times a minute according to a recent search.

Anti-reform activists have scheduled a protest outside SEIU Missouri offices tomorrow, and officials there are taking these threats seriously.

Late update: Looks like they're also getting death threats by phone.

Andy Stern

EFCA Compromise? Moderates To Embrace Labor Reform...Without Card Check

Brian Beutler | July 17, 2009, 9:21AM

The New York Times reports that several labor friendly Democrats, including Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have embraced an Employee Free Choice Act compromise to win the support of conservative Democrats. That compromise? Eliminating Card Check--the majority sign-up provision that would end the secret ballot process, and, labor leaders say, curb employer intimidation.

AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale tells Ben Smith: "[T]his is the normal process of how a bill becomes a law."

We are very optimistic about passing the strongest labor law reform since the Wagner Act -- one that lets workers choose to join a union without intimidation or harassment, ensures that workers who join a union get a first contract, and has meaningful penalties for violations.

But Andy Stern seems less than pleased, tweeting, "we expect a vote in the bill or by amendment on majority sign-up in both houses of Congress."

I'm told a fuller statement is on its way, but clearly this compromise won't go down without several spoons full of sugar.

EFCA

SEIU Demands Nebraska, Arkansas TV Stations Pull Down Misleading "Employee Forced Choice Act" Ads

Brian Beutler | July 10, 2009, 10:53AM

The Service Employees International Union is demanding that television stations in Arkansas and Nebraska pull down ads calling on Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Mark Pryor (D-AR), and Ben Nelson (D-NE) to vote against the "Employee Forced Choice Act."

"Your news network is running an advertisement sponsored by the Employee Freedom Action Committee," reads a letter the union sent to networks in both states, "which is demonstrably false and maliciously misleads viewers about unions and the Employee Free Choice Act."

In particular, the ad misleadingly refers to the "Employee Forced Choice Act."... The falsehoods and misrepresentations...warrant its immediate removal from the air.

The letter, which you can read here in full, explains the ads numerous distortions. The Employee Freedom Action Committee is the brainchild of notorious lobbyist Richard Berman, whose anti-union activities are well known to the labor movement.

Health Care

Johanns: SEIU Should Save The Fireworks For Tomorrow

Brian Beutler | July 3, 2009, 5:19PM

Sen. Mike Johann's communications director Ann Marie Hauser has released an official statement about today's mini-kerfuffle outside of a Nebraska health care roundtable. "Sen. Johanns has been a public servant for 25 years and he has no problem with people protesting. He came to UNMC today to hold several productive discussions with concerned Nebraskans and members of the health care community, including the SEIU and Jane Kleeb. UNMC's security personnel took it upon themselves to enforce university policy of no protesting on their property. It's a shame Jane's politcial agenda takes priority over participating in a constructive discussion on an issue of such importance to Nebraskans."

Kleeb notes that her work in politics and health care advocacy long predates her introduction to her husband, Scott Kleeb, who ran against Johanns in the Nebraska Senate race in 2008, and that her work in Nebraska--including the event today--is not about political retribution in any way.

Notwithstanding the political disagreement, though, there's still the unanswered question of who, if anybody, called security on the activists.

SEIU

Health Care Organizers Confronted By Police At Event With Nebraska Senator

Brian Beutler | July 3, 2009, 1:31PM

Did Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) sick the cops on a group of health care reform organizers? That's what the Service Employees International Union is claiming. The group had received permission to gather at the Nebraska Medical Center to meet Johanns who was scheduled to appear at a roundtable discussion on health care--but Johanns apparently wasn't interested.

"SEIU along with teachers and members of the military set up a table with apple pie and signs welcoming the Senator and urging him to support an American solution to healthcare reform," noted Jane Kleeb, SEIU State Director. "Instead of coming by and saying hello, the Senator walked right by us as we were surrounded by police and said 'good luck with that.'"

Johann's staff, however, portrays things rather differently. They contend that the organizers were confronted by hospital security and asked to move their protest off hospital grounds. They also deny complaining--either to the police, or to hospital security--about the protesters' presence, and say the roundtable proceeded, with Kleeb's participation, after the controversy was resolved.

Those are two very different versions of events, obviously. We'll try to tease out exactly what went down.

Late update: It's certainly worth pointing out that Jane Kleeb is the wife of Scott Kleeb, who was Johanns' opponent in the 2008 election for Chuck Hagel's old Senate seat.

Late, late update: I just got off the phone with Jane Kleeb who stuck to her version of events and provided more details. According to Kleeb, she and about 10 other advocates set up out front with two home made signs--one which read 'Sen. Johanns, we can't wait' and one which read 'Health care '09, we can't wait'. She says that soon thereafter four cars rolled up--both medical center security and Omaha police. According to Kleeb, the police waited in their cars while she spoke with hospital security officers, who told her that Johanns' staff had indeed called to complain about the protest.

According to an email Kleeb provided from the hospital, "[e]xternal groups can distribute literature on public sidewalks, so long as they are not obstructing pedestrian or vehicle traffic, and do not interfere with those entering and exiting the buildings." Kleeb says she and the group gathered on a walkway several feet from the medical center's doors, but that security moved them to the other side of a barrier about several feet further from the entrance.

EFCA

Labor: Chamber Gearing Up For 2010 Senate Fight

Brian Beutler | June 10, 2009, 2:49PM

Josh already noted this at the Mother Ship this morning, but Politico ran today with a story about the Chamber of Commerce's plans to raise $100 million as part of a campaign to "defend the free market system."

Privately, labor sources describe the move as the Chamber's opening salvo in the committee's campaign to disrupt the balance of power in the Senate--which they view as hostile to business--in the 2010 election. And there's more than just messaging to that--the Chamber's president made that pretty clear.

A public education ad buy defending the free enterprise system is in the works, as well as an issue advocacy program tied to the 2010 midterm elections.

"We're going to hold politicians accountable as we defend and advance economic freedom," [Chamber of Commerce President Tom] Donohue said.

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Andrew Ross Sorkin

SEIU's Stern: Contra Sorkin, 'Unionized Companies Are Driving Force In Our Economy'

Brian Beutler | June 3, 2009, 4:17PM

Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union answers Andrew Ross Sorkin's question with a question of his own. "Unionized companies are a driving force in our economy, from Kaiser Permanente to Securitas," Stern said in a statement to TPMDC.

The bigger question this country is really asking right now is how do we define a successful company? Is it a company that turns a profit by driving down employee wages successful? Is cutting off benefits or putting people out of work to improve the bottom line for shareholders a business model we as Americans want to embrace? Are we going to embrace the Wal-Mart model as the standard of success, or are we going to raise the bar and rebuild the middle class in this country?

We think it's time to have a serious national discussion about what we want the future of our economy to look like--and the voices of women and men who work are critical to that conversation. That's why we're supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill to help create an economy in which companies succeed based on the quality of their services, not on their willingness to exploit or silence workers.

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EFCA

Labor Law Violator Argues Against EFCA In Arkansas

Brian Beutler | June 2, 2009, 4:14PM

A group of 11 Arkansas business leaders met with the state's congressional delegation today to voice their opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act. According to Arkansas Business, the the group included Michael Keck, whose St. Vincent Health System has been found time and again to be in violation of federal labor law.

Nurses there successfully joined a union in 2000 after a previous failed attempt was overturned by the National Labor Relations Board "amid charges that St. Vincent officials improperly tried to influence staff."

Two years later, St. Vincent was found to be involved in a similar attempt to decertify the union by "illegally lobby[ing] unions to end union representation."

Altogether, negotiations dragged on for nearly three years before before a contract was finally ratified. Those quotes come from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, but were aggregated by the Service Employees International Union before Keck's meeting with the delegation was announced. SEIU has been pressuring key Democrats in Arkansas to end their opposition to EFCA.

David Vitter

Vitter Attacks SEIU In Fundraising Gambit

Brian Beutler | May 29, 2009, 10:52AM

Yesterday, the Service Employees International Union ran an ad in The Times-Picayune hitting Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) for his record on issues important to workers. You can see the ad here, but the gist is that Vitter has voted against an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the Obama budget, and the stimulus package.

In response (and without addressing the votes cited in the ad) Vitter seems to have protested a bit too much,"When it comes to attempting to buy elections and strong arm conservatives to accept outrageous bailouts and anti-business legislation, the SEIU is one of the most effective weapons the liberals have at their disposal," Vitter wrote in a fundraising email to supporters obtained by TPMDC. "I will not stand for this outrageous disposal of Louisiana's worker and employer rights, and I'm fighting against it with everything I've got."

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AFL-CIO

Labor Still Mum On Sestak Candidacy

Brian Beutler | May 27, 2009, 4:51PM

Asked for comment about the news that Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) intends to run for Senate in 2010, AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale says that influential labor organization is biding its time. "When it is time to make an endorsement decision it will be made by Pennsylvania's workers based on the issues that are important to them including the Employee Free Choice Act and health care reform," Vale told me.

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) recently said that he thinks an EFCA compromise is highly likely, though it's unclear what level of support they expect from him if he's to clear the bar for an endorsement.

The Service Employees International Union had no comment at this time.

Andy Stern

SEIU Runs Letter To Obama From Pauline Beck In Los Angeles Times

Brian Beutler | May 27, 2009, 11:29AM

The SEIU's bid to get Barack Obama back on board their campaign to prevent the state of California from slashing home health workers wages continues today in the Los Angeles Times.

The group has purchased ad space in the paper, and used it to run a letter from Pauline Beck to President Barack Obama. "Mr. President, I had hoped your stimulus bill, which is bringing billions of dollars to California, would help protect home care," the letter reads. "Unfortunately, it seems that the money is being used for other things."

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SEIU

SEIU Ad Hits Schwarzenegger, Doesn't Criticize Obama

Brian Beutler | May 26, 2009, 2:49PM

When Barack Obama arrives in Los Angeles tomorrow, he'll be greeted by this ad.

The spot is also scheduled to air in the Sacramento and Fresno media markets.

The Service Employees International Union is trying to prevent the California government from significantly slashing the wages of home health workers, and want the Obama administration back on board. The White House had originally threatened to withhold billions of dollars in stimulus money from the ailing state if they went through with the cuts, but ultimately backed off, leaving workers without much leverage or national support in their effort to get the cuts overturned.

Andy Stern

SEIU Ad Aimed At Obama, Schwarzenegger, To Begin Airing Wednesday

Brian Beutler | May 25, 2009, 4:45PM

Ads to run in Los Angeles and other California media markets starting Wednesday tie President Barack Obama to the recent decision by the state government to slash the wages of home health workers.

According to a source at the Service Employees International Union, the ad features Pauline Beck, an SEIU nurse who participated in a campaign event with Obama two years ago, and spoke at the Democratic National Convention, but who will now be affected by the cuts. Though the source had not seen a script of the ad (and therefore could not confirm whether, or to what extent, it implicates the administration for abandoning attempts to prevent the cuts) it's certainly meant to get Obama's attention as much as that of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and politicians in Sacramento.

Obama arrives in California for a fundraiser in L.A. on Wednesday--the same day the six-figure ad buy goes live. Earlier today, SEIU President Andy Stern announced the ads over Twitter. The organization is upset with Obama for withdrawing its threat to withhold health care-related stimulus funds from California if the state it goes through with its plans to cut home care workers' wages to $8 an hour.

Health Care

Health Reform Crisis: Groups Backtrack On Promised Cost Cuts

Brian Beutler | May 15, 2009, 6:26PM

On Monday, President Obama hosted an event at the White House with five health care industry stakeholders and the SEIU announcing that the groups had reached an agreement to reduce the growth in health care costs by 1.5 percent a year for 10 years. The administration called it a watershed moment, and suggested it would save consumers upwards $2 trillion.

Now health industry lobbyists, including, specifically, the American Hospital Association, are saying that the administration has misled them and the country. AMA President Richard Umbdenstock said the groups had agreed to gradually ramp up to the 1.5 percentage-point target over 10 years - not to reduce spending by that much in each of the 10 years," according to Politico.

That's a huge difference.

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Andy Stern

Health Care Kumbaya--How Big A Deal Was Today's White House Event

Brian Beutler | May 11, 2009, 2:19PM

Earlier today, President Obama welcomed a motley crew of health reform stakeholders to the White House for a summit of sorts. On hand were representatives of a number of health care industry lobbies--including America's Health Insurance Plans, the American Medical Association, PhRMA, and the American Hospital Association--and, on the other side of things, representatives of the Service Employees International Union.

The groups are pledging to support cost-reducing measures that, at least in theory, dovetail with an Obama-backed health care plan and which would incur saving that could potentially be construed as part of the up-front investment comprehensive reform will require.

Paul Krugman is pleased by this development. So is health wonk Jonathan Cohn, and The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder. Ezra Klein is somewhat less enthused. For their part, the administration is playing portraying today's development as something just shy of a watershed moment. But is there reason to be skeptical of the Kumbaya chorus?

Richard Kirsch of the group Health Care for America Now cautions that "the groups did not agree to anything specific whatsoever."

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Arlen Specter

Specter Meets With Labor Leaders

Brian Beutler | May 5, 2009, 2:20PM

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) isn't the only potential Pennsylvania Senate candidate meeting with senior labor officials. Sam Stein reports that earlier today Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA)--the former Republican who's been all-but promised an easy road to the nomination by establishment Democrats--met with SEIU Officials Anna Burger--Chair of Change to Win and Secretary-Treasurer of SEIU--and Eileen Connelly, the Executive Director of the SEIU Pennsylvania State Council.

These were Specter's natural allies when he was a pro-labor Republican, but between the threat of a primary challenge by conservative Pat Toomey, and his sudden defection into the Democratic party, Specter has doubled down on more conservative positions, saying that he no longer supports the Employee Free Choice Act and opposes a publicly funded insurance option as a component of comprehensive health reform.

Those statements and others have drawn the ire of Sestak and labor officials, who say Specter better get in line, or his road to the Democratic Senate nomination in 2010 won't be as smooth as he first expected. We'll get you more specifics about these talks as they come in.

Arlen Specter

Sestak: We Don't Need The GOP's Benedict Arnolds

Brian Beutler | May 5, 2009, 11:21AM

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) hasn't been shy about criticizing Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) for switching parties last week, but his harshest words came last night in an interview with TPMDC: "He left the fight," said the former admiral and highest ranking military man ever to serve in Congress. "In the military, we just don't leave fights."

Sestak's shot at Specter comes amid grassroots grumbling that the deal Democratic leaders struck to get Specter to defect from the GOP cost the party a shot at putting a real liberal in the seat in 2010.

"I can't figure out...why the deal was done," Sestak told me, saying he's concerned that the party was so quick to embrace Specter for reasons of "expediency," and without regard to the needs of Pennsylvania voters. "It isn't Washington's prerogative to tell us what to do," Sestak insisted.

I asked him whether he'd been on the receiving end of establishment pressure -- from people like Vice President Joe Biden and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell -- to stay out of the race, and he insisted, "I haven't heard from anyone."

While Democrats from the While House on down might be trying to keep the Democratic primary field clear for Specter, they might not necessarily mind the fact that, for the time being, Sestak is applying pressure on Specter to move left. By keeping the door open to challenging Specter in the Democratic primary, Sestak may serve to nudge Specter further than he might otherwise have gone. Yesterday, Sestak told Greg Sargent that if Specter "doesn't demonstrate that he has shifted his position on a number of issues, I would not hesitate at all to get in" to a primary fight against him.

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Arlen Specter

SEIU's Stern To Meet Sestak Today

Brian Beutler | May 4, 2009, 9:16AM

SEIU president Andy Stern did the unusual yesterday and broke some news on Twitter: In Twitter-esque shorthand--unnecessary, as the message came in well under the allotted 140 characters--Stern wrote, "Congressman Sestak impressive on CNN. Visiting him tomorrow."

We'll try to learn more about the meeting once it's all said and done. Keep in mind, though, that it comes a day after Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) insisted on Meet the Press that he's not a loyal Democrat, and opposes significant aspects of the President's agenda. That outburst (unsurprisingly) hasn't done much to quiet calls from the left for Sestak to challenge Specter in the Democratic primary next year.

Arlen Specter

Labor Joins Sestak In Pressuring Specter

Brian Beutler | April 30, 2009, 6:40PM

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) may be a lone critic of Sen. Arlen Specter among Pennsylvania Democrats and party leaders, but if he looks past his colleagues he'll find a natural (though perhaps convenient and temporary) friend in labor. For now, Sestak is sending warning shots at Specter, pressuring him to get with the program, and groups like AFL-CIO and SEIU are doing the exact same thing. Especially vis-a-vis issues like health care and employee free choice.

Officially, AFL-CIO say they "look forward to continuing an open and honest debate with Senator Specter about the issues that are important to Pennsylvania and America."

"Sen. Specter," they say, "has said all along that he recognizes the need to reform our broken labor law system and we will continue to work with Congress to give workers back the freedom to form and join unions and pass legislation that stays true to the principals of the Employee free Choice Act."

And their Pennsylvania president agrees.

But Stewart Acuff, AFL-CIO's Director of Organizing hasn't been so timid.

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