Record-breaking political spending by the radical Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in 2008 helped put union-organizer-in-chief Barack Obama in the White House.
Just a few days ago, SEIU union bosses announced Hillary Clinton will be the beneficiary of their forced-dues-backed political warchest this presidential election.
As Big Labor's high command unleashes another billion dollar political spending blitz in 2016, I expect our offices to be flooded with calls from victimized workers.
In fact, the Foundation's #1 Priority next year is to file new legal actions to force union officials to abide by the law and to comply with prohibitions on collecting and using forced dues for politics and supporting the union bosses' preferred candidates – be they Hillary Clinton or any others.
Just look at one ongoing case involving SEIU Local 200 union bosses.
Earlier this month, with free legal aid from Foundation staff attorneys, four workers in upstate New York filed federal unfair labor practice charges against SEIU Local 200 union bosses after they were wrongfully told that becoming dues-paying members of the union was the only way to avoid losing their jobs.
Because New York lacks a Right to Work law, workers can be forced to pay union fees as a condition of employment. However, workers cannot be forced to formally join a union or pay for union political activity.
In addition to the illegal termination threat, SEIU Local 200 union bosses also failed to provide the independent-minded workers the required financial disclosure explaining how the fee the union was demanding was calculated.
Without such a disclosure, workers forced to pay tribute to the SEIU hierarchy cannot be certain their forced fees aren't being illegally funneled in support of politicians like Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, an ongoing criminal prosecution of a local teacher union boss in Florida is just the latest example of illegal electioneering by union bosses.
According to prosecutors, former Broward Teachers Union (BTU) president Patrick Santeramo illegally funneled tens of thousands of dollars into political campaigns including Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.
Santeramo allegedly asked BTU union members to contribute to Hillary Clinton's and other politicians' campaigns and reimbursed them using union funds.
"Fraudulent reimbursements were used to conceal and launder these contributions by disguising them in the BTU books and records using false account classification designations," according to the criminal complaint.
The SEIU's endorsement of Hillary Clinton this week makes it clear that the 2016 election season is upon us, and we must be vigilant against any Big Labor illegality.
No other nationwide organization is poised to spring into action immediately to stop Big Labor's illegal use of forced-dues cash to advance its political agenda.
Thank you for your continued support making this work possible.
Sincerely,
Mark Mix
P.S. The Foundation relies completely on voluntary contributions from its supporters to provide free legal aid. Please chip in with a tax-deductible contribution of $10 or more today to support the Foundation's programs.
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