Service Employees International Union

Union blasts SEANC leaders

bniolet — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:17:28 -0400

A national labor union has stepped into the Wake County school board elections to endorse candidates and fling barbs at State Employees Association head Dana Cope.

UNITE HERE, which represents hospitality and textile workers, issued a press release today endorsing Rita Rakestraw in District 1 and Karen Simon in District 7 for their support of Wake's school diversity policy, T. Keung Hui reports on his Wake Ed blog.

UNITE HERE said it felt "morally obligated to get involved" because Cope, executive director of the State Employees Association of N.C., and Ardis Watkins, legislative director of SEANC, had formed the Children's PAC to back candidates who support neighborhood schools. UNITE HERE said Cope and Watkins "have done their union and the union movement a real disservice."

SEANC is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union.

Cope and Watkins couldn't be reached for comment this afternoon.

The Children's PAC officially shut down last week. But the group plans to work with the Wake Schools Community Alliance in the school board races.

Update: Cope has responded to UNITE HERE's news release.

"Obviously UNITE HERE, which is a Washington D.C. union, has no clue with what's going on in Wake County," Cope said. "The Wake County school board is not progressive in its policies. It's deterimental to families."

To illustrate his point, Cope gave the example of Southeast Raleigh children being bused to Brier Creek Elementary in northwest Raleigh. He said Brier Creek was too far away for his SEANC members in Southeast Raleigh to be involved at the school.

Unions put millions into health debate

bniolet — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:41:15 -0400

* Labor unions trying to shape the nation's health-reform debate have poured millions of dollars into the campaign coffers of North Carolina lawmakers in recent years.

Since 2003, unions have spent $3.4 million to elect allies from the Tar Heel state to the U.S. House and Senate. Nearly all of it has gone to Democrats.

North Carolina, a right-to-work state, has the second-lowest union representation and the lowest union membership rate in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

But key voting blocs, including state workers and many service workers, are represented by labor groups such as the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU. Labor groups have organized rallies, town hall meetings, phone banks and advertising in support of health-care reform.

Of the state's 13 House members, Democrat Brad Miller of Raleigh received the most union money — $588,000. (N&O)

* North Carolina community colleges leaders have drawn up a new policy that would allow illegal immigrants into the two-year colleges.

The state Board of Community Colleges' policy committee on Thursday drafted rules that would admit undocumented immigrants if they graduated from a U.S. high school. The students would have to pay out-of-state tuition rates and could not take a seat from students who are legal residents. (AP)

SEANC candidates did well

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:23:24 -0500

Election Day was a good day for SEANC.

Only 17 of the 121 candidates endorsed by the State Employees Association of North Carolina did not win election — an 86 percent success rate for the state workers' group.

Big wins included Governor-elect Beverly Perdue, who writes the state budget and can veto legislation on state workers' issues; Lt. Governor-elect Walter Dalton, who presides over the state Senate; 29 of 32 endorsed Senate races and 67 of 74 House races.

Among the disappointments was state Auditor Les Merritt, a rare Republican to receive the group's backing; Commissioner of Labor Mary Fant Donnan, who had pledged to be more labor-friendly; and Ed Ridpath, a perennial candidate who had hoped to unseat House Republican leader Paul Stam.

State organizer Kevin LeCount said SEANC's political action committee spent about $250,000 on the election, including 48,500 mailers touting the endorsements and donations of up to $4,000 to legislative candidates.

SEANC's national affiliate, the Service Employees International Union, also spent money on the governor's race.

Unions give to Democratic party

bniolet — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:54:39 -0400

Labor unions last week gave $730,000 to the N.C. Democratic Party, which in turn gave large contributions to the party's nominee for governor.

Campaign finance reports show that the state Democratic Party received $730,000 from three union political action committees. The party then turned around and gave Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's campaign an $875,000 contribution and spent $245,000 to send mailers on her behalf. That infusion of cash represents a quarter of the $4.6 million Perdue raised in the last three months.

Detailed campaign finance reports for the last three months are not yet publicly available. The donations were included in required 48-hour reports over the last week.

More after the jump.

What is the Alliance for North Carolina?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:03:11 -0400

Answer:

An independent group running ads attacking Republican gubernatorial nominee Pat McCrory.

As a so-called "527" tax-exempt organization, the Alliance for North Carolina cannot run political ads for or against candidates, though it can run "issue ads" that are negative about a candidate.

The group was formed in May of 2006 as the Pioneer Majority to "communicate with the public on issues that relate to the election of a candidate for state or local office," according to forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the Pioneer Majority received $45,000 from the Democratic Governors Association, another 527 group, in the 2006 elections. It spent the money on research and political consulting in the Oklahoma governor's race.

The group was renamed the Alliance for North Carolina on July 15, 2008. It registered a Web site two days later.

Its Raleigh address — 514 Daniels St. No. 134, Raleigh 27605 — is a Mail Boxes Etc. chain. A second address — 300 M St., Suite 1102, Washington, D.C. 20003 — is the law offices of Sandler, Reiff & Young.

The company listed its contact as Craig Varoga, cofounder of VRS Consulting and a former campaign manager for Gov. Tom Vilsack's presidential campaign.

In mid August, the group released an economic plan that mostly echoed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue's proposals.

The group ran five ads attacking McCrory:

* BEST WAY: In late July, it began airing a TV ad attacking McCrory's positions on community college, the minimum wage and a Charlotte City Council pay raise and encouraging voters to call McCrory. The group reserved $450,000 in air time for the first ad.

* MOVE: In mid August, the group began airing a second TV ad attacking McCrory on the minimum wage, Charlotte pay raises, perks for city officials and a trip to Paris. It spent $250,000 on the second ad, noting on a state form that the money came from the Service Employees International Union.

* RAISE: In late September, it aired a third ad that attacked McCrory over Charlotte's crime raise and pay raises for city police and firefighters.

* STAND UP: A fourth ad in mid-October linked McCrory to President Bush and criticized Charlotte's taxes.

* RESULT: A fifth ad in late October again linked McCrory to Bush, arguing he supported less regulation of big business.

According to the Arlington-based Campaign Media Analysis Group, the group spent nearly $2.4 million on TV ads attacking McCrory.

Money also came from two other 527 groups. The Democratic Governors Association gave $500,000 in financial backing to the Alliance and the National Education Association gave $250,000.

The group's spokesman is Scott Falmlen, a political consultant with Nexus Strategies in Raleigh.

Brief:

An independent group running ads attacking Republican gubernatorial nominee Pat McCrory.

Freedom's Watch making calls on Hagan

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:19:01 -0400

Freedom's Watch is calling North Carolina voters about Kay Hagan.

The Washington-based conservative lobbying group is making automated calls to North Carolina voters that say Hagan is soft on illegal immigration.

As with some other third-party efforts, the calls are not legally allowed to be coordinated with either Hagan's Senate campaign or U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's. They also do not mention the campaign, instead focusing on the issue and encouraging voters to call Hagan.

Greensboro blogger Ed Cone has reported receiving the calls, as has the Dole campaign's headquarters.

Update: Dome readers report receiving calls from the Change to Win Federation, a coalition of the Service Employees International Union and other unions, that promote Hagan.

Second Update: A BlueNC blogger and an N&O staffer report receiving a robocall from the Associated Builders & Contractors Free Enterprise Alliance criticizing Hagan.

SEANC turns purple

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:15:28 -0400

State workers may need to buy some purple T-shirts.

The State Employees' Association of North Carolina is now affilliated with the Service Employees International Union.

At a convention on May 3, the state workers' group voted by a 78 percent margin — 524 out of 671 delegates — to affiliate with SEIU, a national labor union representing 1.9 million people known for its purple shirts.

"This vote marks the largest union victory ever for working people across the South — especially in North Carolina, which previously had the lowest rate of unionization in the country," said SEANC executive director Dana Cope in a statement.

SEANC hopes to use the resources of SEIU to fight a 1959 law restricting state workers from collective bargaining. Currently, North Carolina is the only state with that prohibition.

The group will now be known as SEANC, SEIU Local 2008.

The Daily Edwards

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 08:38:17 -0500

OBJECTS IN MIRROR: John Edwards may be closer than he appears in Iowa, reports the Boston Globe. He's working the rural counties, where it takes only 22 caucus-goers to win a delegate, compared to 80 in urban areas, and he's picked up most of Dick Gephardt's 2004 trade union support. Who was Gephardt again?

THE OUTSIDERS: Edwards says outsiders (read: 527 groups) shouldn't spend money to influence elections, reports the New York Times. But the Alliance for a New America, set up by a local of the Service Employees International Union, is paying for ads promoting his campaign. Call it a Catch-527.

RE: CAMPAIGN '08: An internal memo from Edwards' deputy campaign manager says Edwards will hold a series of small round table discussions to push his positive middle-class message, says the Washington Post. It says the campaign is strong, etc. etc. Of course, would they write otherwise?

IN OTHER NEWS: Edwards new ad in New Hampshire tells voters "the power that comes with the presidency comes from you." At least until Inauguration Day, right? ... Edwards offers doughnuts to the undecided in Nashua. How long is the drive again? ... Elizabeth Edwards makes the "People Who Mattered" list in Time magazine's "Person of the Year" issue. Sort of the Miss Congeniality to Vladimir Putin's top spot. Of course, next to him, Attila the Hun would be prom king.

A big boost in Iowa?

bkrueger — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:42:13 -0400

John Edwards' campaign officials cast today's endorsement by the Iowa council of the Service Employees International Union as a boost in the state that kicks off the presidential campaign in January.

"SEIU is going to be a major player in Iowa on behalf of Sen. John Edwards," Edwards's campaign manager David Bonior told reporters, The Charlotte Observer's Jim Morrill reports.

SEIU has around 2,000 members in the state. Last week the national union - which claims 1.9-million members - decided not to make a national endorsement in the primaries.

Heading into the 2004 caucuses, SEIU endorsed Democrat Howard Dean. The former Vermont governor and then-U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri locked up most union endorsements that year. Each finished behind Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Edwards.

Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, Edwards' state campaign director, said this year's SEIU endorsement will be a big help.

"Two thousand members and their families will make a great difference to us on caucus night," she told reporters.

Edwards to pick up Iowa labor endorsement

bkrueger — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 10:01:35 -0400

John Edwards says he is getting another labor endorsement.

The Edwards campaign says the Iowa state council of the Service Employees International Union will announce today that it is endorsing Edwards for the Democratic nomination for president.

“SEIU is at forefront of the fight to make work pay and provide economic security to hardworking families. I have proudly stood with them on the frontlines of the fight for working Americans for years, and I am honored to earn their support today,” Edwards said in a statement.

"Together, I believe we can fix the broken system in Washington that has been rigged by corporate interests, and we can make this country work for regular Americans again.”