Revelations About the SEIU's Union Mole Inside the White House

Do you know what a union mole is?  A union mole is someone who is paid by a union to get a job at a company and then secretly work with his outside union handlers on spreading the union word throughout the company from within.

While so much time and focus has been spent on the SEIU's Andy Stern and Anna Burger, their frequent visits to the White House, and their appointments on presidential task forces, very little attention has been paid to the SEIU's full-time guy inside the White House, White House Political Director and former SEIU New York boss Patrick Gaspard.

Gaspard served as national political director for much of Obama's general election campaign and was named deputy director of personnel for the transition effort. Prior to his work with Obama, Gaspard was the lead political operative for the 1199 branch of the Service Employees International Union, a huge and hugely influential union representing health care workers in New York. He spent the 2004 general election as the national field director for America Coming Together.

Recently, there's been some light shed on the SEIU's mole inside the White House that, not surprisingly, the mainstream media (MSM) has not picked up on.

Several weeks ago, Big Government blogger Kyle Olsen exposed the fact that, in 2009, the SEIU 1199 paid Gaspard $37,191.  That's on top of the $74,552 that SEIU 1199 paid Gaspard in 2008.

Now, the unanswered question is: Why did the SEIU pay nearly $40,000 to the White House Political Director?

Keeping in mind that Gaspard spend much of 2008 on the Obama campaign, as well as from November 2008 through January 2009 working on Obama's transition, the SEIU can't really claim Gaspard was doing any SEIU work in 2009...or was he?

Is there any correlation?

This past Saturday, Politico's Ben Smith broke an intriguing story about SEIU's Andy Stern and Anna Burger having "advanced" talk" with Gaspard about taking over the SEIU as the number two person, to replace Anna Burger when she assumed Andy Stern's role upon his retirement.

The talks grew quite advanced: Stern and Burger spoke with George Gresham, the pivotal president of the union's largest local, New York's 1199, and offered him assurances not just that Gaspard would be given the number-two job, but that he would eventually succeed Burger as president, the sources said. Gresham indicated that he would throw his weight behind the slate.


Gaspard, who left the post of 1199 political director to take the same job on the Obama campaign, could well have pulled a united union behind Burger. Between the support of 1199 and the catch of a former senior White House official, it's unclear that a rival campaign would have developed.


"They started working on him in late January/early February to join her as Secretary Treasurer while Anna filled out the remainder of Andy's term," one of the sources said. "Their calculus was that he would never turn down the dream job -- President of SEIU -- and that this would lock in the votes for her because Gresham and [executive board member Gerald] Hudson would give her their votes since they are tight with Gaspard."


Another source said that while there was never an explicit promise of when Burger would hand over the reins to Gaspard, the promise of the presidency at some point was explicit.

Although the early leak of Stern's resignation from the SEIU supposedly squelched the triumvirate talks over who would run the SEIU, it was the internal mutiny against Burger taking over the SEIU helm that completely fried any chances that the plot plan to put Gaspard into the number two seat would come to fruition.

According to Smith's sources, Gaspard turned the offer down out of "loyalty" to the President.  However, that too is questionable, since it appears there was already an underground campaign to keep Burger from taking Stern's position once he left.

Of course, it remains arguable whether the Obama administration's rules prohibiting aides from becoming lobbyists would restrict Gaspard from going back to the SEIU, especially since the rules against lobbying seem so unclear in the SEIU's case.

But, of course, you can learn all about this in the media...[When the starts doing its job.]

In the meantime, regardless of whether Mary Kay Henry or Anna Burger is running the purple behemoth, the SEIU still has its mole man inside the White House, doing its bidding and keeping an eye on the union's investment, and it looks like that's not going to change any time soon.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Labor Shorts: Exposing Union Bosses One Skid Mark at a Time

This week, to give break to the weightier milieu of the union agenda we wanted to lighten things up a bit by bringing back our ever-popular Labor Shorts and share some of the usual (and not-so-usual) shenanigans of today's union bosses:

First things first:

• The NLRB Scorecard: With the new, union-controlled National Labor Relations Board finally seated, we introduced the NLRB Scoreboard on the LaborUnionReport blog over the weekend to keep an unofficial tally of NRLB decisions, as well as general NLRB "stuff" (blogs and other souvenirs from the Land of Liebman and Becker).  If you have suggestions, blogs you'd like to see posted, tips, or see a case we haven't posted, please give us a shout here.
• NLRB Blowback: The business community is on edge, as Politico notes this morning, over President Obama's appointment of Craig Becker to the NLRB, as well as the prospect of appointing the NLRB's General Counsel in the Fall.  We blogged about it here.

All About Andy...

• His 'time to leave'...Ever since SEIU top boss Andy Stern's announced "retirement" from the SEIU last week, the pundits (from yours truly to Glenn Beck) have been trying to figure out why.  Then, on Thursday, like a post-bean dip epiphany, everything became eye-wateringly clear with a story that summed it all up:  Andy changed America forever, lost interest in the day-to-day running of the SEIU and got bored.  In fact, in his pontificating-on-all-things-union interview with a fawning Ezra Klein, Stern ends the speculation (and interview) by stating that he's going to the beach (...we'll see).
• Good Riddance... says former friend and current arch rival Sal Roselli.
• A Purple Palace Coup challenges the Queen of Labor... Instead of ensuring a smooth transition for his presumed successor, Anna Burger, Andy has left Anna flailing without as much as a simple nod or endorsement. The Queen of Labor's throne very is much in play, with a challenge from inside the purple palace.  Now, in an internal letter to the SEIU Executive Board, four out of nine executive vice presidents have endorsed one of their own, Mary Kay Henry, in her bid to replace Andy Stern.
• AFSCME and I'll tell ya... Loud, foul-mouth AFSCME boss Gerry McEntee threw a splash of cold water on the hopes of a family reunion in the House of Labor, stating the SEIU's rumored re-entry into the AFL-CIO is not likely.
• Now, that's what friends are for... As Andy looked on last Friday, actor-turned-union-activist Danny Glover received a pair of shiny silver bracelets at one of the Sodexho protests.
• A most Dangerous Place... Between Andy Stern and a microphone, notes Bret Jacobson on Breitbart's Big Government.com, as Andy asserts unions don't cost taxpayers a dime...(!)

When Hypocrisy Strikes...

• Shock! Not All Unions Like Card-Check...? After hundreds of millions spent and years of hard work to pass the job-destroying and hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act, it's hard to believe (well, maybe not) that when a union's own employees want to unionize, the union-employer wouldn't just voluntarily succumb agree to recognize the union based on card-check.  Such is the case here.
• Shhh!... Don't tell the UFCW you saw this, 'cause this is not your normal UFCW strike and they'd rather not have it talked about.
• Oh Hilda! You've got picketers at your door!  Will you or won't you cross?
• An Injury to One?... AFSCME throws Solidarity Under the Bus...  (again...)

Strike That!...

• Eee Gads! That Stinks! New Yorkers may soon discover the joys of hailing their own taxis, hauling their own garbage to the curb and opening their own doors if SEIU's 32BJ pulls 30,000 doormen (and women) out on strike tomorrow.  [Factoid: NYC produces 11,000 tons of garbage every day...who knew?]
• A juicy one...? The UFCW's RWDSU might be walking out on strike at Mott's NY applesauce and juice plant.
• Week Four... The Machinists at Merrill Manufacturing Corp. have been on the lines for four weeks.  Problem is, the company is operating at full capacity with replacement workers.
• Schools Out... Teachers in the North Penn School District walked out on their students Monday, causing classes to be cancelled.
• No Contract, No Talks, but No Strike either... The Teamster still don't have a contract with Waste Management in WaSta, but they're not striking either.  (Here's why.)

And then there's this...

• The bigger they are... On the same day President Obama rewarded his union buddies with a federal PLA on construction projects, a union-owned and built high rise was condemned for shoddy construction.

If you can't do the time...

• Stealing $50,000 earns this union boss no time served ever
• Stealing $110,000 netted this CWA boss five years probation, six months home detention and 200 hours of community service
• Allegedly stealing $46,000, draining the union's bank account, a firefighter from Norwell, CT earned himself a pair of shiny new bracelets
  
  

And this...

• Dumb & Dumber? Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) call unions strongest proponent of good government.
• In space DC, no one can hear you scream...  Where are the investigations (and media)??? A week ago, it was revealed that the SEIU paid the White House Political Director (former SEIU boss Patrick Gaspard) $37,000 in 2009 and, so far, there is only...silence.

And, that, dear readers, wraps up this week's edition of LaborUnionReport.com's LaborShorts.

__________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Follow LaborUnionReport on Twitter.

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

As long as Obama does the SEIU's bidding, he is and always will be "anti-business"

President Obama has been bending over backwards lately trying to craft himself as "pro-business/pro-free-market." Almost invoking the spirit of Ayn Rand, Obama has even declared himself to be "an ardent believer in the free market" while making an effort to rebut claims that his policies are "socialist" (a never-before heard statement from a President of the United States, as far as we can tell).

In a recent BusinessWeek interview, Obama even went so far as to state that "We are fierce advocates for a thriving, dynamic free market," before stating (later in the interview) in a Joe-Wilson moment:

You would be hard-pressed to identify a piece of legislation that we have proposed out there that, net, is not good for businesses.

With all due respect, Mr. President:  You lie...er...That is not quite accurate.

Just today, the New York Times reported that the Obama administration, in a throwback to the Clinton administration's "blacklisting" program, is looking at using the awarding of government contracts as a way of paying back organized labor, which will affect one quarter of all working Americans.

By altering how it awards $500 billion in contracts each year, the government would disqualify more companies with labor, environmental or other violations and give an edge to companies that offer better levels of pay, health coverage, pensions and other benefits, the officials said.

Because nearly one in four workers is employed by companies that have contracts with the federal government, administration officials see the plan as a way to shape social policy and lift more families into the middle class. It would affect contracts like those awarded to make Army uniforms, clean federal buildings and mow lawns at military bases.

[snip]

Randel K. Johnson, senior vice president for labor at the United States Chamber of Commerce, called the plan a “warmed-over version” of President Bill Clinton’s regulations that sought to bar federal agencies from awarding contracts to companies with a record of breaking labor, environmental or consumer laws. President George W. Bush vacated those regulations soon after taking office.

“We strongly opposed the Clinton blacklist regulations,” Mr. Johnson said, “and this appears worse than that.”

Then, of course, there's the so-called "cap and trade" which, according to the Wall Street Journal, results in the greatest inequities being imposed "on the parts of the U.S. that rely most on manufacturing or fossil fuels -- particularly coal, which generates most power in the Midwest, Southern and Plains states."

Next up is the mother-of-all bad ideas, the job-destroying Employee Free Choice Act (or EFCA).  EFCA, which consists of effectively eliminating workers' right to a secret-ballot during unionization campaigns and forcing government-imposed union contracts on businesses (large and small), has been estimated to add one percent of unemployment for every three percent of union membership gains.  

As the White House released its first "Annual Report of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class" earlier today, Labor Pains blogger J. Justin Wilson notes:

Among the pro-labor policies touted in the report on the “Middle Class,” starting on page 23 is a page plus on the importance of EFCA and the values it embodies. The report calling for EFCA does not mean it’s less dead, it’s just that the Administration has a responsibility to stay positive on the party line.

“Unions” or “unionization were mentioned 34 times, by my count. By contrast,”small business(es)” were mentioned just 8 times. The word “entrepreneur” is never even mentioned in the report. Heck, even the Great Depression got mentioned twice.

The House Republicans' Committee on Education and Labor had this to say on task force report:

Not surprisingly, union expansion is a major theme, with special attention paid to the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a noted job killer.

“Over the course of this year, the Task Force will continue to promote the benefits of union membership and to amplify the President’s message of the importance of EFCA as a way to guarantee workers who want to organize a fair chance to do so.”

Lastly, Mr. Obama's and his fellow Democrats' up-in-the-air-at-the-moment and ever-shifting attempt to nationalize the America's health care industry is being pushed with yet-unknown edicts on business, as well as an unknown price tag. However, one thing is sure, according to the Heritage Foundation, unions will be the beneficiary of "Obamacare."

The union movement will gain billions of dollars if Obamacare passes.

The most obvious payout is the taxpayer bailout for union health plans. Many union-negotiated retiree health plans cannot pay their scheduled benefits. Rather than reducing benefits, the bill passes those costs onto taxpayers to the tune of $10 billion. But that is small potatoes compared to what the bill will do for union membership.

[snip]

If the government runs health care, then the SEIU's membership rolls will swell. If union rates among nurses in America rose to Canadian levels, then the SEIU would bring in over a billion dollars a year in new mandatory dues. Newly organized technicians and other medical support staff would add even more to that total. The Labor movement has a huge financial stake in the government dominating health care.

We have long commented on SEIU's Andy Stern and Anna Berger's influence on POTUS.  Prior to Andy becoming the most frequent visitor to the White house and before Obama ascendency to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, then-candidate Obama even pledged his allegiance to the SEIU.

So far, Obama's allegiance to the SEIU has resulted in the President's efforts to push initiatives that are beneficial to the SEIU (and other unions), as well as the elevation of key SEIU officials to influential positions: 

• White House Director of Political Affairs, Patrick Gaspard was a high ranking SEIU boss in New York.
• SEIU EVP Anna Burger was appointed to the aforementioned White House Task Force on the Middle Class last year
• SEIU Associate General Counsel Craig Becker, before failing to get Senate confirmation, has been nominated and re-nominated by Obama. (It remains to be seen whether the President will seat Becker using a recess appointment later in the year.)
• Lastly, the man behind the curtain, SEIU's president Andy Stern was appointed earlier today to sit on the so-called "deficit commission."

According to The Hill:

Business groups opposed to the card-check bill that has dominated fights between business and labor for more than a year railed against the decision to appoint Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

“Either the White House doesn’t read the newspaper or simply doesn’t care, but naming Andy Stern as a member of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility doesn’t pass the laugh test,” said Katie Packer, executive director of the Workforce Fairness Institute.

As the SEIU has spent millions upon millions of its members dues money on putting President Obama into the White House, one could expect the President to reward his backers.

However, for the President to try to claim that he is a proponent of the free market or try to downplay his anti-business creds is beyond laughable, it's preposterous. 

---------------------------

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Follow LaborUnionReport on Twitter.

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Will Unions’ Billion Dollars Buy Exemption from Obama’s Crackdown on Lobbyists?

The Obama administration is giving lobbyists the boot, according to the Washington Post, in an effort to reduce their influence in Washington.

No, really. It's not a joke. The Washington Post says it's the case.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of lobbyists are likely to be ejected from federal advisory panels as part of a little-noticed initiative by the Obama administration to curb K Street's influence in Washington, according to White House officials and lobbying experts.

The new policy -- issued with little fanfare this fall by the White House ethics counsel -- may turn out to be the most far-reaching lobbying rule change so far from President Obama, who also has sought to restrict the ability of lobbyists to get jobs in his administration and to negotiate over stimulus contracts. [Emphasis added.]

The Heritage Foundation notes that "[u]nions as a whole spent more than $1 billion of their members' dues to elect Obama and the current Congress."

Apparently, however, the Administration has forgotten all the union appointees like Patrick Gaspard (White House Communications Dir.), Ellen Moran (Commerce Department), Mary Beth Maxwell (Dept. of Labor), Jordan Barab (OSHA), Craig Becker (NLRB nominee) or John Sullivan (Federal Elections Commission) that have been handed plum jobs due to their special interest advocacy.

The initiative is aimed at a system of advisory committees so vast that federal officials don't have exact numbers for its size; the most recent estimates tally nearly 1,000 panels with total membership exceeding 60,000 people.

Under the policy, which is being phased in over the coming months, none of the more than 13,000 lobbyists in Washington would be able to hold seats on the committees, which advise agencies on trade rules, troop levels, environmental regulations, consumer protections and thousands of other government policies.

"Some folks have developed a comfortable Beltway perch sitting on these boards while at the same time working as lobbyists to influence the government," said White House ethics counsel Norm Eisen, who disclosed the policy in a September blog posting on the White House Web site. "That is just the kind of special interest access that the president objects to." [Emphasis added.]

There is little doubt that the "special interests" the White House is aiming at do not include union bosses like SEIU's Andy Stern (who seems to have his own key to the Lincoln Bedroom) and Anna Burger, or the AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka, all of whom enjoyed a seat at the White House state dinner last week and spent hundreds of millions of dollars putting Obama into office.

[Of course, perhaps the White House is only targeting registered lobbyists. If that's the case, unregistered Andy Stern may be off the hook and the hypocrisy can continue.]

Follow LaborUnionReport on Twitter.

Cross-posted on RedState.

KEEPING IT ON THE DOWN LOW: Obama's SEIU Man in the White House Gets Exposed Down Under

Some of the best reporting comes from some of the oddest places (like New Zealand).

As America is now beginning to learn, our federal government has been taken over by (to borrow a term) "union thugs."

While other unions have their people in different positions throughout the government, none has had as many people put into higher places than the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). [To read more about SEIU, go here.]

For example, lavender-lapeled labor lord, SEIU's Andy Stern, has had the Obama administration put Ellen Moran into the Department of Commerce (after a brief stint as White House Communications Director), Dennis Rivera in charge of Obama's attack on health care and, like a hand in a rubber glove, Patrick Gaspard (from SEIU 1199) is the President's Political Director.

Due to revelations coming to light over ACORN, Gaspard's SEIU ties to the nutty organization are being exposed, as well as his current influence on the administration being called into question.

To expose the ties between Gaspard and the machinery of the Marxist left, Trevor Loudon, chief blogger at New Zeal has posted a good, but lengthy, connect-the-dots post on Gaspard and his ties (scroll to 10/1/09 post).

It will be interesting to see if Obama circles the wagons around Gaspard, or throws him under the bus, as he did communist Van Jones.

We'll just have to wait and watch.

Follow LUR's posts on Twitter.