Clinton support puts union arm in debt ($1 million loan)

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Washington Times

By Jim McElhatton

The independent political arm of the nation's largest government workers union has taken out a $1 million loan to replenish its coffers after spending millions of dollars backing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and criticizing her rival, Sen. Barack Obama, according to campaign records.

Despite the union's endorsement of Mrs. Clinton, state chapters of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in Illinois and Oregon have broken with the national leadership in recent months and thrown their support behind Mr. Obama.

Filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show that the union's political group, AFSCME People, took out a $1 million loan on Feb. 25 from Amalgamated Bank in New York while spending more than $2 million to sway the Democratic contest. The expenditures included more than $200,000 in negative mailers against Mr. Obama in New Hampshire, Iowa and Ohio.

Several AFSCME vice presidents worry that the move could hurt the union if Mr. Obama secures the Democratic nomination.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/NATION/657196103/1001

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2 page story. I'm not a happy AFSCME member about this.

[Kittycat]

1. I was going to ask what AFSCME Members think of this

I think it's incredibly wrong for them to take out a loan for negative campaigning within the party - or at all. They are putting their own members at risk doing that.

[roguevalley]

6. this one is pissed. I will be letting them know too.

[Cha]

14. Yeah, what were they thinking?

"Inevitability"? Biting them?

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. Oregon AFSCMEasked natl group to NOT campaign for Clinton in Oregon, Natl Group did anyway

From the end of page one, and part of page two:

But Ken Allen, executive director of Oregon AFSCME Council 75, has said the national union ignored requests from his state chapter to refrain from campaigning for Mrs. Clinton in Oregon, which holds its primary today....


"///President McEntee has ignored our requests and sent a mail piece on behalf of Sen. Clinton, phoned our members, moved staff to Oregon to assist the Clinton campaign and now is sending off another mailer," Mr. Allen wrote in a May 7 letter to state union members, which is posted on the state chapter's Web site, www.oregonafscme.com.

"McEntee's actions are disrespectful to our Oregon leaders, members and a waste of money," he added. "Given the status of the race at this time his efforts are probably meaningless."

[last1standing]

3. It might be time to take legal action against the leadership.

That is some incredible mismanagement and a waste of funds that could have gone to help the membership. I used to respect AFSCME as a member but they have definitely taken a wrong turn someplace.

[raystorm7]

4. Its that disease that struck Hillary thats spreading to other organizations =/

[Gman]

5. Good for AFSCME!

They're doing everything they can to nominate a candidate that's electable in November.

[Pastiche423]

7. But she won't win Oregon!

[Amonester]

8. Even getting their members deep into unnecessary debt...

(without their consent...)

Maybe the leadership don't know anything about... math!

Or maybe they really wanna get... sued!

[Gman]

22. That's an anti-union argument. Every union buster around uses it

You don't like unions, do you? So WTF are you doing being an alleged Democrat?

[primavera]

10. Whether their constituents like it or not!

That's the spirit of democracy we've come to expect from the Clinton camp! You don't have to like me, just shut up and do what I tell you!

[high density]

12. Thank goodness we had the electable John Kerry in 2004.

He's doing great as president.

[ingac70]

9. WTF?

The membership needs to take that money out of the leadership's ass.

[high density]

11. Why was AFSCME trashing Obama instead of McCain?

The pro-Clinton turds pulling the strings at these places have no clue what they're doing.

[lakeguy]

13. so the union is spending money

trashing a dem? wow, never thought i'd be upset i was in a union but i guess there's a first for everything since this primary started.

[WilliamPitt]

15. Gee, this Titanic is a nifty ship! Hey, are you guys polishing that brass? Cool, lemme help!

First, I should rearrange these deck chairs. It's nice the band is still playing.

*blub*

Darwin. :shrug:

[Omaha Steve]

16. AFSCME’s 2008 Presidential Endorsement Process

This was done when Senator Clinton was up by 40 points in the polls.

http://www.afscmevotes.org/pages/endorsement_process

Over the past 10 months, AFSCME has conducted the most exhaustive and intensive member-driven endorsement process ever organized by any union in the history of presidential politics. AFSCME members across the country have participated in the process. We sponsored candidate forums, met with the candidates, reviewed the candidates’ records and positions on the issues, and did extensive polling of AFSCME members nationally and in several key states.

AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee said the ultimate goal of the process has been clear: “We have the most talented and diverse field of candidates in years, giving us a historic opportunity to elect a candidate who will fight for working families. Our endorsement decision will hinge on the candidate’s record, position on the issues, the viability of their campaign, and their ability to inspire and motivate our members.”

Included in AFSCME’s endorsement process were these events and activities:

* We created a Presidential Search Committee to reach out to the candidates and their campaigns, in both parties, to determine who had the best record of support for working families, who had the best program for the future and who would be the most effective candidate in the 2008 general election campaign. In recent months, all of the major Democratic candidates and their campaign staffs met with the AFSCME Presidential Search Committee. Not one Republican candidate has completed the AFSCME candidate questionnaire nor requested an interview with the committee.
* AFSCME hosted the first candidate forum of the 2008 campaign, nationally televised from Carson City, Nevada, in February, where members were able to see the candidates in action and ask questions of importance to working families.
* In June, AFSCME hosted a second nationally televised candidate forum during our National Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., where 2,000 AFSCME leaders and activists from across the country were able to hear first-hand from the candidates.
* More than 1.6 million active members and retirees received by mail a summary of the candidates’ responses to a detailed questionnaire on issues that matter to AFSCME members, including retirement security, health care and protecting public services.
* Thousands of members throughout the country participated in meetings with local and national leaders to discuss the 2008 election. Many met with candidates who came to their conventions and meetings, spoke at rallies and marched on picket lines.

Members throughout the country were surveyed regularly on their candidate preferences through scientific, representative phone calls. In recent weeks, in a first for any union, more than 850,000 AFSCME households were surveyed and asked to express their support for the candidate of their choice. Senator Hillary Clinton was the overwhelming choice of AFSCME’s membership in every survey and phone poll -- nationally and in targeted states.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

18. AFSCME & Union bashers will have a field day with this

As you pointed out in your post the extensive efforts taken to determine that "Senator Hillary Clinton was the overwhelming choice of AFSCME’s membership in every survey and phone poll", and that "This was done when Senator Clinton was up by 40 points in the polls", it appears the Union acted according to the wishes of the majority of the membership.

Nothing to see here, move along...

"Filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show that the union's political group, AFSCME People, took out a $1 million loan on Feb. 25 from Amalgamated Bank in New York while spending more than $2 million to sway the Democratic contest"

I'm thinking a more accurate wording would have been "took out a $1 million loan on Feb. 25 from Amalgamated Bank in New York AFTER spending more than $2 million SUPPORTING Mrs Clinton.

"The INDEPENDENT POLITICAL ARM of the nation's largest government workers union has taken out a $1 million loan to REPLENISH IT'S COFFERS..."

SOP. Every Union has a PAC which is funded by a percentage of dues collected allocated to this fund.

Nothing to see here, all is well, move along...

However, the "$200,000 in negative mailers against Mr. Obama" and the fact that "Ken Allen, executive director of Oregon AFSCME Council 75, has said the national union ignored requests from his state chapter to refrain from campaigning for Mrs. Clinton in Oregon" cannot be explained away.

[madrchsod]

17. my wife is a member here in illinois

their contract is up this year and it`s not going to be nice....

taking out a loan for a bad investment is not what the union should be doing.unions should contribute equally between the candidates.....

[LiberalFighter]

20. The smart thing for them to do would be to wait until the primaries were over

and then when the nominee was determine then contribute. If they time it right they could had made the primary contribution near the same time they made the general election contribution.

Instead, they wasted finances on the losing candidate when it could had been used for the winner.

[LiberalFighter]

19. IMO the unions should had stayed out until the primaries were over.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

21. DING! DING! DING! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

Or at least contributed more evenly to BOTH candidates, maybe 60/40 or whatever.

edit to add text