Posted on 10/20/2008 6:52:17 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
A Los Angeles labor leader now the target of a corruption probe routinely ordered employees of a charity he headed to work on campaigns for political candidates -- a practice barred by law -- according to people who said they participated in such activities.
Tyrone Freeman, president of the Service Employees International Union's largest California local, later denied to the Internal Revenue Service that the charity employees were required to do campaign work, said a person close to an IRS inquiry into the matter.
Because they are subsidized by taxpayers, charities are forbidden to take part in campaigns for public office, directly or indirectly. Violations can cost charities their tax exemptions and lead to other penalties.
It is unclear what resulted from the 2006 IRS inquiry into Freeman's nonprofit, a training center for low-income workers. Citing privacy statutes, an IRS spokesperson declined to discuss any investigation of the group. The charity's tax-exempt status apparently remained unchanged.
Six people who worked for either the union or the charity told The Times that Freeman, and others at the labor organization acting on his behalf, ordered the nonprofit's staffers to join partisan get-out-the-vote drives and other campaign efforts during and after their regular hours. The former employees spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation and legal jeopardy.
"We constantly told Tyrone that it was inappropriate, but he constantly had us out in the field," said one former charity worker. "Lists were always provided to him. If you weren't there, you got ratted out."
Freeman could not be reached for comment, and attempts to interview his attorney were unsuccessful. An SEIU spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., said the union knew nothing about any campaign work by the charity workers or an IRS examination.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Barred by law in every state, and openly violated nearly every day of campaign season...
I read the first six or seven pararaphs... No mention of the party they were doing work for....
Must be a chip off the block.
Shocking...I never would have thought..../sarc
I don’t think I have the courage to read even that far. If it was the republican party, it would have led the article!
I hate having to excerpt but if you go down a bit further in the piece, democrats are listed including John Kerry and Karen Bass, the new State Assembly leader
If it's the SEIU, AFSCME, or even IBEW, it's going to be cheating and vote stealing for the Dims.
More of The One’s stormtroopers.
He’s a lib. Move along, nothing to see here, folks.
This is normal SOP for Civil Service Labor Unions. My mom used to work for the state and every two years they were asked if they wanted to “volunteer” to work phone banks or putting out signs and etc. for their union endorsed candidates. According to my mom, if you didn’t “volunteer” or have a good reason for not doing so, your work efficiency usually took a hit for the next few months due to files mysteriously getting lost, unexplained computer problems, and etc. which in turn did wonders for your review.
I’m shocked! There’s a corrupt labor leader? Say it ain’t so!
Went to a recent Palin rally, and some guy in an SEIU windbreaker was leading the anti-Palin demonstration. He was showing kids how to march around in circles with signs.
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