What You Leave Behind

I have previously reported on the efforts of Monty Kroopkin to enact reform down at one of SEIU's SoCal FrankenLocals, this one being 221 down in San Diego County. Now, anywhere you see a SEIU local "xx21", that's a pretty good indicator that the local has been merged out of a bunch of smaller locals by Our Glorious Maximum Leader, whereupon he decides who will run said merged local - and with SEIU, 100% of the time that person is somebody from Andy's inner circle, and almost all the time that person has no experience with that particular area.

And so was the case with the Stern-appointed president of FrankenLocal 221, in which Andy Stern appointed Sharon-Frances Moore to head that local comprised of San Diego County Employees, based (apparently) largely on her ability to host a quality fundraising party in the Tribeca section of New York.

Her efforts down at 221 were rewarded with "re-election" to her post as President of SEIU 221 last July. The details of that "election" merit some very specific study, in that a substantial amount of the eligible voters for that election did not receive their ballots, but almost all of the Moore supporters DID receive their ballots. But now, roughly six months after being "re-elected" to head 221, Sharon-Frances Moore has resigned as President of SEIU 221 for "personal reasons," according to the U-Trib's article.

But, as always with The Purple Plague, there's more to the story. The people who stepped in to fill the "void" left by Ms. Moore, who were also on her re-election slate last July, kicked things off down at 221 with a bang...

The Local 221 Acting President, James Slade, began tonight’s Executive Board meeting by “entertaining” a motion to “suspend the rules”. The motion passed, 7-2. Slade then announced that he, as chair of the meeting, would not recognize any non-board members to speak. The union’s constitution expressly states that members of the union have the right to be recognized and to be heard at Executive Board meetings. Although procedural rules adopted by the board may be suspended, the board has no authority to suspend the union’s constitution.

The constitution expressly provides that “The meetings of this Local Union shall be governed by Roberts Rules of Order” and “Subject to reasonable application, no provision of these Bylaws, rule of parliamentary procedure, or action by the Union or its officers shall be administered in such a way as to deprive individual members of the following rights: …The right to appear and be heard by the Executive Board of the Local Union.”

During the course of the meeting, a number of members did seek to be recognized or to make points of order, and Slade claimed they were out of order. He went further and said, at one point, that members who would not stop trying to speak would be held to be “insubordinate”. Members are not employed by the union and cannot be held to be “insubordinate.” Members pay union dues and support an annual union budget of more than $7 million dollars, and have legal rights of participation under both state and federal laws, as well as the union constitution and bylaws.

Slade also “ordered” the union’s paid staff to leave the room. They all did so, but the senior staff then returned to the room and stated that under the Local Union’s constitution and bylaws, the senior staff are dues paying members of the union, and cannot be forced to leave a normal meeting of the Executive Board. Using his new power as Acting President, Slade then told the senior staff that if they did not obey his order for them to leave the room that they would be “insubordinate”. Staff can be fired or disciplined for insubordination. The President of the union has hiring and firing power over the union’s paid staff. The staff did leave the room, under protest.

The Executive Board then approved a severance package including more than $107,000 in severance pay to Moore. The package, which was not provided to the board in written final form, was said to also include a waiver of Moore’s right to exercise her rights regarding any liability of the union.

The Acting President then informed the meeting that the union’s constitutional provision for division of the president’s powers would be implemented, because he works full time for the city of National City and is not willing to assume the president’s duties as a full-time job. The union’s constitution provides that the powers will be shared between the Vice-President, the Treasurer and the Secretary of the Local Union.

However, the position of Secretary has been vacant since July 2009 when Secretary Omar Lopez took a job at San Diego State University, and was therefore no longer a member of the union. Slade announced that one of the Executive Board members, Richard Lovett, would be “Acting Secretary” and would share the presidential powers. The union’s constitution does not allow the President to make any such appointment to fill a vacancy on the board. Only a vote of the Executive Board can fill a vacancy, and there has been no such vote.

Members are questioning if the severance package deal is “hush money” and asking if the union’s officials are trying to avoid another major press scandal over allegations of misuse of union funds.

The meeting was video taped, and members have the right to view the tape at the union hall.

The Local Union’s Constitution and Bylaws are available at the union’s website at
http://www.seiu221.org/bylaws/Default.aspx

The above incident evidently was too much even for Our Glorious Maximum Leader to stomach...

I have received a number of complaints raising serious allegations regarding the approval of a payment to the former President of Local 221, the approval of a consulting agreement with the former President of Local 221, the exercise of executive authority at the local union, and the conduct of the local union meeting held on January 19, 2010.

In addition, charges against Local 221 based on the matters contained in the complaints have been received by the International Union.

Pursuant to my authority under Article VIII, Section 7(g) of the SEIU Constitution and Bylaws, I have appointed Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina and SEIU Organizing Coordinator Ray Dzialo to be my Personal Representatives to Local 221 to assist Local 221 in meeting its internal needs (including investigation of these allegations), and to attend local union meetings.

I have directed my representatives to report to me within 30 days on the situation in Local 221.

In the interim, I counsel the Local 221 officers and Executive Board not to
execute or implement the challenged payments and contract at this time.

So good news and bad news for the rank-and-file of 221. The good news is that even Andy Stern can be forced to listen when confronted with overwhelming evidence.

The bad news is that the folks down at 221 now have Esquirol Medina on hand to "help" them, while establishing a sub-rosa trusteeship without the benefit of even a kangaroo court investigation.

And speaking from personal experience as a soon-to-be-former member of Zombie UHW, Medina's "help" can frequently leave much to be desired.

Gaming The System, Chowd Nation Edition

Much was made about a month ago of the election held in SEIU 888, in which the Stern- supported incumbent slate was tossed out on their butts by a 58-41 voting margin at the hands of a reform slate. Alas, as we all know, this is not allowed in AndyWorld, and the defeated slate of candidates decided to appeal.

The appeal was heard, and granted, by a "board" who were all appointed to their position by the defeated incumbent president, Susana Segat. Not surprisingly, this scrupulously independent board of election judges (/sarc) have granted all of Ms. Segat's wishes, and have overturned the election and have reinstated her and her compatriots on the 888 E-Board.

If you feel like inducing some serious vomiting, then click here to the SEIU 888 site and read just how low Andy and his Acolytes will go in order to hold onto power.

And oh by the way - the reform slate does have the opportunity to appeal this decision. That appeal would go directly to Our Glorioius Maximum Leader himself, who has in his power the right under the SEIU C&B document to render the final decision, without vote or input from anyone else.

Legitimacy evidently is no longer even a consideration at SEIU.

Gaming The System...

As we all know, the NLRB has turned out to be a major thorn in the side of those who believe in actual true workplace membership democracy. The NLRB has much bigger things to worry about, you see, such as making sure that one of Our Glorious Maximum Leaders shysters gets himself a cushy federal gig - at the NLRB...

Craig Becker, Nominee for Board Member, National Labor Relations Board - Craig Becker currently serves as Associate General Counsel to both the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations. He graduated summa cum laude from Yale College in 1978 and received his J.D. in 1981 from Yale Law School where he was an Editor of the Yale Law Journal. After law school he clerked for the Honorable Donald P. Lay, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. For the past 27 years, he has practiced and taught labor law. He was a Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law between 1989 and 1994 and has also taught at the University of Chicago and Georgetown Law Schools. He has published numerous articles on labor and employment law in scholarly journals, including the Harvard Law Review and Chicago Law Review, and has argued labor and employment cases in virtually every federal court of appeals and before the United States Supreme Court.

As the author of the article referenced above stated,

You know, if a corporate lawyer had written a Bush executive order, there would have been an uproar in the media. But when a union lawyer writes an Obama executive order? Nada. Maybe’s it’s worth a question at a confirmation hearing.

Damn skippy.

For All That'll Get Ya...

John Wilhelm of UNITE/HERE has filed a complaint against SEIU to the leadership council of Change to Win.

To: Change to Win Leadership Council

As Co-President of UNITE HERE International Union, I write to ask that you accept this letter as a request for mutual aid and support under Article XVII under the Change To Win Constitution and as a formal complaint against SEIU pursuant to Article XVI “Procedures for Resolving Disputes.”

The Change to Win Constitution mandates under Article XVII, Sections 1 & 2 that:

“Each affiliate of this alliance agrees that it shall not divide workers’ strength by engaging in activity that disrupts the established representation rights of any affiliate …”

“…all of the affiliated unions within the alliance …shall use the full power and the resources of the alliance to protect the interests of the aggrieved union and the affected workers.”

As you all know, UNITE HERE is experiencing an across the board assault on its jurisdiction and its membership by SEIU. I ask that the affiliated unions use their full strength and power to protect the interests of UNITE HERE, as provided under Article 17.

Additionally, UNITE HERE seeks redress under Article XV, Section 1 which states in part:

“Each affiliate shall respect the established collective bargaining relationship of every other affiliate. No affiliate shall organize or attempt to represent employees as to whom an established collective bargaining relationship exists with any other affiliate.”

A UNITE HERE splinter group allied with Bruce Raynor claims to have merged with SEIU on March 22, 2009. Prior to and after that date, SEIU has interfered in our collective bargaining relationships in multiple locations nationwide. This interference has taken many forms including but not limited to SEIU staff and elected leaders encouraging UNITE HERE members to secede from UNITE HERE, SEIU staff pursuing NLRB “RC” petitions in UNITE HERE workplaces, and otherwise interfering with the established collective bargaining relationships with UNITE HERE members. Attached please find documents in support of this claim and which identify the locations and bargaining units at issue.

In another brazen example, SEIU is barraging UNITE HERE members with mail and phone calls urging “no” votes on dues increases. Let me stress that this activity extends throughout UNITE HERE.

Second, UNITE HERE seeks redress under Article XV, Section 4 which states in part:

“No Affiliate shall, in connection with any organizational campaign, circulate or cause to be circulated any charge or report that is designed to bring or has the effect of bringing another affiliate into public disrepute or of otherwise adversely affecting the reputation of such affiliate or the alliance.”

SEIU in concert with the Raynor splinter group has orchestrated a months long communications program, designed by Steve Rosenthal, which has defamed UNITE HERE leaders among its membership through the coordinated use of robo-calls, live telephone calls, direct mail, and home visits. SEIU participated in the planning and execution of these attacks. The intent of this communications program is to vilify the elected leadership of UNITE HERE and agitate UNITE HERE members to secede from their union.

These defamatory attacks against UNITE HERE include baseless charges against UNITE HERE elected leaders of “corruption,” “wasteful spending,” “intimidation,” and “mismanagement.”

While I recognize that the Chair of Change to Win ordinarily has certain roles regarding Article XVI procedures, I ask that the Chair, an SEIU officer,recuse herself from any involvement in this matter and that the Leadership Council itself act immediately to process the complaint.

UNITE HERE further asks that the Article XVI mediation step be skipped and that the process move immediately to arbitration since there have been numerous unsuccessful attempts to solve this dispute by mediation already.

Thank you.

John W. Wilhelm

President/Hospitality, UNITE HERE

cc. Andrew Stern, SEIU

Oh, by the way, the "Chair" of Change to SternBurger that Mr. Wilhelm refers to in the above letter is Anna Burger. Asking a SEIU officer to recuse themselves from something in which SEIU might actually be found at fault is right up there with asking them to cut off their arm. Three words for that one: Not. Gonna. Happen.

Good luck with that letter there, John. I'm sure that the leadership of Change to SternBurger will give it all the attention that it merits from her point of view. It's probably just pro-forma anyway, since the remains of UNITE/HERE have asked for readmission to AFL-CIO.

That is, of course, if SEIU will allow them to disaffiliate from Change to SternBurger.

A Look at Life Inside the Hotel California...

The Nation is a magazine that has long been a lapdog for Our Glorious Maximum Leader. A search on "Andy Stern" on The Nation's website will return phraseology like "far-reaching," "visionary," "charismatic," "very bright" - along with criticisms which are almost always couched in either/or propositions, like "savior or sellout", "not shy about speaking his mind," and the like.

It evidently has gotten to the point that one of The Nation's readers decided to write a letter to let the editors of that fine publication know that not everyone out here in California is as enamored of Nice Scarf as those nice folks back on the East Coast think we should be...

When it comes to SEIU and Andy Stern, The Nation is afraid to speak truth to power. In editorials and articles, you continue to treat SEIU as a legitimate labor union and Stern as a legitimate labor leader. SEIU can no longer be considered a real labor union. The widespread corruption, SEIU's anti-democratic structure and Stern's dictatorial style have resulted in a situation where a large part of the union is effectively in trusteeship, denying SEIU members the right to elect their local leaders and an effective voice in the running of the union. Almost all 600,000 SEIU members in California are in locals under trusteeship for corruption (Local 6434), speaking out against corruption (UHW West), or in locals unilaterally merged by Stern over two years ago whose leaders are Stern appointees and where there's yet to be an election scheduled (Locals 221, 521, 721 and 1021), or in locals whose leaders are entrenched Stern appointed loyalists (local 1877).

Coming on the heels of the UHW trusteeship and the blocking of the upstart National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) election petitions, Stern's most recent outrage, an effective annexation of UNITE and a despicable raid on HERE, should be the cause of loud public condemnation by labor leaders and pro-labor progressives. Instead, the silence is deafening. Silence equals complicity. Under US and International law, workers have the right to choose their own union and, by their actions, Stern and SEIU are violating that right.

Employee Free Choice is not only the right to join a union, but the right to choose which union. The CNA-SEIU pact is an odd one in that Stern's brand of corporatist, corrupt, top-down unionism is fundamentally incompatible with the CNA's tradition of militancy and support for single payer. CNA Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro has made some some very strong (and accurate) criticisms of Stern, but the most telling and truthful is that Stern is a scab. Stern's battle with the new National Union of Healthcare Workers is what forced him to settle with CNA on the CNA's terms. The CNA-SEIU deal will hold until Stern sees an advantage to himself in breaking it. DeMoro is smart and is likely already prepared for it.

So, when will the Nation stop being a fig leaf for SEIU and Stern, and start standing up for workers' rights?

Charlie Ridgell, Oakland CA

03/28/2009 @ 10:42am

It is indeed worth considering that the great majority of SEIU "members" in California now no longer enjoy any sort of voting rights as would be typical in the normal union. SEIU union halls, once a place of welcome for the membership, have been turned into locked offices, and in some cases like the Zombie UHW SoCal headquarters the resemblance is more like the Green Zone in Baghdad.

One Thousand Cocktails to Mr. Charlie Ridgell of Oakland, CA, for letting people back east know that not everyone is happy here in Hotel California.

It's no secret that one of the parts of "union democracy" is actually having the chance to vote on something.

Why is SEIU so afraid of its members actually expressing their collective opinion?

Freeman, You Magnificent Bastard!

Paul Pringle is seriously all up in Andy Stern's grill of late...

The union of low-wage caregivers that Tyrone Freeman once headed has taken him to court to demand restitution of more than $1.1 million -- dues money that allegedly financed his lifestyle of $175 glasses of cognac, $250 bottles of wine and a $3,400 trip to the NFL's Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

The lawsuit filed by a Los Angeles-based chapter of the Service Employees International Union opens another legal front in a scandal that dates to last summer and remains the subject of a federal criminal investigation.

In the civil complaint, brought in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the United Long-Term Care Workers accuses Freeman of misappropriating funds in a broad scheme to enrich himself and his relatives. Named as co-defendants are his wife, Pilar Planells; his mother-in-law, Carmen Planells; and the video and day-care companies they operated out of their homes.

The suit, which also seeks unspecified punitive damages and legal costs, alleges breach of contract and fiduciary duty and conversion of union funds for personal benefit.

Freeman and the Planellses could not be reached for comment, and Freeman's lawyer did not respond to interview requests.

No word on whether Rickman Jackson or Annelle Grajeda had any comment either.

Any story involving the SEIU has to go to Baghdad Michelle for comment, and as always she does not fail to disappoint...

"We are going to do absolutely everything in our power to make sure that he is held accountable to the members," SEIU spokeswoman Michelle Ringuette said Tuesday.

Thanks for that vote of confidence regarding accountability to members there, Michelle.

When you figure out how to make SEIU accountable to the UHW members who want out of the Purple Prison, you get back to us on that "accountability" thing, mmmKay?

Another SEIU Crook Exposed...

Note to the post below - all individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Do keep that in mind...



Those who closely followed the Democratic party nomination process and convention may remember this man. His name is Marshall Clemons, and he is a school custodian in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He is also a member of the Executive Board of SEIU 199.



His story was considered compelling enough that then-senator (and now Vice President) Joseph Biden went out to Cedar Rapids to "job shadow" Mr. Clemons as a part of the 2008 "Walk A Day In My Shoes" campaign. Mr. Biden was sufficiently taken with Mr. Clemons such that he invited Clemons to sit in the Biden family box for the DNC Convention in Denver, and even invited Mr. Clemons to walk a day in HIS shoes - that day being Inauguration day.



During the inauguration festivities, Mr. Clemons (evidently nicely tanned and rested and ready for the festivities) got a chance to hob-nob with some of the SEIU brass, including Anna Burger (in the white) and Our Glorious Maximum Leader himself, who is seen here strangely without his trademark scarf.

Unfortunately, this may have been the high-water mark of Marshall Clemons' popularity, but certainly not the high mark of Mr. Clemons' fame, as he has made the news in Iowa once again - but for very different reasons, as can be seen in the Des Moines Register:

An Iowa school custodian, a labor union activist who was job shadowed by presidential candidate Joseph Biden during the campaign season two years ago, was arrested today after a lobbyist witnessed an apparent purse theft at the Iowa Capitol.

Authorities said Marshall Richard Clemons, 38, of Cedar Rapids, snatched two women’s wallets before he was confronted by a retail lobbyist who witnessed the man reaching into a friend’s bag.

A janitor found one woman’s wallet clogging a toilet in a men’s restroom.

Troopers charged Clemons with two counts of fifth-degree theft, records show.

Video report of the theft courtesy of WHO-TV, Des Moines:



Not surprisingly, SEIU 199 has very little if anything to say on the arrest of one of its Executive Board members.

Once again: all individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Do keep that in mind...

SEIU 1021: "Nothing to see here, move along..."

As widely expected, the SEIU 1021 internal investigation regarding James Bryant receiving more in salary for running a charity out of his home than he does as a worker at the SF Municipal Railway has come out with a finding of no wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Bryant.

Service Employees International Union, Local 1021 today issued a written decision following the March 11, 2009 hearing on a complaint filed by SEIU member Harry Baker against SEIU 1021 Political Chair James Bryant.

Baker alleged that Bryant had a conflict of interest because of his position as both SEIU 1021 political chair and President of the San Francisco-based A. Philip Randolph Institute.

A three-member hearing panel unanimously disagreed, noting that Bryant followed established union procedure in making disclosures when appropriate and recusing himself from votes that might have presented the appearance of a conflict of interest.

The panel’s March 16 decision also notes that one of Baker’s most serious claims of financial misdealings was based on Baker’s misreading of documents.

SEIU’s decision follows a months-long investigation into Baker’s complaint, one in which internal union documents and allegations were furnished to the LA Times and made subject of a March 11 article on Baker’s allegations.

SEIU 1021 members hope that the March 16 decision ends this chapter of union history and allows Local 1021 to move forward on behalf of the working men and women of Northern California.

Quelle surprise.



As we recall, here is a picture of Stern-appointed SEIU 1021 President Damitra Davis-Howard (she of the infamous Salsa Team) along with Stern-appointed James Bryant in the center, presenting an award in April of 2008 for "Unionist of the Year" from the A. Philip Randolph Institute to Stern-appointed and since deposed former SEIU 6434 president Tyrone Freeman, on the right.

Something tells me that a little bit more than an internal SEIU investigation is going to be necessary in order to end this particular chapter in 1021's history.

SEIU - Looking Out for the Common Worker?

...Uh...NO.

Savor with me, won't ye, this rich, delicious, heaping helping of irony, courtesy of the WashPost:

The Service Employees International Union, considered the most influential union in the nation, has notified the union that represents about 220 of the SEIU's national field staff members and organizers that it is laying off 75 of the employees.

In return, the workers union, which goes by the somewhat postmodern name of the Union of Union Representatives, has filed charges of unfair labor practices against the SEIU with the National Labor Relations Board. The workers union's leaders say that the SEIU is engaging in the same kind of practices that some businesses use: laying off workers without proper notice, contracting out work to temporary-staffing firms, banning union activities and reclassifying workers to reduce union numbers.

"It's completely hypocritical," said Malcolm Harris, president of the workers union. "This is the union that's been at the forefront of progressive issues, around ensuring that working people and working families are taken care of, but when it comes to the people that work for SEIU, they haven't set the same standards."

Not so, sez The Purple Plague - it's just all part of Our Grand Plan:

SEIU officials say the layoffs are part of a long-running plan to reallocate resources. Its national office will devote more of its resources to lobbying and communications in Washington to take advantage of Democrats' ascendance. Most organizing would be left to local chapters, where officials say they have identified dozens of openings for the laid-off staff.

"This is not a financial issue," said SEIU President Andy Stern. "We need to respond to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity our members created by helping elect President Obama."

I can't help but to interject some appropriate cinematic clarification here, which will closely approximate what Our Glorious Maximum Leader was trying to impart in the above quote:



Of course, some folks don't think that this is all just a Part of the Purple Plan:

But Stern has more recently emerged as a lightning rod. His coalition, Change to Win, has foundered, as several unions have moved back to the AFL-CIO or are considering doing so. He is also engaged in a costly power struggle with the former elected leaders of one of the SEIU's largest chapters, in Northern California, who were ousted by the SEIU two months ago and are vying with it for the loyalty of the chapter's members.

Harris said his union's understanding is that the layoffs are the result of budget troubles faced by the SEIU, which, on top of the California dispute, spent $80 million during the 2008 election and is planning to spend tens of millions more to advocate on behalf of Obama's health-care plan and card check.

Harris said SEIU leaders have made clear that the laid-off employees will not be guaranteed jobs at local chapters. In the case of organizers who are rehired by local chapters, he said the SEIU national office would still subsidize their salaries and help supervise them, but by classifying them as working for local chapters, they would no longer be covered by Harris's union. Fewer than half of the workers at SEIU chapters are unionized, and Harris's union's contract with SEIU forbids it from trying to help organize SEIU employees in local chapters.

Irony...sweet, dripping Irony...

But wait, there's MORE!

The SEIU's national office has been contracting out more and more work to a staffing agency, Harris said, including advocacy for card check. He said it looks as though SEIU is trying to phase his union out of existence.

Contracting? SEIU is contracting its admin work while laying off staff at the same time? SEIU is contracting advocacy for EFCA?!?

Pardon me while I try to refocus my eyes on that one...

Well, irony so deep and so delicious leaves us with a taste for a chaser of SEIU double-speak, and nobody gives SEIU double-speak better than our very own Baghdad Michelle:

SEIU spokeswoman Michelle Ringuette said the contracting is limited and denied that SEIU is trying to undermine the workers union. "That would be the cynical way of looking at it," she said.

Cynical? US?!? Surely you jest, madame. Especially in light of this revelation from the LaborNerd board:

In addition to the NLRB complaint, it appears that UUR has also filed a complaint with the Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission (EEOC), alleging both age and racial discrimination. Apparently the 75 layoffs are mostly middle-managment as opposed to upper managment positions. These occupied positions are laregly by middle aged people of color who suggest that they were passed over for promotions in favor of younger, white employees.

Nope. No cynicism here. Carry on...

Paul Pringle is Running for SEIU Public Enemy #1

As easy as it is to make fun of the Los Angeles Times for its one-sided political coverage, they have themselves a couple of damn good reporters, and one of those reporters, Paul Pringle, has once again hit himself a nice little vein of SEIU-influenced greed and corruption.

Finances of charity run by SEIU official scrutinized
The union officer gets more from the nonprofit, run from his home, than from his full-time San Francisco transit job. He's also paid for use of the home and his son is on the charity payroll.
By Paul Pringle
March 11, 2009

A Bay Area officer of the scandal-clouded Service Employees International Union has collected double salaries, one as a city transit worker and the other from a charity that receives much of its funding from the labor organization and corporate interests, records show.

In addition, the nonprofit paid more than $16,000 in rent for the officer's home in 2007, the most recent year for which the charity's tax return is available, according to his son, who is also on the charity's payroll.

James Bryant, who earned just under $68,000 as a transit station agent in 2007, received about $117,000 that year as president of the San Francisco chapter of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, according to the tax return and the city's Municipal Transportation Agency. He was also paid or reimbursed about $10,000 as an executive board member for SEIU Local 1021, whose political committee he chairs, the union's financial statements show.

The nonprofit's tax-exempt purpose is to promote civil rights, voter education and the interests of black workers. Its biggest contributors include Pacific Gas & Electric and other corporate benefactors that have enlisted it to campaign for or against ballot initiatives dealing with energy and land development.

Nonprofit watchdogs say those relationships raise questions of whether the institute is straying from its charitable mission. The institute's corporate supporters say the nonprofit's campaign work helped preserve funding for social programs and supported the construction of affordable housing.

Bryant, who is in his 50s, is the latest of several SEIU California officers whose financial practices have come under scrutiny. He declined to be interviewed.

(snip)

In written responses to questions from The Times, Joseph Bryant, 26, said his father's nonprofit position is "considered annual not 'full time,' " and that he earns the second salary by working "evenings, weekends, holidays and whenever appropriate to complete his required duties."

He said the charity's rent payments for the house amount to less than half of his father's monthly mortgage bills and are justified because more than 75% of the home is devoted to the nonprofit. The charity paid $5,000 to use the house in 2006, he said. It has also rented office space at a San Francisco union hall at the same time it was paying rent on the house, he said. He said the payments for the house continued last year.

James Bryant bought the $550,000 home with his wife, Josefina Bryant, an administrative supervisor for the SEIU local, in 2006, according to the San Francisco assessor's office.

Experts in nonprofits say the salaries and house rental payments could be viewed as self-dealing.

"There is just a conflict of interest all over this thing," said Ken Berger, president of Charity Navigator, an online review service. "It looks like something that should be reported to a government entity."

Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, said Joseph Bryant's job -- the son says his salary last year was $62,000 -- is similarly troubling.

"In effect, it's like putting himself on the payroll," Borochoff said of James Bryant.

A spokesman for the SEIU local, Steve Stallone, said the union is reviewing the internal complaint against James Bryant, but declined to discuss specifics. A union member brought the complaint. "If wrongdoing is found, appropriate action will be taken," Stallone said, adding that penalties could range from a reprimand to expulsion from the union.

Once again, an appointed SEIU official gets caught with his hands apparently in the cookie jar, and SEIU is once again "reviewing the internal complaint" and promising "appropriate action will be taken."

Hmmm...where have we heard things like that before???

By the way, here's a little picture of Mr. Bryant with a couple of friends:



The lady on the left is Damitra Davis-Howard, president of 1021. Mr. Bryant is in the center, presenting an award from the APRI to none other than SEIU 6434's infamous Tyrone Freeman.

Birds of a feather do indeed flock together...

Paul Pringle Strikes Again!

When history looks back at the story of SEIU's systemic corruption, one name is going to loom large, and that name is Paul Pringle, ace reporter of the Los Angeles Times.

Pringle has been white-on-rice on SEIU's corruption, and it appears he's broken another story on yet another Stern appointee having to 'resign' over financial improprieties:

Top SEIU official in California quits three posts

Annelle Grajeda resigns after a probe into whether she played a role in payments to her ex-boyfriend. That inquiry found no wrongdoing. She will take a different job with the union.

By Paul Pringle
10:30 PM PDT, March 10, 2009

The Service Employees International Union's highest-ranking California officer has resigned that position and two other leadership posts in the wake of an internal investigation of payments to her ex-boyfriend, it was announced today.

The SEIU said its inquiry found no wrongdoing by Annelle Grajeda, who was one of six executive vice presidents of the national union as well as the head of its California council and the local that represents Los Angeles County workers.

The union said Grajeda, who could not be reached for comment, had decided to become an assistant to the SEIU's secretary-treasurer in Washington, D.C.

Grajeda had been on leave since August, when the union began examining whether she played a role in payments to Alejandro Stephens, a former president of the Los Angeles local.

The SEIU has said Stephens violated a severance agreement by remaining on the county payroll after he lost his union position. Two local members had filed an internal complaint that suggested Grajeda used her influence to help Stephens continue receiving a government paycheck, something she denied.

One of the members, Ron Tanner, a retired county worker, said he was disappointed that the union didn't bar Grajeda from holding any future office. "I don't particularly care for this," he said. "I'd rather see her banned."

SEIU spokeswoman Michelle Ringuette said the internal probe determined that Grajeda "never stood to benefit" from any money Stephens received. She said Grajeda opted to step down after "sitting and reflecting" on what she wanted to do next.

"We're absolutely supporting her decision," Ringuette said.

When Andy Stern yanked SEIU 347 members out of their union - without a vote of the 347 membership - and placed them into a merged conglomerate union (SEIU 721), who was appointed the president of that new union, again without the vote of the membership? And the answer to that question would be... Annelle Grajeda.

When Andy Stern ran Sal Roselli off of the leadership of the California Labor Council, who replaced him? And the answer to that question would be... Annelle Grajeda.

Evidently Our Glorious Maximum Leader isn't in the habit of doing enough "sitting and reflecting" on the character traits of the people that he elevates into these semi-permanent positions that he keeps creating through his mergers, trusteeships and political machinations.