One of the most powerful unions in the country allegedly made roughly $2 million disappear through questionable transactions with front-groups, sources said Monday.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is one of the most politically active unions at 1.9 million members. Federal law restricts how union funds are spent regarding politics and requires unions to disclose financial transactions. SEIU was allegedly able to ignore requirements and funnel $1,133,407 into its front-group Wisconsin Jobs Now (WJN).
SEIU International Headquarters first transferred the funds to one of its Wisconsin worker committees. The state committee then gave some of the money to WJN. Both the SEIU and local committee have to file disclosure reports to make sure they are spending funds properly. WJN does not have to file any disclosure reports because its not register as a union.
The local committee also has a strike fund to cover workers that strike despite not having any members. The questionable financial transactions were first discovered by the National Institute for Labor Relations Research (NILRR). The group challenges compulsory unionism through research and analysis. NILRR provided its review of the transactions to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The SEIU local committee first contributed $394,500 to WJN in 2013 before giving an additional $738,907 in 2014. The union also lost $782,648 when it transferred funds from its headquarters to the local committee in 2013. SEIU reported it provided $1,327,500 to the Wisconsin committee but local officials reported they only received $544,852.
Federal disclosure requirements are important because unions are primarily funded through membership dues. In many states workers are required to fund their workplace union even if they don’t want to be a member. In those states workers can start paying a reduced nonpolitical fee instead of full dues if they relinquish their membership. The nonpolitical fee is intended to cover the costs the union incurs through representing a workplace and nothing political.
SEIU’s contributions to WJN were listed as union administration costs meaning, it includes nonpolitical fees. WJN is a political group that doesn’t have to disclose its expenditures since it files as an independent tax-exempt public charity and not a labor union.
WJN has endorsed political candidates and held numerous rallies. It organized a protest against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and supports the Black Lives Matter movement. It has engaged in numerous political activities that nonpolitical fees could not legally go to.
The local SEIU committee and WJN are essentially controlled by the same people as well. Local Chapter President Michael Lauer and Vice President Jennifer Epps-Addison have served executive positions at WJN. Epps-Addison resigned her post in September, 2015. SEIU, its local committee and WJN did not respond to a request for comment by TheDCNF.
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