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SEIU’s Pay-for-Play Scandal

Today, the Service Employees International Unions (SEIU) finds itself at the center of two evolving pay-for-play political scandals. In Illinois, a high ranking SEIU union official appears to have agreed to run the traps for Gov. Rod Blagojevich's attempt to sell off President-elect Obama's Senate seat.

At the same time, an equally appalling scandal is happening in plain sight in Washington. A diverse array of players, including SEIU, President-elect Barack Obama, indicted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and scandal-plagued activist group ACORN, are wielding their political power to push for passage of the deceptively-named Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which would effectively eliminate secret ballot union elections. The bill would expose employees to intimidation and coercion, and should really be called the Employee Forced Choice Act.

Led by SEIU President Andy Stern, the labor union movement has effectively bought and paid for EFCA. Across the country, union political operatives demanded that Democratic politicians agree to support EFCA before receiving unions' support during the 2008 election. SEIU's Stern openly admits that he expects payback: “U.S. labor unions, having helped Barack Obama win the presidency, entertain high hopes he will enact their agenda to bolster their negotiating power with employers and increase their numbers after decades of decline.” The tie that binds these two scandals is SEIU's central role as political power broker.

Putting Together the Pieces: