As Clinton and Obama struggle, so do the unions behind each

Some people think the ongoing struggle between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton is about, well, Democratic presidential politics.  Silly them!

The campaign is also a titanic battle among unions, as newly filed financial figures revealed today to the expert eyes of The Times' Dan Morain.

The American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees spent $1 million on ads supporting Clinton in Texas and Ohio recently. The money went through American Leadership Project, a newly formed organization...

backing her candidacy.  Altogether, AFSCME has spent $5 million on Clinton’s behalf since December.

AFSCME delivered its latest $1 million on Feb. 29.  The late surge wasn't revealed until the American Leadership Project made its first campaign finance filing with the Federal Election Commission today, the day after Texas and Ohio voted to keep Clinton in the race.

The American Leadership Project aired $833,000 worth of pro-Clinton television ads in Texas and Ohio and has $300,000 in the bank for a new round of TV messages likely in Pennsylvania for its April 22 voting.  The project disclosed it had raised $1.16 million overall.

But even at that significant rate, AFSCME was outspent by the rival Service Employees International Union, which backs Obama.  Since January, SEIU and its affiliates spent $5.4 million to help Obama win the nomination, with the bulk of television and get-out-the-vote efforts pouring into Texas and Ohio.

Four years ago, both AFSCME and SEIU backed Howard Dean's failed bid.  Since then the labor groups have gone their separate ways.  In fact, they’re now fighting each other over representation of many of the same workers, particularly those in healthcare and home care.

Notwithstanding its name, the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees represents more federal workers than any other union.

The head of AFSCME is Gerald McEntee, a longtime Clinton friend.  McEntee’s union remained part of the AFL-CIO when SEIU pulled out of the national organization in 2005 and created Change to Win with a few other smaller unions that also have endorsed Obama, including the Teamsters and Unite-HERE, the culinary workers’ union.

SEIU is the nation’s largest union.  Among its top issues, SEIU has been urging an overhaul of the healthcare system that would include more government involvement.  So guess what's near the top of the agenda of both candidates?

SEIU, meanwhile, is already aiming at the general election Nov. 4.  Along with billionaire George Soros, the Service Employees Union is taking a leading role funding Democracy Alliance, yet another newly formed independent group that gave $400,000 to even another group, the Campaign to Defend America.

And you'll never guess which Republican presidential nominee named John McCain that group began advertising against.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[jef]

In the interest of fairness, since the mainstream media gave the tuesday elections to Hillary, I hope you cover the fact that the conservative government of Canada interfered with the elections and that Hillary's campaign was the one who actually lied in front of the Ohio voters.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080305.wharpleak0305/BNStory/National/home

[Joan]

I'm thinking the interference of Harper's government, wanting McCain to win in November, was the reason the memo was leaked and the message distorted. Also I wonder if the Rezno trial's beginning on the day before the primary was a coincidence - the Clintons have friends in high places.

Obama has to come out swinging! It's not his style, nor I believe in this nature, so he needs some attack dogs to even things out.

[DPatt]

Please do your homework Mr. Malcolm. AFSCME represents no federal workers whatsoever. AFGE, the American Federation of Government Employees and other like unions represent federal employees. Your mistake is compounded because you allude to some unstated agenda by AFSCME for supporting Clinton and the union "really" representing federal workers, which is simply not true.

Know your facts, even if they get in the way of your dubious inferences.

(Actually, union officials led us to believe they are affiliated.)

[Jim Vaughan]

Billionaire George Soros, the unions and the far, far left claiming to be defending America, that's rich. They are defending their personal agendas (like higher pay and benefits for less competent work). Who is going to defend the rest of us who are near-left, middle and even those on the right?

[William Hale]

"Kick off, or Recieve?" Super delegate Robert Rankin wearing an NBA referee's jersey flips a silver dollar with Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton to determine which candidate will be first to sign historic agreement: Primary looser will get second choice of President, or Vice President position.

Private Citzen agreement to be signed by William Jefferson Clinton limiting his appearances with either candidate to be on private property owned or rented by the Clintons, but he may have telephone contact and appear independently of them.

WLH agrees to sign two year abroad [Executive coach] agreement so as to permit BO and HRC independence.

Democratic National Committee and both candidates sign agreement to permit VP of US to call democratic caucus special election to recall President of the United States

[dlcaskey]

There's a real difference here. The unions backing Obama represent working people who must fight for their livliehoods against corporate profits and/or private wealth. The unions backing Clinton fight for their contracts against the taxpayers. As a career public servant, I expect to be treated and compensated fairly, but a big part of the reward is the fact that it's for public good, not private gain. I am not real happy with the way many public employee unions protect incompetent, insolent, and corrupt employees. I see the money spent by those unions as an attempt to curry favor with their employers. The unions in the Obama camp are the ones working for the right to organize, and especially in the case of the service sector, for their people to have a decent standard of living. That, to me is much closer to the ideals of the Democratic Party.

[Jenna]

As a Hillary supporter I was actually not too worried about the SEIU endorsement. Their endorsement seems to be the kiss of death in most big time political races. Whoever they endorse seems to lose.