[Updated Dec. 16] The criminal complaint (alternative source), recently filed against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, and his chief of staff John Harris, described Blagojevich’s desire for a high-paying position with Change to Win, likely since he saw the money and power of organized labor:
HARRIS noted that ROD BLAGOJEVICH is interested in taking a high-paying position with an organization called “Change to Win,” which is connected to Service Employees International Union (”SEIU”). HARRIS suggested that SEIU Official make ROD BLAGOJEVICH the head of Change to Win and, in exchange, the President-elect could help Change to Win with its legislative agenda on a national level.
According to LaborPain.org’s article, SEIU’s Pay-for-Play Scandal:
In the proposed deal, he [Blagojevich] would give the SEIU and Obama their pick for the vacated Senate seat and in return would receive either a high-paying job in the Change to Win Coalition, or leadership of a new 501(c)4 issue advocacy group with $10 to $20 million to spend.
This article explores connections between Blagojevich and Change to Win. At present Blagojevich has many ties to labor, but the reason for his interest in Change to Win must be the money and power he sees in that organization. No existing connections between Change to Win and Blagojevich were found.
Rod Blagojevich
What is “Change to Win”?
Change to Win is a new labor federation whose members split in 2005 from the AFL-CIO. After the schism, the AFL-CIO saw its membership drop from 13 million to 9 million workers. The new Change to Win Federation consists of seven international unions representing about six million members.
Change to Win Founding Convention
[See Change to Win establishes new union federation and
Change to Win MySpace page.]
Wikipedia says Change to Win affiliates include:
- Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)
- United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)
- United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of Americas (UBCJA)
- UNITE HERE! [Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employee (UNITE), and Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (HERE)]
- Laborer’s International Union of North America (LIUNA)
- United Farm Workers (UFW).
IRS 8872 forms, described later, confirm these are the main financial contributors to Change to Win.
Change to Win’s core industries (hotels, hospitals, restaurants, textile, construction, transportation and others) have 50 million workers, but only 6 million are unionists.
What was the goal of this new labor federation?
At its first-ever convention, almost 500 delegates from the unions ratified the organization’s constitution and its goals and program by voice votes. Leaders said organizing the unorganized will be Change to Win’s overriding goal.
Teamsters President James Hoffa declared Change to Win would spend $750 million on organizing. The Teamsters, on the international level alone, spend $40-$45 million and will add $5 million next year, Hoffa said. UNITE HERE Co-President Bruce Raynor said his union spends 55 percent of its national-level budget-$35 million-on organizing.
But there is more, or maybe less, to that figure than meets the eye.
That’s because the figure includes not just what the new federation and its member international unions spend on organizing, but what their locals, councils and affiliates spend, too.
At the national level Change to Win consists of at least four related organizations:
- Change to Win Federation National Headquarters
- Change to Win Leadership Council
- Change to Win Political Education
- Change to Win Committee for the American Dream
Wikipedia opines that it is unclear whether Change to Win will act as a competing federation, challenging the primacy of the AFL-CIO and its affiliates, or merely as a loose confederation of unions which coordinate efforts for the purpose of organizing.
The National Legal and Policy Center warned about Change to Win and corruption:
At its kickoff convention in St. Louis in September, Change to Win President Anna Burger, hand-picked choice of Service Employees chieftain Andrew Stern, made clear she and other CTW leaders want to ramp up that number far higher through aggressive organizing. An enormous pot of actual and potential revenues is on the line, and with it the potential for its misuse – and CTW member unions have a demonstrated blind spot for corruption.
Blagojevich’s Labor Support and Funding
The web site for the National Institute on Money in State Politics gives summary information about Gov. Blagojevich’s campaign from 2006. The summary page from the 2006 Illinois gubernatorial contest shows Democrat Blagojevich won with $18,292,150 over his Republican rival, Ron Gidwitz, who only had $12,811,846. Ten of the top 20 contributors to Blagojevich in 2006 had labor connections.
The following chart from the National Institute on Money in State Politics shows the huge Labor connection to Blagojevich’s campaign:
Chart of Contributors to Blagojevich in 2006
The National Institute on Money in State Politics’ “Lobbyist Link” reports there are five SEIU-related lobbyist groups in Illinois:
- SERVICE EMPLOYEES ILLINOIS COUNCIL/SEIU, 17 lobbyists, total 2006 contributions: $1,749,775; 97% to Democrats; $908,382 to Rod Blagojevich
- SERVICE EMPLOYEES LOCAL 1/SEIU, 2 lobbyists, total 2006 contributions: $40,132; 100% to Democrats.
- SERVICE EMPLOYEES LOCAL 4/SEIU, 1 lobbyist, total 2006 contributions: $5750; 100% to Democrats.
- SERVICE EMPLOYEES LOCAL 73/SEIU, 4 lobbyists, total 2006 contributions: $85,591; 88.7% to Democrats.
- SERVICE EMPLOYEES LOCAL 880/SEIU, 16 lobbyists, total contributions: $103,412; 75.7% to Democrats.
The Illinois State Board of Elections provides details of the contributions to and expenditures by the Friends of Blagojevich for the most recent reporting period that ended Aug 25, 2008. That report shows $1.1 million from individual contributors and almost $750,000 transfers, including these union members affiliated with Change to Win:
| I.B. OF T. Local 731 | Labor Management Co-Operative Commit Chicago, IL 60610 |
$5,000.00 6/30/2008 |
| SEIU Illinois Council PAC | 111 E. Wacker Suite 2500 Chicago, IL 60601 |
$50,000.00 6/27/2008 |
| SEIU Local 880 PAC | 209 W. Jackson Blvd. Suite 200 Chicago, IL 60606 |
$25,000.00 6/27/2008 |
| Teamsters Local Union #727 PAC | 5940 W. Montrose Ave. Chicago, IL 60634 |
$5,000.00 6/30/2008 |
| Teamsters Volunteers in Politics | 1645 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60612 |
$25,000.00 6/30/2008 |
| UFCW Local 881 PAC | 10400 W Higgins Rd Ste 500 Rosemont, IL 60018-3712 |
$2,500.00 6/27/2008 |
| UNITE CACSPEC | 333 S. Ashland Chicago, IL 60607 |
$5,000.00 6/27/2008 |
The recent $117,500 from Change to Win unions is only a small part of the nearly $2 million in contributions, but this is an “off election” year for the Governor.
Blagojevich’s huge 2006 contributions from SEIU, a part of Change to Win, tell him there is much political money and power at SEIU/Change to Win.
Do any connections exist between Change to Win and Blagojevich?
Several recent government documents were studied for possible connections between Change to Win and Blagojevich, including:
- IRS 990 for Change to Win 501(c)(5)
- LM-2 forms from the Department of Labor for Change to Win National Headquarters and their separate Leadership Council
- IRS 8871 and IRS 8872 for Change to Win Political Education, and Change to Win Committee for the American Dream
Many details of these organizations are show below in an Appendices below. None of these documents provided direct evidence of a connection between Gov. Blagojevich and Change to Win.
The IRS 990 and the LM-2 for the Change to Win National Headquarters were roughly consistent, with many more details in the LM-2 instead of the 990. The LM-2 showed connections from Change to Win to groups like ACORN, and its union friends for the purpose of organizing.
The IRS 990 and the IRS 8871 gave details of the Board of Directors for Change to Win, which is a who’s who of labor and Democratic Party activists.
Director Bruce Raynor’s connection to the Amalgamated Bank, America’s Labor Bank, with its $5 billion in assets and support for labor causes, should be studied for any connection to the recent bank bailouts.
A surprising find of the survey of the IRS 8872s shows what can be hidden since the form does not require a “current balance”. A summary of all contributions and expenditures shows the Change to Win Political Education has about $6.5 million in the bank.
Why Change to Win recently established a separate Change to Win Committee for the American Dream is not at all clear.
The final analysis shows no known connections directly from Change to Win to Gov. Blagojevich. But Gov. Blagojevich’s attraction to the group must through the power and money represented by the group’s board of directors.
Blagojevich’s Other Ethics Problems?
Perhaps the press should investigate the nature and the number of ethics complaints filed against Gov. Blagojevich with the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission.
The Illinois Executive Ethics Commission reports issues with Governor Blagojevich in FY 2009 so far (First Quarter, 7/1/2008 – 9/30/2008):
- 305 allegations received
- 41 investigations initiated
- 54 investigations concluded
- 189 investigations pending
- 1 action filed with EEC
- 1 complaint forwarded to AG
Appendices
IRS 990 for 501(c)5 Change to Win
From GuideStar.org
501(c)5 organizations: labor, agricultural, or horticultural organizations. A 501(c)5 may “engage in some political activity so long as it is not their primary activity.”
Statement of program service accomplishments:
- Organizing assistance to affiliated labor organizations
- campaigns to support worker rights and interests
The 2005 IRS 990 for the period Oct 2005 – Sept 2006 was stamped by the IRS on Feb 8, 2007. The 2006 IRS 990 is not yet online at GuideStar.org.
The group showed two sources of revenue:
- $17.3 million from membership dues and assessments
- $0.6 million for indirect public support
The 990 details some large expenditures:
- $1.9 million for personnel costs reimbursed to affiliates
- $1.8 million for conferences, conventions, and meetings
- $1.3 million for professional and consulting fees
- $1.2 million for campaign expenses
- $0.5 million for political education fund
- $0.4 million for other salaries and wages
Officers of Change to Win from this IRS 990 are identified in the next section.
U.S. Dept. of Labor LM-2
Labor Organization Annual Report
Change to Win National Headquarters
Change to Win LM-2 for 2007
LM-2s can be viewed online here. (These forms are designed so that for now they are not Google searchable.)
Search for “Change to Win” for organization name.
|
Fiscal Year |
Affiliation/ Organization Name |
Total Receipts |
Total Disbursements |
Total Membership |
| 2007 Report | CHANGE TO WIN LEADERSHIP COUNCIL |
$259,947 |
$79,930 |
119,777 |
| 2007 Report | CHANGE TO WIN NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS |
$18,014,928 |
$16,237,293 |
5,451,049 |
The LM-2 report by the National Headquarters said the 5,451,049 members each pay membership dues of only $0.25/month, which provides revenue of about $1.4 million/month.
|
SCHEDULE 15 REPRESENTATIONAL ACTIVITIES |
|
| 1. Named Payee Itemized Disbursements |
$5,277,860 |
| 2. Named Payee Non-itemized Disbursements |
$657,201 |
| 3. To Officers |
$0 |
| 4. To Employees |
$961,905 |
| 5. All Other Disbursements |
$188,989 |
| 6. Total Disbursements |
$7,085,955 |
Schedule 15, Representational Activities, included expenditures for:
- ACORN (California), Oakland, CA, Organizing Campaign Research and Staffing, $74,191
- ACORN National, New Orleans, LA, Public Awareness Campaign, $30,000
- Washington ACORN, Burien, WA, Organizing Research and Staff and Community Activism, $98,061
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Washington, DC, In Kind Staff and Research Services, $246,730
- La Raza/Spanish Broadcasting Systems, Los Angeles, CA, Campaign media buy, $45,000
- Los Angeles Alliance for New Economy (LAANE), Organizing Research and Staffing, $348,750
- Prewitt Organizing Fund, Washington, DC, Labor Organizing Consultant
- SEIU, Washington, DC, In Kind Staff, $878,815
- SEIU Local 199, Coralville, IA, Organizing Campaign Staffing Services, $48,630
- Tonio Burgos Associates, Inc, NY, NY, Organizing Research, $107,975
- UFCW, Washington, DC, Organizing In Kind Staff, $137,500
- UNITE HERE, NY, NY, In Kind Staff, $840,448
- Unite Farm Workers 62, Keene, CA, Organizing Campaign Development, $432,000
Summary of political activities for Change to Win National Headquarters
|
SCHEDULE 16 POLITICAL ACTIVITIES AND LOBBYING |
|
| 1. Named Payee Itemized Disbursements |
$3,948,006 |
| 2. Named Payee Non-itemized Disbursements |
$172,947 |
| 3. To Officers |
$0 |
| 4. To Employees |
$336,890 |
| 5. All Other Disbursements |
$30,225 |
| 6. Total Disbursements |
$4,488,068 |
Schedule 16, Political Activities and Lobbying, included expenditures for:
- Change to Win Political Education Account (PEA), PEA Expenses, $1.4 million
- Mack/Crounse, Alexandria, VA, political mailings, $1.1 million
- Catalist LLC, Washington, DC, political list subscription services, $250,000
- AMS Communications, San Francisco, political member mailing, $228,920
- New Media Project, Posting and Website Service, $138,060
- America Votes, Washington, DC, software/database access, $150,000
- The Glover Park Group, Media Production Service, $97,324
- The Organizing Group, Washington, DC, $90,855
The LM-2 report by the Leadership Council said the 119,777 members each pay membership dues of only $0.17/month, which provides revenue of about $20K/month. This LM-2 gave no details for $39,315 in Representational Activities and only showed $1 for Political Activities and Lobbying.
IRS 8871 and 8872s
Change to Win Political Education
Affiliated with Change to Win Federation.
The IRS 8871 was filed Oct 10, 2006 for “Change to Win Political Education.”
The stated purpose for this group:
To fulfill its mission, objects and purpose, Change to Win must actively engage in appropriate political education and political action activities not only among the members of its affiliated Unions but also with respect to workers and the public.
The IRS 8871 gave the following list of officers for Change to Win (but several are no longer with Change to Win):
- Joanne Solazzo, Political Affairs Assistant, Washington, DC, [Project manager with Environmental Defense. Received $16,000 at Bexley, OH address for political campaign research services.]
- Cormekki Whitley, Washington, DC, Administration and Finance Manager [$260 to Barack Obama; post Nov election Democratic GAIN job ad in California paying $630 weekly for union organizers "who seek to continue the work they started with the election of Barack Obama"]
- Jason Judd, Director of the Change to Win Wal-Mart Campaign, Washington, DC. [Participated in "tag team" with California ACORN Head Organizer, and Jobs with Justice Field Director in 2006 (on Wade Rathke's chieforganizer.org web page)]
- Frank Clemente, Issues Director, Washington, DC [former director of Public Citizen's Congress]
- Carole Florman, Communications Director, Washington, DC [now Communications Director, Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies; former deputy director of public affairs for the Justice Department during the Clinton Administration, and, most recently, deputy chief of staff for communications to U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)]
- Gregory Tarpinian, Executive Director, Washington, DC [No longer Executive Director. The National Right to Work Committee says Tarpinian "is believed to be a former [Communist] Party member.”]
- Andrew L. Stern*, Director, Washington, DC [SEIU president]
- Arturo S. Rodriguez*, Director, Washington, DC [President, United Farm Workers of America (UFW)]
- Bruce Raynor*, Director, Washington, DC [General President, UNITE HERE. Chairman, Amalgamated Bank, New York -- $5 billion in assets, America's Labor Bank -- long partnership with the American Labor Movement.]
- Terence O’Sullivan*, Director, Washington, DC [President, Laborer's International Union of North America]
- Douglas J. McCarron*, Director, Washington, DC [General President, United Brotherhood of Carpenters; also see Labor's New Deal - Douglas McCarron's Raw Deal for the UBCJA]
- Geralyn Lutty*, Director, Washington, DC [International Vice President, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)]
- James P. Hoffa*, Director, Washington, DC [General President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)]
- Joseph Hansen, Director, Washington, DC [International President, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)]
- Edgar Romney*, Secretary-Treasurer, Washington, DC [Executive VP UNITE HERE!. The National Right to Work Committee says Romney is linked to New York City racketeers.]
- Anna Burger*, Chair, Washington, DC [SEIU Secretary-Treasurer, a longtime strategist who oversees SEIU's national political operations]
* Also listed on IRS 990 as officer of 501(c)5 Change to Win organization.
IRS 8872s give details about the contributions to and expenditures by this group, which are summarized in the following table:
|
Date |
Contributions |
Expenditures |
Remainder |
|
10/26/2006 |
$1,315,503 |
$460,030 |
$855,473 |
|
12/30/2006 |
$0 |
$0 |
$855,473 |
|
6/29/2007 |
$2,245,029 |
$50,000 |
$3,050,502 |
|
12/31/2007 |
$2,958,527 |
$1,412,864 |
$4,596,165 |
|
3/30/2008 |
$1,857,867 |
$1,129,512 |
$5,324,520 |
|
6/30/2008 |
$1,600,291 |
$607,567 |
$6,317,244 |
|
9/30/2008 |
$2,568,524 |
$2,152,353 |
$6,733,415 |
|
10/15/2008 |
$550,853 |
$96,957 |
$7,187,311 |
|
11/24/2008 |
$1,561,559 |
$2,299,403 |
$6,449,467 |
| TOTALS |
$14,658,153 |
$8,208,686 |
Oddly, since IRS 8872s do not show a current balance, this group seems to have about $6.5 million in its bank account, which is not at all obvious from a current IRS 8872 form.
Each of the unions belonging to the Change to Win federation made significant contributions, but the contributions by the United Farm Workers were much small than the other groups.
Few of the expenditures on the IRS 887s were to Illinois recipients with possible connections to Gov. Blagojevich. The few recipients from Illinois included:
- SEIU Illinois Council PAC Fund, 111 East Wacker Drive #2500, Chicago, IL, $50,000
- UFCW Local 881, Rosemont, IL, political campaign staffing reimbursement, $19,872
- Jim Jeske, Chicago Ridge, IL, Cook County Highway Dept., political campaign travel per diem, $405 + $360 + $405
- Nellie Logan, Addus Healthcare, Springfield, IL, political campaign travel per diem, $405 + $405
- Raed Mikhael, Chicago, IL, space rental, 3*$2000
- Cision, Inc., Chicago, IL, research services, $5285
IRS 8871 and 8872s
Change to Win Committee for the American Dream
Affiliated with Change to Win Federation.
In July 2008, another related group, Change to Win Committee for the American Dream, was formed with officers: Anna Burger, Chair, and Edgar Romney , Treasurer. The purpose of this new group:
Educate public concerning the working people achieving the American Dream
This new group in 2008 raised and spent about $11,000. The real purpose of this new group is not clear. There is no know Illinois connection to this group.
Random Bits
Greg Tarpinian to Step Down, U.S. Newswire, May 27, 2008.
Change to Win chair Anna Burger announced today that Change to Win executive director Greg Tarpinianwill step down on July 6, 2008 from the position he has held since Change to Wins founding in 2005 to return to his New York City based labor advocacy group. While Tarpinian will be leaving as executive director, he will remain as an advisor to Change to Win. The Change to Win Leadership Council has named former UNITE HERE chief of staff Chris Chafeas the new executive director.
Labor Group Takes $40-Million Aim at Midterm Elections, Los Angeles Times, Aug 31, 2006
Leaders of the nation’s largest labor federation announced Wednesday that they would spend more money this year than ever before to get voters to the polls in a midterm election they hoped would return Democrats to power in Congress.
“This Labor Day, it appears that a ‘perfect storm’ is gathering that may well sweep away Republican control of the Congress this fall,” said AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney. …
Last year the AFL-CIO suffered the defection of seven member unions – including the nation’s largest, the Service Employees International Union, which formed a rival coalition called Change to Win. But both groups said the split would not damage voter mobilization efforts, because they were cooperating in many regions of the country to support their preferred candidates, nearly all Democrats.
Roll Call, June 5, 2007.
When five major unions riled the labor movement two years ago by announcing they were splitting off from the AFL-CIO, they explained the move by saying they wanted to focus less on political and lobbying activities and more on organizing. So it struck some as odd this year that Frank Clemente, a former Public Citizen strategist who originally joined the breakaway group to help it develop issue campaigns, registered to lobby for it. Leaders of the group, known as Change to Win, apparently agreed. Just four months after Clemente filed his first lobbying report, they let him go and shuttered the department he was hired to lead.
In Feb 2008 Change to Win endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President, which is still shown on their web site:
Change to Win Endorsed Barack Obama
However, there are no known connections between President-Elect Obama and Gov. Blagojevich’s problems in Illinois.
Related:
- Names in the News: Rod Blagojevich, Nicole Albertson-Nuanes, National Institute on Money in State Politics, Dec 19, 2008.
- Big Union and Blago: A History, ProPublica, Dec 15, 2008.
- Blagojevich and Union Have Longstanding Ties, Wall Street Journal, Dec 12, 2008.
- SEIU’s Pay-for-Play Scandal, LaborPain.org, Dec 11, 2008.
- A Reader’s Guide to the Blagojevich Complaint, The LEDE, New York Times, Dec 9, 2008.
- Criminal Complaint: United State of America V. Rod R. Blagojevich, and John Harris, Dec 9, 2008.
- Statement of Change to Win on Criminal Complaint Against Governor Blagojevich, Dec 9, 2008.
- New Labor Federation Employs Old Strategy: Seven Former AFL-CIO Unions Increase Financial Support in State-Level Elections, Linda Casey, National Institute on Money in State Politics, Jan 9, 2008.
- 2 years after labor split, Change to Win reflects, Chicago Sun-Times, Sept 24, 2007.
- Change to Win: where are the changes for labor?, Freedom Socialist, Aug-Sept 2007.
- Change to Win What?, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Mar. 6, 2006.
- Forced-Unionism Abuses Exposed, National Right to Work Committee, Nov 2005.
- Other Section 501(c) Organizations, IRS web site.
- A Desktop Guide for Nonprofit Directors, Officers, and Advisors by Jack B. Siegel.
- UnionFacts.com
Tags: Change to Win, IBT, Illinois, IRS 501(c)(5), IRS 8871, IRS 8872, IRS 990, LIUNA, LM-2, Rod Blagojevich, SEIU, UBCJA, UFCW, UFW, UNITE HERE
