The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission last week recommended that Attorney General Bob Ferguson take action against the Washington State Labor Council for “multiple apparent violations” of Washington’s campaign disclosure laws.
The PDC’s action was based on a complaint filed by the Freedom Foundation outlining WSLC’s violations. After investigating, the PDC confirmed Freedom Foundation’s research indicating WSLC has been hiding monetary and in-kind contributions to political committees to further its political agenda.
This is yet another example of how unions and their allies break the law at every turn to push their big government, anti-worker agenda.
The Freedom Foundation’s complaint was similar to those filed last fall against SEIU 775 and SEIU 925, which also led to lawsuits against those unions by the AG for hiding millions of dollars in campaign contributions.
The WSLC is yet another example of unions and their allies thinking they’re above the law.
The violations by the unions and their allies are not unrelated, and they are not coincidental. These organizations work closely with another, and these violations show a pattern of contempt for the public’s right to know who is funding candidates and causes in Washington.
But this pattern of deception doesn’t extend to only the public. These organizations want to keep their own members in the dark about how they are spending members’ dues.
The PDC found WSLC violated public disclosure laws on 32 different occasions by not reporting more than $135,000 in political contributions.
These violations by WSLC and other Big Labor interests are not an oversight or clerical error. Big Labor has armies of lawyers and accountants who get paid a lot of money to keep union members and the public in the dark. This pattern of deception is a part of these efforts.
For example, SEIU 775 and SEIU 925 are both spending large sums of money to prevent the state from disclosing public records containing home healthcare workers’ information to prevent the Freedom Foundation from informing the workers of their constitutional right to not fund a union.
Big Labor also dedicates a lot of money to manipulating the law in its favor.
Once again, the Freedom Foundation is holding the state and Big Labor accountable. The PDC would have never conducted this investigation in a million years had we not filed a complaint. Just as obviously, the politicians would never bring suit against Big Labor or its money if they were not forced to by the Freedom Foundation’s efforts.
The PDC’s investigation, as well as the probable AG lawsuit to follow, are beacons of light exposing the otherwise dark underbelly of the unholy alliance between state power and Big Labor.
