SEIU endorsing Paul Krekorian for CD 2 (Already?)
In a strange yet revealing moment out there on the campaign trail, Community Activist and Media Personality Zuma Dogg (a.k.a. David Saltsburg) obtained some valuable information from people whom he was asking to sign his petition so that he can run for City Council here in Los Angeles.
He was informed by a member of the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) that members of SEIU already have their marching orders. They are marching to the polls in September to vote for Paul Krekorian.
But how can this be? The candidates are still filling up the ballot. The SEIU doesn't even know who all the candidates are going to be, yet.
The truth of the matter? -- They don't care.
The SEIU is a semi-Communist organization that doesn't care about your political ideologies if you are running for office. They want to know exactly what you will do for them. The candidate who promises them the most generous and undeserved benefits package is deemed to be the candidate they support. (The SEIU is almost like the Mafia, in that way.)
This reminds me of when I sent out an email back in January, admonishing the AFL-CIO for their endorsement of Antonio Villaraigosa. The AFL-CIO didn't even bother to find out who the other candidates were or what their positions on the issues were! They didn't care. With Villaraigosa, they knew who buttered their bread and made sure they could pocket the most money. They heartily endorsed him with out even asking a single question of any of the other candidates.
Pseudo-professional organizations that run themselves like this can easily be compared to organized crime groups. They do a great disservice to their members, and harm the reputation of all labor groups.
Posted by Phil Jennerjahn @ 7/26/2009 12:13:00 AM
30 Comments:
The police, teachers and firemans union all do the same thing, vote for the candidate who promises the biggest raises and best retirement plans.
In one way, I lump the unions with other organizations that send out mailers proclaiming their favored candidates. In that way, I see nothing wrong.
On the other hand, the majority of employees in the city are forced to join a union and, whether they want to or not, pay their dues. That does seem criminal. Employees should have the option to join. Because of this forced payment for "protection," it is insult to injury (to the tax paying public) to tell members how to vote and adds a criminal element to the picture for those forced to join. Goodness knows whether any promises were made to union leaders by candidates to obtain their backing.
The sad part is, the union members probably believe this is what they must do to protect their jobs and be "represented." Never mind that there are already labor laws in the books.
Last I heard union stewards do a piss poor job at actually helping an employee in need of such representation.
How much are union dues? Might that pay equate to a better health care plan? Can't an employer promise the same protections and promotions based on seniority-with the added caveat of actually doing a halfway decent job?
What would happen to someone hired by the City if he or she refuses to be a union member? Could that person sue?
Tell your flunky Schmaltzenburger to promise them more!
Then they will march for him!
Don't believe everything you hear, especially if it involves Zuma.
SIEU says one thing and does another. The keys are the money and the trrops.
Since they have not announced they are doing this, I would take it with a grain of salt for now.
Chris Essel has always been a favorite of theirs, so it doesn't ring true.
Cant see how Krekorian loses this.
semi-Communist organization?
Mayor Sam, please get rid of this clown!
I think he meant "quasi."
Chris Essel is the Jack Weiss of this election!
Tamar's husband was the leader of the pro-Home Depot fight in S-T!
9:12 is a Krekorian staffer.
Give it a rest, dude.
The L.A. County Federation of Labor isn't endorsing. That means SEIU is pressing for the "best deal" amongst candidates. So clever.
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On July 20th, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO’s delegate body issued their endorsements for the upcoming special elections in September. Endorsements were made for the upcoming special elections for State Assembly District 51 and Los Angeles City Council District 2.
...
In addition, the federation arrived at a place of “No Recommendation” for the Los Angeles City Council District 2 special election to replace former City Councilmember and current City Controller Wendy Greuel. This special election has been set for September 22, 2009. A “No Recommendation” means that the Federation takes no position in this race.
http://www.launionaflcio.org/fullstory/2009-07-21/LA-County-Federation-of-Labor-Issues-Endorsements-for-Special-Elections-in-September/
Hey 10:51, Chris Essel is the Jack Weiss of this election? With a campaign run by Dennis Shallman - hows that for irony?
Essel is going to have a lot of $$$$, both her own as well as from the business community (support from the Central City Assn., L.A. Chamber, developers, etc.). Labor may see Krekorian as more open to "progressive" views regarding public policy issues....
10:51, I'd take Jack Weiss over the Buffoon we have now, who even Doug liken to a Three Stooges clown and who's wasting all the money he should be spending on implementing the gang programs, protecting the environment etc. etc. instead of hiring tons of retired CIA guys and Cooley's feds to do a McCarthyist witchhunt. (You know, all the stuff which he's NEVER done being too busy lining his pockets defending criminals, and it was all words so no wonder he can't even remember what he said.) Like Chick says, he was all about "soundbites and fancy speeches" and his words "weren't just empty. They were lies." Just like his whole nasty, malicious campaign that would have made a junior high kid look bad.
So go on and keep likening YOUR candidate to Trutanich whose name is already a bad joke. Let's see, WHO would you compare him to in the CD2 race if Essel is Weiss? Anyone that bad, crude, uneducated and a liar who "says and does anything" to get elected? Please tell us NOW.
12:12, if Essel's campaign is being run by Shallman, that's a negative for many. Since Shallman's clever campaign of lies and Rovian dirty tricks is already shown a sham.
You only get away with that kind of scam ONCE at least within the year and in the same city.
But who's Dennis Shallman vs. John?
Chris Essel must be pissed about this.
Did she not hire Young Su to get her this endorsement?
Well, well that endorsement just put another nail in PK's coffin! I understand that the salary for Assembly Members is going down to 95K from 116K a year in September. No wonder he is going to fight for the CD2 seat.
No wonder he wants to serve on the
high paying L.A. city position.
Of course he's not going to tell the truth that it's the money.
Check out the Friday edition of the Glendale News Press and see how much they don't like him. People are requesting that he resign!
1:52PM You are right.
Jack Weiss would have made a much better City Attorney.
There would have been no unsightly fuss over the Michael Jackson memorial, nor any question of not paying Laura Chick's legal fees. There would not have been a nasty threatening letter to the planning commission over their approval of a new digital billboard the the Staples Center either.
It would have been a delight to have Jack in the City Attorney's Office doing nothing to rock the boat. Business as usual in the City of Los Angeles.
I'm sure you and the rest of the Mayors staffers must be very upset that Trutanich has proven in just 21 days, that he's not going to play ball in City Hall.
Now, why don't you reply with the usual garbage you people keep on repeating; you know, Nooch's relative in San Pedro selling favors in City Hall, murderers and rapists being let out of jail, USC committing crimes that aren't prosecuted, the NRA is selling guns in the foyer outside the City Attorney's office, dead sea lions on the beach, pollution, etc. etc. etc.
You could also start a recall campaign against Trutanich and see if you can get even less votes for Jack Weiss that way.
Its John Shallman who has done a lot of political campaigns. He's another idiot. All we have to do is put out that Chris Essel is nothing more then another Antonio lap bitch who has done nothing for the city or community. With the power of the internet and e-mail she can be taken out with negative press. Look what happened to Measure B with $3 million.
Semi-communist is polite, corrupt socialism is more accurate.
SEIU is a self-described social justice organization. It's political ideology is controlled by Andy Stern and his operational philosophy appears largely based upon Sal Alinsky's Rules for Radicals.
SEIU exists to use workers to advance the political agenda of Andy Stern through concentration of dues into political donations. When one local reaches its legal limits, other locals from across the nation are signaled to spend money in races and contests that have little direct impact on that local's dues payers. Seriously, what does a SEIU local in New York City or Chicago benefit from contributing to the Mayor's race in Los Angeles? It might be criminal if SEIU hadn't bankrolled some much of the Obama machine to get Stern into weekly White House visits.
The worker pays the highest dues, is completely distanced from control of their organization and is sacrificed to management when truly in need of individual representation.
They tell their members they are part of something larger but in reality the only thing that gets larger are their dues deductions and the size of the mega-locals Andy Stern forms to ensure local elections are never held and control remains centralized.
The saddest part is that SEIU fails to deliver for the workers and focuses solely on expansion through aggressive multi-million dollar union fratricide that only benefits management and dilutes the strength of organized labor everywhere by diverting already scarce resources to fend off SEIU's perverted paradigm of unionism.
Last year's corruption scandals in California should have turned SEIU's political dollars toxic (at least from several of the scandal plagued locals) and SEIU continues to have internal problems throughout its California operations.
If Obama's popularity continues to drop and the self-serving nature of his agenda for his political contributors surfaces (remember Andy, it's not always so smart to go to the White House for meetings), the federal administration will have
Phil:
I don't know why you continue to undercut your credibility by using terms like "semi-Communist." It shows that you don't understand what "communist" means, or how to properly use the prefix "semi."
It appears that you misuse the terms "socialist" and "communist" to design any person or organization you don't like.
Anon @ 2:16
The SEIU is a private organization, and as such, I respect the fact that they have the right to act in any manner that they choose.
However, I find them physically repulsive, because they take money from their members under the guise of professional, stable behavior....and then act like mini-Mafia members who run around extorting benefits from politicians.
The fact that they don't even know how many people are going to be on the ballot, yet have already given orders as to who to vote for... well, that pretty much makes them Communists in my opinion.... thugs who are interested only in taking from others...regardless of whether those benefits are deserved or not.
The YouTube video of the SEIU member making threats to a politician says everything about their organization.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avB_iFEURY4
I would never join SEIU and urge others to avoid them.
"Can't see how Krekorian loses this"????
Let's see, how about he gets less votes than Essel?
Or, she gets more votes than Krekorian.
How about those two scenarios?
Do you see now?
8:29
Essel is known by how many people in the district?
Her endorsement page are two actors and not a single current neighborhood leader in the 2nd.
If she was running in downtown that would be a different matter.
Sometimes Phil surprises me with his stupidity.
Do you really think that any, all, or most of the SEIU membership live in CD 2? Don't be stupid.
SEIU puts out money to candidates for signs, literature, hit mailers, etc. They can't pull out the actual votes though. They live all over the place and some not even in the city, much less CD 2.
4:38, yes you're right, your guy has indeed proven in a mere 23 days that he's everything and more that his detractors said about him. A buffoon who's made our city look utterly petty, ridiculous and hostile to business after LAPD saved the day despite bungling pols like his BFF Zine -- now ponting fingers at the Mayor and PErry in his usual mic-hogging, self-serving way.
Someone who's so nasty and mean- spirited even after a faux victory engineered by Shallman's smoke and mirrors and Rovian nasty tricks, that he's intent on wasting tons of money and political and "honeymoon" capitol on a witch-hunt of his bosses and AEG and whoever else he may scare up, because he's just a hitman for a vindictive clique headed by his buddies like Cooley -- hiding behind ludicrously transparent bible-thumping rhetoric.
Already showing that his "education" at a night law school in Carson that came and went in a few years (was a product of the civil rights movement for blacks and a few really, really academically- challenged others who couldn't get in anywhere else) has him SO over his head that even as a puppet for his masters he can't keep up the ruse. The street smarts and phony grin and ham-act that are fine for small- town criminal lawyers OUTSIDE L A where he's practiced his whole life, are woefully, ludicrously too little and inappropriate for someone who's supposed to present a savvy intellectual and personal demeanor representing L A. BUT unbridled egotism without a sense of his own limitations make him PERFECT as a puppet/ hitman without inhibitions, savvy?
A guy who's done nothing but lie and deceive with "soundbites and fancy speeches" and "not just empty words. But lies," to wheel and deal his way into office. Who now is smearing even Laura Chick as "media whore" and extortionist, even Doug Mac after all he's done for him, alleging corruption on their parts, for realizing they've been tricked. A charlatan.
And yeah, since you mention it, the backroom pedro pay-to-plays are quite legion. And by the way, how much is he paying his former driver to become Asst. City Atty, because he's a buddy of his son?
And what about Dan Wright, who was so "active" in fundraising for him even pressing poor, homeless Zuma dogg into repeat service? Let's see, Dan's in real estate, so it's a real estate thing, trying not to leave any smoking guns, right? Now that the election's over, funny how Dan doesn't have time for "Capt. Jack Sparrow" either.
Each time a candidate runs for office in a specific area, they get more and more votes due to shear name recognition. Four in this race have run in some area of CD2 before-
Essavi (3329 votes in Comm College race)
Galatzan (4486 in school board runoff-south CD2)
Pugliese (6654 in two school board races-north and south CD2)
Krekorian- (Toluca lake in assembly race- maybe 1500)
And Greuel got just 10497 unopposed in 2007. Should be about the same turnout this time.
Interesting math, eh?
9:52... Essel is "running downtown" -- that is where she is going to get her money and backing, to be their candidate...
Anon@ 6:45PM
Good commentary about the corrupt behavior of unions and their abuses.
I like your thinking. And your truth.
Thank you, it looks like my comment got cut off - essentially:
If Obama's popularity dips, he will have no choice but to distance himself from SEIU and drop whatever leashes he may have on Justice and/or Labor Department actions against them to regain his credibility for 2012.
All in all, SEIU has a half-life of less than five years in California labor and politics. Let's hope that timetable is wrong and is actually much sooner.
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