Standing up (*and rigging elections?) for Tyrone Freeman

Cliche Alert!!

****Sunday morning update****

By Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 10:41 PM PDT, August 16, 2008

The election of a Los Angeles union leader under fire for his labor group's spending practices is the subject of a government review that could force a new vote because of complaints that the contest was unfair to challengers.

The U.S. Labor Department is investigating allegations that Tyrone Freeman's union local made it nearly impossible for candidates not on his slate to qualify for the ballot, according to people familiar with the probe.

"Figures Don’t Lie, People Lie on Figures" an Op-ed by Charisse Bremond-Weaver, President and CEO of the Brotherhood Crusade

Many who commented here on the LA Times investigated report on the financial dealing of SEIU 6434 President Tyrone Freeman will take exception to this Op-ed in the Los Angeles Sentinel.

For those who called for an investigation of Freeman's dealings, they will likely shake their heads in reading this sad Op-ed denial which highlights the "ethical myopia" that afflicts some who call themselves leaders in the African-American community.

Excerpts:

"In reading the article entitled “Leader’s Kin get Union Business,” I became quite incensed. However, the provocation of my irritation was not that which the author intended. Instead, I was gravely disappointed because the writer, Paul Pringle, employed an under-handed, but effective strategy of intentionally misleading the reader in order to create a perception of impropriety. I will support this assertion in the text that follows, but let me be clear, I am formally accusing Mr. Pringle of employing this tactic. In contrast, if you read the article carefully, Mr. Pringle never accuses Mr. Tyrone Freeman or the Union of wrong-doing, nor claims that the practices discussed are immoral, illegal, or unethical. The article is simply written for the purpose of leading the reader to make such a conclusion. Ironically, as I will demonstrate in this response, the practices that were magnified in the article are not only justified but typical and in many cases, necessary". (Raising dues on the "working poor" to benefit family members is "necessary"??)

"Perhaps the centerpiece of Mr. Pringle’s article was his blatant attempt to unjustifiably discredit the union’s selection of service providers based on family involvement. For years, we have fought to eliminate the practice of unethical nepotism and to this day we question such practices. It fascinates me that Mr. Pringle would write this article when we have a US President that facilitated an extremely large sole-source contract to a company that is intimately associated with the Vice President and this act virtually went unnoticed." ( I think we are talking about the Freeman family??)

"It is a privilege to report for a respected and time-honored media outlet such as the Los Angeles Times. Unfortunately, Mr. Pringle dishonored the newspaper and his profession by writing this article in such an irresponsible and unfair manner. We were warned that there would come a time when people will think that is good is bad and what is bad is good. It is my sincere hope that Mr. Pringle’s readers are intelligent enough to discern his deceptive presentation and refuse to allow this to be that time."(good is bad, bad is good??).

Reality is that for some, the onerous dues increase was missing from their last pay checks, those numbers don't lie.....