Marathon Pundit: Public-sector unions to spend $100 million saving Democrats

Friday, May 21, 2010

Public-sector unions to spend $100 million saving Democrats

When public-sector unions contribute cash to political campaigns, the taxpayer loses.

It's government spending money to perpetuate government.

And one boss slurs patriots like myself, calling us "teabaggers."

From The Hill:

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) plans to spend in excess of $50 million during the 2010 campaign, part of which will fund "a massive incumbent protection program," according to Gerry McEntee, president of the union.

AFSCME spent roughly $67 million on its political activities in 2008. But the $50 million slated for the 2010 elections is the largest expenditure the union will make in a midterm election, according to union officials. The money will go to help defend the union's top tier of eight Senate seats and 34 House members.

"We have got to protect the incumbency in the House. We have got to protect the incumbency in the Senate," McEntee said. "It is going to be hard. Those tea-baggers are out there. There is an anti-incumbency mood out there."

After the top tier, there will be a second tier of House candidates AFSCME will be monitoring and will step in to help defend if they become endangered by GOP challengers.

On the agenda of McEntee, besides insults, is the anti-jobs so-called Employee Free Choice Act, as he explained late last year:

Gerald McEntee, president of the influential American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, told The Washington Times in an interview that EFCA was 'payback' for the labor movement's massive campaign effort for Mr. Obama and the Democrats.

Another big public-sector union, SEIU, plans to spend $44 million on the midterms, and will focus on saving 15 embattled House Democrats, including Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL).

Oh, I wrote that the taxpayers are losing. Believe it or not, so are members of SEIU, as the Washington Times tells us:

SEIU is $85 million in debt, down from its 2008 high of $102 million, and has been forced to lay off employees. Mr. Stern has led protests against Bank of America, calling for the firing of Chief Executive Ken Lewis. Yet the union owes $80 million to Bank of America and $5 million to Amalgamated Bank, which is owned by the rival union Unite-Here.

SEIU's pensions are in even worse shape. Both of SEIU's two national pension plans, the SEIU National Industry Pension Fund and the Pension Plan for Employees of the SEIU, issued critical-status letters last year. The Pension Protection Act requires any pension fund that is funded below 65 percent of what it needs to pay its obligations to inform its beneficiaries of the deficit.

Many SEIU local pension plans are in as bad a shape as the national plans - if not worse. In 2007, well before the financial meltdown, the SEIU Local 32BJ Building Maintenance Contractors Association Pension Plan was funded at an anemic 41 percent, the SEIU 1199 Greater New York Pension Fund at 58 percent, the 32BJ District Building Operators Pension Trust Fund at 56 percent, and the Service Employees 32BJ North Pension Fund at 68 percent.

An underfunded pension plan does not have enough assets to meet its obligations to retirees in the future. Recovery is difficult if plans are significantly underfunded, as is the case with the SEIU plans. The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. (PBGC) insures only a portion of promised benefits to retirees in union multiemployer pension plans. If one of those plans goes bankrupt, the PBGC will guarantee only up to $12,870 in benefits.

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Friday, May 21, 2010

Public-sector unions to spend $100 million saving Democrats

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