Front Groups for the SEIU . . . and the Teamsters . . . and ACORN!
The Daily Caller reports on a number of front groups for the SEIU. This post expands on the Daily Caller report, and shows that the front groups are not merely tied to the SEIU, but also to the Teamsters — and to a descendant of our old friend ACORN.
The Daily Caller piece explains:
The politically aggressive Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has quietly created a national network of at least eight community-organizing groups, some of which function alongside the Occupy Wall Street movement, a Daily Caller investigation shows.
Incorporated by the SEIU as local non-profits, the groups are waging concerted local political campaigns to publicly attack conservative political figures, banks, energy companies and other corporations.
Each local group has portrayed itself as an independent community organization not tied to any special interest. But they were founded, incorporated, and led by SEIU personnel.
The front groups, which operate as 501(c)(4) non-profit organizations, pretend to engage in grassroots activity, such as going to a Republican senator’s office, and claiming to be unemployed D.C. residents demanding that the senator meet with them concerning an Obama jobs bill. The only problem is that the puppeteers are not far behind:
A source told the Daily Caller that while African-American and Hispanic protesters sat in McConnell’s office, two Caucasian women from Our DC directed the protesters from the hallway. The staffers called reporters, operated laptops and posted messages to Twitter.
As Rick Perry might say: “oops.”
Despite these groups’ utter lack of transparency, the Daily Caller provides extensive evidence tying these groups to the SEIU. For example:
An SEIU-tied Washington, D.C. law firm incorporated each of them. The founding board members are solely SEIU executives and organizers. In each city the founding addresses match those of SEIU locals.
In addition to that and other evidence, the Daily Caller tells us that the IP addresses of the front groups’ web sites tie back to an SEIU server.
Good stuff, and excellent research.
A tipster provides me with more, giving me further links and ties between one of the front groups and several unions and “community organizing” organizations. In addition to finding ties to Son of ACORN and the Teamsters — the main thrust of this post — my tipster also found more evidence tying one of the front groups named by the Daily Caller to the SEIU.
That organization is Houston-based “Good Jobs = Great Houston,” a non-profit, like most of these other groups . . . and a group tied to unions, ACORN descendants, and other parts of the institutional left.
For example, a visit to the Good Jobs = Great Houston web site reveals the following disclaimer, which shows a direct tie to the SEIU:
F. Warranty Disclaimer
THIS WEBSITE IS PROVIDED TO YOU “AS IS.” YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SEIU WEBSITE SHALL BE AT YOUR SOLE RISK. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GOOD JOBS=GREAT HOUSTON, AS WELL AS ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS (COLLECTIVELY, GOOD JOBS=GREAT HOUSTON), DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN CONNECTION WITH THE WEBSITE AND YOUR USE THEREOF. GOOD JOBS=GREAT HOUSTON CANNOT AND DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENTNESS, NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF THE SITE’S CONTENT OR THE CONTENT OF ANY SITES LINKED TO THIS SITE. NOR DOES GOOD JOBS=GREAT HOUSTON GUARANTEE THAT THE WEBSITE WILL BE ERROR FREE, OR CONTINUOUSLY AVAILABLE, OR THAT THE WEBSITE WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. THE SEIU PARTIES DO NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE PROVIDED, ADVERTISED OR OFFERED BY A THIRD PARTY THROUGH THE GOOD JOBS=GREAT HOUSTON WEBSITE OR ANY HYPERLINKED WEBSITE OR FEATURED IN ANY BANNER OR OTHER ADVERTISING.
Man, that’s funny. Let’s screenshot it in case they try to scrub it:
Yeah, that seems pretty direct all right. Did they mean to leave the legal language so revealing? As Rick Perry might say, again: oops!
There is other evidence tying this organization to SEIU. Take a look at the following magical address:
4299 San Felipe, Suite 200
Houston, TX 77027
That very special address — right down to the suite number! — is the address of three “coalition partners” of Good Jobs = Great Houston: Mi Familia Vota, Hope Local 123, and SEIU Local 1. All four list the same office address, and the 2 unions link to the same page. And SEIU Local 5 in Houston is at the same address and suite number. Fancy that.
Next we have . . .
The Teamsters Connection
Teamsters Online described a “community canvasser” job with Good Jobs=Great Houston! as being a “Teamster Job”:
And while the link appears to be dead, a Twitter site calling itself “Union Jobs” advertised the same job:
And then we have . . .
The ACORN connection
Here’s where it gets really interesting.
Here is the contact info for Good Jobs = Great Houston. Please take special note of the address:
Contact Us
Good Jobs=Great Houston
2955 Gulf Freeway
Houston, TX 77007Phone: 713-236-8245
Fax: 713-236-8279
Google and real estate listings show that address to be a combination office space/warehouse. Check here and here and here.
Coincidentally, this is the same address as that of the Texas Organizing Project:
Houston Office:
2955 Gulf Freeway Suite B
Houston, TX 77003
832-387-5845
info@organizetexas.org
Oddly enough, the “Texas Organizing Project” is a “coalition partner” of Good Jobs = Great Houston.
And the really fun part is: the Texas Organizing Project? Yeah, that would be the new name for ACORN in Texas:
State chapters have incorporated themselves under new names. New York became New York Communities for Change. California became Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. Texas became Texas Organizing Project.
So Good Jobs = Great Houston and Texas Organizing Project (Son of ACORN) are not just “coalition partners,” but also make their address in the same warehousey location in Houston.
Hmmmm.
You could do the same exercise with virtually all these groups, and probably find all kinds of union ties. I think the ACORN tie surprised me the most least.
Keep in mind that the front groups pretend to be independent, grassroots organizations. Even as their puppeteers direct their actions, and organize under the auspices of well-funded unions, they claim non-profit status, and would have you believe they are genuine grassroots groups.
Hahahahahahahahhaha. Uh, not so much.
If Andrew Breitbart were alive today, this is the kind of shenanigans by the institutional left he would want us to expose. Nice work by the Daily Caller . . . and my tipster.
Actually, only Andrew was Andrew. But I get the idea, so why quibble?
Seriously, a lot of people are inspired not to let his spirit die. And that is a truly awesome thing.
Patterico (feda6b) — 3/6/2012 @ 1:09 amBrietbart’s army will roll on.
sickofrinos (44de53) — 3/6/2012 @ 2:51 amHis energy and guts are what America is about.
Innocent oversights on the addresses I’m sure, or something.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 3/6/2012 @ 6:05 amUnfortunately, the one virtue that the left regularly practices is persistence, and they are good at it.
An ACORN by any other name…
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 3/6/2012 @ 6:15 amHave the new versions found a way to get gov. money yet?
How do such obviously pro-Democrat Party partisan operations maintain the fiction that they are non-partisan and thus qualified for non-profit status?
SGT Ted (5d10ae) — 3/6/2012 @ 6:50 amRacists. Denounced, and condemned.
JD (7430dd) — 3/6/2012 @ 7:00 amProtein Wisdom, pre-Obama had many comments and posts about this fake grass-roots technique, and the methods ties/origins in communist front groups.
I was always amazed at how this never became a bigger deal, considering the red-diaper status of Obama and his connections to this type of “organizing.”
I have to wonder if this is why progressives were insisting TEA folks couldn’t be “real” – in their world there is no such thing.
Sarahw (b0e533) — 3/6/2012 @ 7:21 amThere is only one Andrew Breitbart, but it’s great to see his legacy continue.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 3/6/2012 @ 7:23 amHow do such obviously pro-Democrat Party partisan operations maintain the fiction that they are non-partisan and thus qualified for non-profit status?
Such nominally “non-partisan” groups rely on a very narrow definition of partisan. If they don’t formally endorse a political party, they can get away with it.
To be sure, this group is pretty brazen about it. Most “non-partisan” outfits are a bit subtler. They issue studies and position papers that just coincidentally line up with the Democratic party line. In California, such lefty “non-partisan” groups include the California Budget Project and Next 10, which are presented as neutral by bamboozled/complicit reporters. Keep in mind that non-partisan doesn’t mean non-political. And the more a group touts its “non-partisan” status, the more you should be on the lookout for a bamboozle.
Both these “nonpartisan” groups have issued online budget balancing games that challenge the public to balance the budget. Players are given a limited range of options; they can’t choose to repeal recognition of employee unions, or outsource inmate care to Texas where it’s much cheaper, for example. So it’s really just a propaganda exercise to push those group’s preferences for higher taxes under the guise of being objective.
Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (f7ba1f) — 3/6/2012 @ 7:28 amJake Tapper gave a nice illustration this week of how the facade is all that matters
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 3/6/2012 @ 7:54 am“They issue studies and position papers that just coincidentally line up with the Democratic party line.”
Bro Bradley – Not coincidentally, issue advocacy fall under activities permitted under the Internal Revenue Code for such groups, while candidate specific advocacy does not.
I wonder where buying T-shirts for volunteers indicating the support of a particular candidate falls? Not too tough a call.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 3/6/2012 @ 8:07 amPurple People Beaters coming to your neighborhood soon!
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 3/6/2012 @ 8:09 amThe more they change, the more they remain the same.
PatAZ (2c3538) — 3/6/2012 @ 8:19 amDon’t Teamsters and SEIU officers visit the White House on a regular basis???
I don’t buy GOOONION products, if I can avoid it.
Gus (36e9a7) — 3/6/2012 @ 8:40 amBro Bradley – Not coincidentally, issue advocacy fall under activities permitted under the Internal Revenue Code for such groups, while candidate specific advocacy does not.
So a “non-partisan” group can parrot everything from a political party’s wish list, but as long as it doesn’t actually endorse a candidate it’s in the clear. Neat.
Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (a18ddc) — 3/6/2012 @ 8:46 amBrother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. – I believe that is true based upon my last review of the regs, but am always happy to be proved wrong.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 3/6/2012 @ 8:47 amBro B – The issues should be mostly related to the union and its members and how they are potentially impacted by such issues, however.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 3/6/2012 @ 8:50 amYes if GOOOONIONS, ACORN etc support a specific candidate, who enforces the law?
Gus (36e9a7) — 3/6/2012 @ 8:57 amFYI — not sure its significant or not, but 501(c)(4) organizations, while non-profit, are not entities for which contributors can claim a tax deduction. They are called “social welfare” organizations, not “charities”. The contributions they receive are not taxed as income to the entity, but they are not tax deductible either.
shipwreckedcrew (4268cd) — 3/6/2012 @ 9:23 amshipwreckedcrew,
Good point. I doubt we’ll ever get to see their books but my guess is most of their donations come from SEIU and other unions. Do you know if FEC and/or government documents would tell us whether any funding comes from Organizing from America or the government?
DRJ (a83b8b) — 3/6/2012 @ 9:42 amJake Tapper gave a nice illustration this week of how the facade is all that matters
Good point, happyfeet.
Certainly the SEIU/Acorn/teamsters astro turfing story is an important one, but that is not the story I’ve chosen to tell today.
MayBee (081489) — 3/6/2012 @ 11:05 amToday, I’m just doing a story about how Acorn helped minorities vote.
MayBee (081489) — 3/6/2012 @ 11:08 amSoylent Purple is ACORN!!!
SPQR (26be8b) — 3/6/2012 @ 1:08 pmUnfortunately, SEIU and Acorn are the vote counters in several states. As George Soros says, it’s not important how people vote — it’s more important who counts the votes!
JoyO (18e355) — 3/6/2012 @ 3:15 pmTrumka talks to the WH daily and visits a couple times a week.
Noodles (3681c4) — 3/6/2012 @ 3:25 pmThey are petrified that somebody new is going to empty the gravy-boat, smash it on the floor, and put the pieces into a descending-spiral solar orbit.
AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92) — 3/7/2012 @ 9:08 amThey elected this corrupt POS Presidential pretender, and by all that’s Holy, they will defend that line until Hell freezes over.
For, without him, they’ll have to go out and get real jobs, doing actual work.
Comment by JoyO — 3/6/2012 @ 3:15 pm
I think Joe Stalin said that?
AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92) — 3/7/2012 @ 9:09 amSadly, the MSM will not pick up one iota of this story.
Speaking of the MSM, here is a delicious chart on the freefall of legacy newspapers, LAT leading the death spiral.
LA Times Attempting Suicide
Patricia (e1d89d) — 3/7/2012 @ 10:29 amPatricia, the LAT’s skill levels are so degraded, that they probably will fail at suicide too – much to all of our regret.
AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92) — 3/7/2012 @ 11:15 amWell, of course they will fail at suicide . . . because guess who will come along at the last minute, bailout in hand!
Icy (a4ce3e) — 3/7/2012 @ 11:34 amGreat link, elissa.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 3/7/2012 @ 11:44 amTrue! They can’t even fail adequately, LOL.
Patricia (e1d89d) — 3/7/2012 @ 1:07 pm