Today we put up this piece about labor issues and the transition, exploring the policy agenda coming out of the unions and how that jibes with President-elect Obama's own ideas. One thing that I didn't include was a sentence on the involvement of SEIU and the Change to Win coalition in the criminal complaint against Governor Rod Blagojevich; explaining the situation in detail would have detracted from the article's policy focus. But leaving it out seemed to ignore an important and somewhat uncomfortable part of the story. (When I interviewed Change to Win Chair Anna Burger, I was asked by her media aides not to bring up the complaint). Luckily, that's why we have blogs! First, this is the relevant material from prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's complaint:
99. ... HARRIS noted that ROD BLAGOJEVICH is interested in taking a high-paying position with an organization called “Change to Win,” which is connected to Service Employees International Union (“SEIU”).HARRIS suggested that SEIU Official make ROD BLAGOJEVICH the head of Change to Win and, in exchange, the President-elect could help Change to Win with its legislative agenda on a national level. Advisor B asked why SEIU Official cannot just give the job to ROD BLAGOJEVICH. HARRIS responded that it would be just a big “give away” for SEIU Official and Change to Win since there are already individuals on the Change to Win payroll doing the functions of the position that would be created for ROD BLAGOJEVICH. HARRIS said that Change to Win will want to trade the job for ROD BLAGOJEVICH for something from the President-elect. HARRIS suggested a “three-way deal,” and explained that a three-way deal like the one discussed would give the President-elect a “buffer so there is no obvious quid pro quo for [Senate Candidate 1].” ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that for him to give up the governorship for the Change to Win position, the Change to Win position must pay a lot more than he is getting paid right now. ...
109. On November 12, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH spoke with SEIU Official, who was in Washington, D.C. Prior intercepted phone conversations indicate that approximately a week before this call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH met with SEIU Official to discuss the vacant Senate seat, and ROD BLAGOJEVICH understood that SEIU Official was an emissary to discuss Senate Candidate 1's interest in the Senate seat. During the conversation with SEIU Official on November 12, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH informed SEIU Official that he had heard the President-elect wanted persons other than Senate Candidate 1 to be considered for the Senate seat. SEIU Official stated that he would find out if Senate Candidate 1 wanted SEIU Official to keep pushing her for Senator with ROD BLAGOJEVICH. ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that “one thing I'd be interested in” is a 501(c)(4) organization. ROD BLAGOJEVICH explained the 501(c)(4) idea to SEIU Official and said that the 501(c)(4) could help “our new Senator [Senate Candidate 1].” SEIU Official agreed to “put that flag up and see where it goes.”
It was initially reported that "SEIU official" was none other than SEIU President Andy Stern, but now it looks like the more likely culprit was Tom Balanoff, the head of SEIU in Illinois. Either way, though, reading the above portions of the complaint, it seems like most of the conspiring went on in the heads of Blagojevich and his advisors, and that the actual conversation with the official himself was relatively anodyne. (One labor source who would talk to me about the complaint argued that the flag pole comment is the equivalent of "Don't call me, I'll call you.") Given Fitzgerald's cautions about judging the various parties in the complaint who were not specifically charged, it doesn't look like the union official did anything illegal, or even particularly unsavory, in meeting with the governor. More could come out in further investigation, but for the time being I don't think this will affect labor's priorities or the transition at large.
--Tim Fernholz
