|
1) EIA Exclusive: AFT Gave
Almost $5.3 Million to Advocacy Groups. An
Education Intelligence Agency analysis of AFT's financial disclosure report
for the 2008-09 fiscal year reveals the national union contributed almost
$5.3 million to advocacy groups and charities. Though AFT contributed to
many of the same groups as NEA, the bulk of its spending reflects its
differences with the larger union more than its similarities.
AFT's expenditures were far more
oriented to the larger labor movement. One might think that its affiliation
with the AFL-CIO would preclude such a concentration, but many recipients of
AFT's donations have little connection to education. AFT's charitable
contributions are more diverse than NEA's, with recipients such as Freedom
House, the United Way, and the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Fund.
Some of the larger amounts went into the
state of Colorado, to support the organizing of
Colorado WINS, a coalition of labor organizations formed to take
advantage of Gov. Bill Ritter's 2007 executive order to allow union
representation of state workers.
There is also a $100,000 contribution
made on July 9, 2008 whose recipient is only categorized as "Missing," with
what appears to be a zip code of 27610. That covers Raleigh, North Carolina.
Here is an alphabetic list of the
recipients of AFT's contributions, with relevant web links. All of these
were paid for with members' dues money (the union's federal PAC is a
separate entity funded through voluntary means):
ACORN (national) - $25,000
ACORN (Maryland) - $21,894
Alliance for Retired Americans -
$28,000
American Friends of the Yitzhak Rabin Center
- $30,000
American Ireland Fund - $10,000
American Rights at Work -
$1,510,000
A. Philip Randolph Institute -
$7,000
A. Philip Randolph Institute
(Florida) - $5,000
Apollo Alliance - $15,000
Center for American Progress -
$10,000
Children's Defense Fund - $5,000
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
- $10,000
Citizens for Tax Justice - $15,000
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
- $12,035
Coalition of Labor Union Women -
$5,000
Colorado WINS - $442,725
Committee for Education Funding -
$8,570
Common Core - $25,000
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc.
- $45,000
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
- $55,000
Demos - $10,000
Economic Policy Institute -
$407,208
Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
- $500,000
Freedom House - $45,250
Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network
- $10,000
Good Jobs First - $20,000
Harmony Education Center - $5,000
Harvard Labor and Worklife Program
- $5,000
Health Care for America Now! -
$125,000
Hispanic College Fund - $5,000
Jewish Labor Committee - $72,500
$7,250
Jobs with Justice - $10,000
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
- $22,148
Labor Project for Working Families
- $5,000
Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State
- $5,000
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
- $25,000
Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO
(Countdown to DC Justice) - $10,125
NAACP (New York) - $10,000
National Alliance of Black School Educators
- $5,000
National Association for Bilingual Education
- $5,000
National Black Caucus of State Legislators
- $36,000
National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
- $12,500
National Coalition on Health Care -
$10,000
National Conference of State Legislatures
- $36,938
National Consumers League - $5,000
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
- $64,899
National Council of La Raza -
$10,000
National Council of Negro Women -
$5,000
National Endowment for Democracy -
$12,500
National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators
- $25,000
National Public Pension Coalition -
$90,000
No on Prop 105 (Arizona) - $5,000
Protect Colorado's Future -
$250,000
Rainbow PUSH Coalition - $25,000
Rebuild America's Schools - $30,000
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial - $5,000
Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference -
$5,000
SEIU (for Colorado WINS) - $377,093
Special Olympics - $50,000
United Negro College Fund - $5,000
United Way of the National Capital Area
- $10,000
U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute
- $10,000
Vietnam Veterans Assistance Fund -
$10,000
Working America - $595,000
2) Last Week's Intercepts.
EIA's blog,
Intercepts, covered these topics from February 1-8:
* Union
Thinks Union Is Anti-Union. Why don't they just tax the rich?
*
I'm Spartacus! Apocalypse next?
*
NEA Wins Springfield, Missouri Representation Election. In Nevada, you
need
a majority of the bargaining unit. In Missouri, you only need a majority
of those who care enough to vote.
*
James Vaughn of Orting, We Salute You! Truth in advertising.
*
School Choice as Defined by LA Unified. "Unverified parents"?
3)
Scheduling Note. The next EIA Communiqué will appear on Tuesday,
February 16.
4) Quote of the Week. "Unions are set up to minimize frictions and
maximize benefits for the bottom 55%. That's how they work everywhere--in
schools, and out. That's how they have to work. No amount of cajoling, no
number of white papers, is going to change that." - Megan McArdle, columnist
for The Atlantic. (February 4
Asymmetrical Information) |
