How Much Did Andy Stern Know?

Ivan Osorio questions how much Andy Stern and the SEIU national affiliate knew about Tyrone Freeman’s illegal activities before they came to light in openmarket.org.  

The important question that the Labor Department needs to ask now is: What did Stern and the rest of the SEIU leadership know and when did they know it? And there is another question worth pondering: Will President Obama appoint a new Secretary of Labor willing to pursue cases like this?

Freeman was designated by SEIU’s national leadership to lead a forced consolidation of California locals — including some that resisted the consolidation, leading one Oakland-based local to break away from SEIU altogether, alleging heavy-handed tactics by SEIU operatives. So, now is a good time to review the road that led to Freeman’s conviction.

At the time, Freeman’s local was also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor for alleged election irregularities, which some union dissidents claimed SEIU’s national leadership knew about. . .