Washington Post - December 10, 2008 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/09/AR2008120903057.html
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Union Official Allegedly Served As a Go-Between for Governor Blagojevich Apparently Hoped for Job Leading Labor Group
By Alec MacGillis Washington Post Staff Writer
Among the revelations contained in the complaint brought against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich yesterday was the description of an official with the Service Employees International Union acting as an apparent intermediary between the governor and Barack Obama's camp in discussions over Obama's Senate seat.
The alleged role of the SEIU official was surprising, given that the union had not figured publicly in the investigation into Blagojevich (D). But on another level, the SEIU's apparent involvement is an indication of the extent to which it has, under the leadership of its ambitious and controversial president, Andrew L. Stern, become an omnipresent force in Democratic politics.
^^^ CB: MacGillis' use of "omnipresent" is a politically motivated exaggeration here, not to mention that it's _good_ that union leaders have significant influence in the Democratic Party. Sounds like a hamhanded effort to smear Stern and strike a first blow in the Employee Free Choice Act fight.
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