Unions gave ACORN nearly $10 million

The bulk of the donations came from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which contributed $7.4 million between 2005 and 2008 to the national organization, state chapters and allied groups. SEIU’s single largest donation of $1.5 million went to the ACORN Community Labor Organizing Center (ACLOC) in 2006. SEIU also made a $1.3 million donation to ACORN International in 2005.

The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), the Longshore and Warehouse Union, the Communication Workers of America (CWA), and the National Education Association (NEA) were other top contributors.

SEIU Locals 100 and 880 were listed as allied organizations on ACORN’s web site until The Examiner highlighted this connection.

LM-2’s show over $600,000 in contributions between these SEIU locals and other ACORN operations. A 2007 LM-2 form shows SEIU Local 880, which is active in Illinois and Minnesota, donated $60,118 to ACORN for “membership services.” Organized labor has kicked it back in the form of gifts and grants to ACORN totaling $2.4 million, according to the disclosure forms.

ACORN activists have participated in highly aggressive, well-coordinated anti-corporate campaigns across the country unofficially called “Muscle for Money” funded by SEIU.

Current and former ACORN board members, who are now active with a reform group called ACORN 8, have expressed misgivings over some of tactics that were used. Marcel Reid, who now chairs the whistleblower group, said in an interview that she would never be identified with campaigns that involved shakedowns.

“I would never take part in any kind of shakedown campaign, that’s just  not what I’m about” Reid said. “I was active in protests that were set  up to communicate our concerns to companies about some of their polices,  this was appropriate and within bounds. But after a while some of these events just went over the top and they became too personal. This is not something I would ever approve.”