Report: SEIU ‘Intimidation Manual’ Uncovered Detailing Union’s Dirty Tactics

According to Vincent Vernuccio in the Washington Times, it's over 70 pages and details how “outside pressure can involve jeopardizing relationships between the employer and lenders, investors, stockholders, customers, clients, patients, tenants, politicians, or others on whom the employer depends for funds.”

"It" is a new intimidation manual uncovered during a lawsuit against the SEIU*, one of the nation's largest unions. In it, Vernuccio says, the SEIU's dirty tactics are explained, including bullying employers by targeting them economically and advocating for breaking the law.

For example, Vernuccio explains the manual openly calls for disregarding the law, using Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ghandi as justification: “Union members sometimes must act in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King and Mohatma [sic] Gandhi and disobey laws which are used to enforce injustice against working people."

But that's just the beginning. In addition, Vernuccio points out, it also advocates economic hit jobs.

“It may be a violation of blackmail and extortion laws to threaten management officials with release of ‘dirt’ about them if they don’t settle a contract," the manual allegedly says. "But there is no law against union members who are angry at their employer deciding to uncover and publicize factual information about individual managers.”

What kind of "dirt?"

How about “[l]eafleting outside meetings where [targeted managers] are speaking, their homes, or events sponsored by community organizations they are tied to are some ways to make sure their friends, neighbors, and associates are aware of the controversy.”

In essence, it seems, nothing is off limits.

Vernuccio explains the tactics in part by saying the union looks "to push businesses to the edge of bankruptcy, with little regard for the welfare of employer and employee."

That seems to fit the union's M.O. Earlier this spring, The Blaze exposed SEIU veteran leader Stephen Lerner and his plan to bring down the U.S. economy through an economic hit-job on JP Morgan Chase (see here, here, and here).

In that plan, the union was set to organize its members and others in a massive mortgage strike, meant to collapse the system in order to remake in a way the union best saw fit.

So why does the manual target employers instead of trying to organize employees? Vernuccio offers one possible explanation: "Organized labor is losing members at a rapid rate. In the private sector, union membership stands at less than 7 percent."

The logic seems to go something like this: if you can't get employees to unionize, force employers to do it for them.

That raises an important question: Who is the SEIU really working for?

The revelation comes as the National Labor Relations Board decides whether to allow faster elections regarding unionization, a move many businesses say would only serve to benefit unions and stop businesses from adequately informing employees about potential unionization.

Get more information about the SEIU manual over at the Washington Times.

(H/T: Weasel Zippers)

*The lawsuit was filed by Sodexo Inc., a food service company that has been fighting the SEIU (and its tactics) over unionization. We covered that lawsuit back in March.

UPDATE:

Red State has linked to a copy of the manual that it says originated in the 1980s. You can view it here.