The Obamessiah Interferes in Local Hospital Labor Dispute

I guess Barack Obama really does care about me. He's interfering in a local labor dispute involving Mission Hospital, the local trauma center and Children's Hospital and a place I've had to spend some time on a couple of occasions. (h/t Mission Viejo Dispatch)

Barack Obama has blasted Mission Hospital over a union organizing dispute. Tonight (Wednesday) a message from Obama will be read to candlelight protesters outside Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo.

Obama has taken a stand against the actions of the Sisters of St Joseph’s Hospital System, according to union spokesperson Jonathan Asmerom. Obama’s message implicitly accuses the hospital of violating basic American values by engaging in anti-union activities to thwart health care workers trying to organize a union at St Joseph’s.

The union, SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West, with more than 140,000 members, is self-described as the largest and most powerful healthcare union in the Western US. The union’s organizing drive against St Joseph’s is currently the largest in the nation.

I hope they get some snooty guy to read it so it sounds right.

Jay Tea over at Wizbang blog sheds a little light on the SEIU:

Well, everyone's favorite gang of thugs is at it again. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has opened its books, and it turns out there is a lot of stuff they'd rather keep quiet in them.

Stuff like how the union bosses have funneled literally millions of dollars of union money to businesses that just happened, by some amazing coincidence, owned by close family members of union officials.

This is the union's idea of "family values." This is actually a step up, when "family values" used to revolve around Mafia families.

That still might make a comeback, though -- one of the promises Barack Obama has made in his quest for the presidency was to end the consent decree that keeps the Teamsters under federal supervision. This has kept the Mafia from getting overt control of the union again.

That the SEIU is doing appalling things should come as no great surprise. They have already spent over $24 million dollars this campaign cycle alone, and have pledged to spend at least six times that much.

They've also run afoul of campaign finance laws -- but, as far as I know, they haven't been called on it yet. They reworked their Constitution to require every single Local to contribute at least $6.00 per member to the SEIU's political action committee -- or they will be "fined" by the national chapter $1.50 for every dollar they fall short of that quota.

One minor catch: federal law mandates that contributions to PACs must be voluntary. Demanding contributions is... um... what's the word? Oh, yeah -- ILLEGAL.

Doesn't it seem like a lot of people who support Obama are just plain shady? Am I the only one noticing that?