Originally Published on RedState.com
While loathe to admit it, many government unions finance their extensive political operations with dues collected from members ostensibly for workplace representation. Thanks to the Freedom Foundation, however, members of Teamsters Local 117 now have less of their dues diverted to political purposes.
Teamsters 117 claims to represent about 16,500 employees working for 200 employers in Washington, making it one of the 10 largest in the state. A large segment of the union’s membership works for the government, including the state Department of Corrections and a number of local and municipal public employers.
Historically, Teamsters 117 had financed its political contributions through the “Teamsters Local 117 Segregated Fund” (SF), which is registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a “political organization” under 26 U.S.C. § 527.
Lack of proper reporting made identifying the source of the SF’s funds and its expenditures difficult. Federal law requires political organizations to file periodic reports with the IRS itemizing contributions received and expenditures made. However, a political organization can avoid reporting its financial transactions to the IRS if it instead reports them to a state government campaign finance entity, as many state laws require. In Washington, campaign finance reports related to Washington elections must be filed with the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC).
In its IRS filings, the SF repeatedly claimed exemption from reporting its contributions and expenditures to the IRS because it instead reported them at the state level which, if true, would have been appropriate. In reality, however, the SF never registered as a political committee with the PDC and didn’t report its contributions or expenditures at all, meaning its political activity was invisible to the public and in violation of both state and federal laws.
