Latest news with #JesseJackson
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Our people hire our people': Long before DOJ probe into Mayor Brandon Johnson, racial politics coursed through City Hall hiring
Mayor Brandon Johnson sat onstage at a cavernous Woodlawn church and shot back at the criticism that he only cares about hiring Black people with his most forceful defense yet of the representation among his top appointees. Addressing a Black audience last week, he quoted the Rev. Jesse Jackson: 'Our people hire our people.' Then one by one, he shouted out six of his Black deputies and a Black-owned business recently awarded an airport contract. Less than 24 hours later, his remarks reached the walls of President Donald Trump's Justice Department, triggering an investigation into City Hall's hiring practices. But while Trump's crusade against diversity policies that he views as discriminatory against white Americans is unprecedented, the practice of powerful officials hiring from within their own ethnic group is a tried-and-true tradition in the bare-knuckle arena of Chicago politics. Long before DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion, entered the political lexicon, the city's various racial groups each approached the power struggle for jobs with the ethos of 'Where's mine?' Johnson, while maintaining he's looking out for the entire city, has also argued that now it's Black residents' turn. 'Why wouldn't I speak to Black Chicago? Why wouldn't I?' the mayor challenged reporters when asked about the DOJ probe last week. 'It would be shameful if I were to repeat the sins of those who have been in this position before because they did not speak enough to Black Chicago.' Former Ald. Ed Vrdolyak, a ringleader of the white opposition to Mayor Harold Washington in the 1980s, once laid out Chicago's ethnic political principles in stark terms, as an outsider taking stock of the Daley clan's decades of iron control of the city's levers of power. 'You've got to understand something about the Irish, the Daley Irish,' Vrdolyak told the Tribune in 1996. 'It's the Irish first, and everybody else is a Polack. Everybody. I'm Croatian, and to them I was a Polack. The Blacks are Polacks. Latinos, everybody … are Polacks. That's how they are.' Ald. Walter Burnett, 27th, the most veteran sitting member of the City Council, chuckled recently when he heard the quote. 'Isn't that something? This is real talk in Chicago.' 'We keep going through this evolution of who gets the short end of the stick,' said Burnett, who is Black. 'And when you have been oppressed and neglected for such a long time, you know you are going to continue to try and get more. It's just a natural reaction.' During the 20th century, European immigrants came to Chicago in waves, with each group starting from scratch when it came to amassing economic and political might. Longtime white Chicagoans often didn't accept the newcomers at first, but eventually the burgeoning populations of Irish, Italians, Polish and others established their own unique enclaves across the city. Most famously, the Irish American Daley family came into power and built a formidable political machine from the 11th Ward in Bridgeport, making a point to hire and promote other Irish Chicagoans. Other white ethnic groups such as the Polish did the same. That reward system came under fire in the early 1970s under Mayor Richard J. Daley, when federal courts issued a series of orders prohibiting patronage employment in Chicago. They were known as the Shakman decrees. The DOJ probe into Johnson hinges on whether he 'made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race,' in potential violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to a notice issued by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon. Flashback: Chicago's Council Wars pitted defiant white aldermen against a reform-minded Harold Washington Washington, the city's first Black mayor, bucked the status quo by recruiting a coalition of Black and Latino aldermen to counter Vrdolyak and other white ethnic members of the Democratic machine who tried to thwart him, in a period known as Council Wars. After Washington's death in office in 1987, however, that so-called Rainbow Coalition waned as Mayor Richard M. Daley took over in 1989. Daley assembled his own alliance of ethnic whites and Latinos as the 1990 decennial ward remapping process loomed to prop up a wedge against a growing Black influence at City Hall. Latino hiring did surge, thanks to the Daley-allied Hispanic Democratic Organization — until a federal investigation into its patronage hiring practices kneecapped the group. Faced with these setbacks, some Black politicians have tried to take matters in their own hands. 'I've always liked patronage,' the late Ald. William Beavers was quoted saying in the Tribune in 1988. 'Why change the game when Harold Washington became mayor? You should be allowed to hire whomever you want.' Or as former Cook County Board President Todd Stroger once argued, 'Patronage has been as American as apple pie.' Ameshia Cross, a Democratic strategist who grew up in South Shore, said comparing the racial politics of then versus now is imprecise, however. While earlier generations of European immigrants have since assimilated with white Americans, Black people remain in 'an entirely separate bucket,' she said. Cross said the city has yet to fully rectify its sordid legacy of redlining, discriminatory banks and other practices that segregated the South and West sides. That's why the modern apparatus of government jobs serving as a 'backbone' for the Black community is so critical for Johnson to protect, she said. 'Even though Chicago has never been a part of Jim Crow, Chicago very much had a separate but equal stance,' Cross said. 'There is a movement, and has been for at least the better half of the past three and a half decades, to ensure that many of those gaps reach a level of closure. … That's one of the things that this White House is trying its darnedest to erase.' One of Washington's signature lines that encapsulated the promise behind his Rainbow Coalition was, 'You're going to get your fair share,' as former U.S. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez recalled hearing the late mayor promise constituents. In the decades since, Chicago's racial interests have scarcely agreed on what a 'fair share' looks like. Gutiérrez, who joined Washington's ranks as an upstart Puerto Rican alderman, has since gravitated toward more establishment positions. He said the current political climate doesn't need more inflammatory rhetoric like Johnson's. 'Why would a mayor that represents everybody tout exclusively about the Black people that he's hired?' Gutiérrez said. 'The city of Chicago has come a long way, a long way, and I don't think it needs a mayor that fans the flames of race as an issue.' Since Johnson took office two years ago, he's faced pushback from Latino leaders who want his staff and cabinet makeup to be more reflective of Chicago's shifting demographics. For his part the mayor says he has the 'most diverse administration' in the city's history, which is true when measuring his share of nonwhite employees against his last three predecessors, at the very least. But the 'most diverse' label becomes more fraught when breaking down the nonwhite representation. Over the past decade, Latinos have surpassed the shrinking Black population for the first time, leaving Chicago at about 30% Latino, 29% Black, 31% white and 7% Asian. The map that ultimately passed the City Council in the most recent ward remap following the 2020 census had 16 majority-Black wards and 14 majority-Latino wards — one fewer than what the Latino Caucus wanted — while forming the city's first majority-Asian ward. The makeup of the entire mayor's office staff is 34% Black, 24% Hispanic, 30% white and 7% Asian, according to the latest numbers provided last week. Johnson's cabinet was much Blacker, however, hovering at about 44% as of last year, according to the Triibe news website. The mayor's press office did not provide updated figures to the Tribune. When asked last week whether the strong Black focus among his staff leaves Latinos, Asians and other marginalized groups behind, the mayor retorted that's 'the type of divisiveness that this president wants us to have.' He then listed seven Latinas across his leadership and cabinet team. Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, a frequent Johnson critic, said he will continue pushing for the mayor's Latino representation to be closer to 30%, arguing that Latinos will likely surpass white Chicagoans in next decade and become the largest group. 'There are going to be some communities that get ahead, but it should not be because of the fact that you're saying, 'Oh, because it's my community, I want to get them ahead,'' Villegas said. 'This is not the 1970s and '80s, and if we want to revert back to that, it's the wrong approach.' Villegas was chair of the Latino Caucus during the most recent ward redistricting process under then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot, leading the failed effort to secure an additional majority-Latino seat. Then under Johnson, Villegas unsuccessfully threw his hat in the ring to be appointed Zoning chair after the coveted leadership role was vacated by Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th. Johnson found himself in a monthslong quagmire last year because he had promised the seat to the Latino Caucus but was unable to pick a candidate he could both trust and muscle through the council, so he opted to go with Burnett and boost the Black Caucus' chairmanships instead. While remaining steadfast in defending the prioritization of the Black neighborhoods he says have 'borne the brunt' of policies such as the 2013 mass school closings, the mayor has also sought to challenge what he sees as a cherry-picked narrative over how he approaches race. 'It sounds like to me that people tune in to what they wanted to, because the fact of the matter is that I've shown up for this entire city,' Johnson said last week. 'The city of Chicago has suffered from a great deal of pain because of the political and the racial dividing lines that have existed in this city for a long time. I'm going to break those.' For Ald. Nicole Lee, who represents the new Asian-majority 11th Ward, the drop in Asian representation at the senior levels was 'striking.' Lightfoot had four Asian Americans in her leadership team, while Johnson has had no Asian representation among his appointees to his office for the vast majority of his term. 'I would question how we define the most diverse,' Lee said. 'It is disappointing that his administration doesn't feel representative of my own community, and it's not something that's lost on the community, either. It is definitely a topic of conversation among folks.' Lee said she's voiced this concern to Johnson before and suggested Asian American candidates for open positions, but they were not selected. Last month, the mayor did appoint Jung Yoon as policy chief. Victor LaGroon, former chief diversity officer at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said it's not realistic for governments to match their constituents' demographics one-to-one. When the age-old bickering over 'where's mine?' does spill over, that is more a reflection of a historic scarcity of opportunity within those populations, LaGroon, who also served in Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration, said. 'The communities who view themselves as waiting for their turn to be served can view themselves in a very myopic way and say, 'Hey, we didn't get what we needed. Where's ours?' It's unfortunate,' Lagroon said. 'While mayors today try to get it right, I think it's also important to notice that many of our mayors are trying to also undo some of the harm done in the past.'
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
From EVs to HVAC, clean energy means jobs in Central Illinois
Powering Rural Futures: Clean energy is creating new jobs in rural America, generating opportunities for people who install solar panels, build wind turbines, weatherize homes, and more. This five-part series from the Rural News Network explores how industry, state governments, and education systems are training this growing workforce. DECATUR, ILLINOIS — A fistfight at a high school football game nearly defined Shawn Honorable's life. It was 1999 when he and a group of teen boys were expelled and faced criminal charges over the incident. The story of the 'Decatur Seven' drew national headlines and protests led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who framed their harsh treatment as blatant racism. The governor eventually intervened, and the students were allowed to attend alternative schools. Honorable, now 41, was encouraged by support 'from around the world,' but he said the incident was traumatizing and he continued to struggle academically and socially. Over the years, he dabbled in illegal activity and was incarcerated, most recently after a 2017 conviction for accepting a large amount of marijuana sent through the mail. Today, Honorable is ready to start a new chapter, having graduated with honors last week from a clean energy workforce training program at Richland Community College, located in the Central Illinois city of Decatur. He would eventually like to own or manage a solar company, but he has more immediate plans to start a solar-powered mobile hot dog stand. He's already chosen the name: Buns on the Run. 'By me going back to school and doing this, it shows my nephews and my little cousins and nieces that it is good to have education,' Honorable said. 'I know this is going to be the new way of life with solar panels. So I'll have a step up on everyone. When it comes, I will already be aware of what's going on with this clean energy thing.' After decades of layoffs and factory closings, the community of Decatur is also looking to clean energy as a potential springboard. Located amid soybean fields a three-hour drive from Chicago, the city was long known for its Caterpillar, Firestone Tire, and massive corn-syrup factories. Industrial jobs have been in decline for decades, though, and high rates of gun violence, child poverty, unemployment, and incarceration were among the reasons the city was named a clean energy workforce hub funded under Illinois' 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). Decatur's hub, based at Richland Community College, is arguably the most developed and successful of the dozen or so established statewide. That's thanks in part to TCCI Manufacturing, a local, family-owned factory that makes electric vehicle compressors. TCCI is expanding its operations with a state-of-the-art testing facility and an on-site campus where Richland students will take classes adjacent to the manufacturing floor. The electric truck company Rivian also has a factory 50 miles away. 'The pieces are all coming together,' Kara Demirjian, senior vice president of TCCI Manufacturing, said by email. 'What makes this region unique is that it's not just about one company or one product line. It's about building an entire clean energy ecosystem. The future of EV manufacturing leadership won't just be on the coasts — it's being built right here in the Midwest.' The Decatur CEJA program has also flourished because it was grafted onto a preexisting initiative, EnRich, that helps formerly incarcerated or otherwise disenfranchised people gain new skills and employment. The program is overseen by the Rev. Courtney Carson, a childhood friend of Honorable and another member of the Decatur Seven. 'So many of us suffer significantly from our unmet needs, our unhealed traumas,' said Carson, who was jailed as a young man for gun possession and later drag racing. With the help of mentors including Rev. Jackson and a college basketball coach, he parlayed his past into leadership, becoming associate pastor at a renowned church, leading a highway construction class at Richland, and in 2017 being elected to the same school board that had expelled him. Carson, now vice president of external relations at the community college, tapped his own experience to shape EnRich as a trauma-informed approach, with wraparound services to help students overcome barriers — from lack of childcare to PTSD to a criminal record. Carson has faith that students can overcome such challenges to build more promising futures, like Decatur itself has done. 'We have all these new opportunities coming in, and there's a lot of excitement in the city,' Carson said. 'That's magnificent. So what has to happen is these individuals who suffered from closures, they have to be reminded that there is hope.' Richland Community College's clean energy jobs training starts with an eight-week life skills course that has long been central to the larger EnRich program. The course uses a Circle of Courage practice inspired by Indigenous communities and helps students prepare to handle stressful workplace situations like being disrespected or even called a racial slur. 'Being called the N-word, couldn't that make you want to fight somebody? But now you lose your job,' said Carson. 'We really dive deep into what's motivating their attitude and those traumas that have significantly impacted their body to make them respond to situations either the right way or the wrong way.' The training addresses other dynamics that might be unfamiliar to some students — for example, some male students might not be prepared to be supervised by a woman, Carson noted, or others might not be comfortable with LGBTQ+ coworkers. Life skills are followed by a construction math course crucial to many clean energy and other trades jobs. During a recent class, 24-year-old Brylan Hodges joked with the teacher while converting fractions to decimals and percentages on the whiteboard. He explained that he moved from St. Louis to Decatur in search of opportunity, and he hopes to become a property manager overseeing solar panel installation and energy-efficiency upgrades on buildings. Students take an eight-hour primer in clean energy fields including electric vehicles, solar, HVAC, and home energy auditing. Then they choose a clean energy track to pursue, leading to professional certifications as well as a chance to continue at Richland for an associate degree. Under the state-funded program, students are paid for their time attending classes. Marcus James was part of the first cohort to start the program last October, just days after his release from prison. He was an 18-year-old living in Memphis, Tennessee, when someone shot at him, as he describes it, and he fired back, with fatal consequences. He was convicted of murder and spent 12 years behind bars. After his release he made his way to Decatur, looking for a safer place to raise his kids. Adjusting to life on the outside wasn't easy, and he ended up back in prison for a year and a half on DUI and drug possession charges. Following his release, he was determined to turn his life around. 'After I brought my kids up here, I end up going back to prison. But at that moment, I realized, man, I had to change,' James told a crowd at an event celebrating the clean jobs program in March. James said that at first, he showed up late to every class. But soon the lessons sank in, and he was never late again. He always paid attention when people talked, and he gained new confidence. 'As long as I put my mind to it, I can do it,' said James, who would like to work as a home energy auditor. Richland partners with the energy utility Ameren to place trainees in such positions. 'I like being out in the field, learning new stuff, dealing with homes, helping people,' James said, noting he made energy-efficiency improvements to his own home after the course. Illinois' 2017 Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) launched the state's clean energy transition, baking in equity goals that prioritize opportunities for people who benefited least and were harmed most by the fossil fuel economy. It created programs to deploy solar arrays and provide job training in marginalized and environmental justice communities. FEJA's rollout was rocky. Funding for equity-focused solar installations went unspent while workforce programs struggled to recruit trainees and connect them with jobs. The pandemic didn't help. The follow-up legislation, CEJA, expanded workforce training programs and remedied snafus in the original law. Melissa Gombar is principal director of workforce development programs for Elevate, a Chicago-based national nonprofit organization that oversaw FEJA job training and subcontracts for a Chicago-area CEJA hub. Gombar said many community organizations tasked with running FEJA training programs were relatively small and grassroots, so they had to scramble to build new financial and human resources infrastructure. 'They have to have certain policies in place for hiring and procurement. The influx of grant money might have doubled their budget,' Gombar said. Meanwhile, the state employees tasked with helping the groups 'are really talented and skilled, trying their best, but they're overburdened because of the large lift.' CEJA, by contrast, tapped community colleges like Richland, which already had robust infrastructure and staffing. CEJA also funds community organizations to serve as 'navigators,' using the trust and credibility they've developed in communities to recruit trainees. Richland Community College received $2.6 million from April 2024 through June 2025, and the Community Foundation of Macon County, the hub's navigator, received $440,000 for the same time period. The other hubs similarly received between $1 million and $3.3 million for the past year, and state officials have said the same level of funding will be allocated for each of the next two years, according to the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition. CEJA hubs also include social service providers that connect trainees with wraparound support; businesses like TCCI that offer jobs; and affiliated entrepreneur incubators that help people start their own clean energy businesses. CEJA also funded apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs with labor unions, which are often a prerequisite for employment in utility-scale solar and wind. 'The sum of the parts is greater than the whole,' said Drew Keiser, TCCI vice president of global human resources. 'The navigator is saying, 'Hey, I've connected with this portion of the population that's been overlooked or underserved.' OK, once you get them trained, send their resumes to me, and I'll get them interviewed. We're seeing a real pipeline into careers.' The hub partners go to great lengths to aid students — for example, coordinating and often paying for transportation, childcare, or even car repairs. 'If you need some help, they always there for you,' James said. In 1984, TCCI began making vehicle compressors in a Decatur plant formerly used to build Sherman tanks during World War II. A few decades later, the company began producing compressors for electric vehicles, which are much more elaborate and sensitive than those for internal combustion engines. In August 2023, Gov. JB Pritzker joined TCCI President Richard Demirjian, the Decatur mayor, and college officials for the groundbreaking of an Electric Vehicle Innovation Hub, which will include a climatic research facility — basically a high-tech wind tunnel where companies and researchers from across the world can send EV chargers, batteries, compressors, and other components for testing in extreme temperatures, rain, and wind. A $21.3 million capital grant and a $2.2 million electric vehicle incentive from the state are funding the wind tunnel and the new facilities where Richland classes will be held. In 2022, Pritzker announced these investments as furthering the state goal of 1 million EVs on the road by 2030. Far from the gritty industrial environs that likely characterized Decatur workplaces of the past, the classrooms at TCCI feature colorful decor, comfortable armchairs, and bright, airy spaces adjacent to pristine high-tech manufacturing floors lined with machines. 'This hub is a game changer,' said Keiser, noting the need for trained tradespeople. 'As a country, we place a lot of emphasis on kids going to college, and maybe we've kind of overlooked getting tangible skills in the hands of folks.' A marketing firm founded by Kara Demirjian — Richard Demirjian's sister — and located on-site with TCCI also received clean energy hub funds to promote the training program. This has been crucial to the hub's success, according to Ariana Bennick, account executive at the firm, DCC Marketing. Its team has developed, tested, and deployed digital billboards, mailers, ads, Facebook events, and other approaches to attract trainees and business partners. 'Being a part of something here in Decatur that's really leading the nation in this clean energy initiative is exciting,' Bennick said. 'It can be done here in the middle of the cornfields. We want to show people a framework that they can take and scale in other places.' With graduation behind him, Honorable is planning the types of hot dogs and sausages he'll sell at Buns on the Run. He said Tamika Thomas, director of the CEJA program at Richland, has also encouraged him to consider teaching so he can share the clean energy skills he's learned with others. The world seems wide open with possibilities. 'A little at a time — I'm going to focus on the tasks in front of me that I'm passionate about, and then see what's next,' Honorable said. He invoked a favorite scene from the cartoon TV series 'The Flintstones,' in which the characters' leg power, rather than wheels and batteries, propelled vehicles: 'Like Fred and Barney, I'll be up and running.' This reporting is part of a collaboration between the Institute for Nonprofit News' Rural News Network and Canary Media, South Dakota News Watch, Cardinal News, The Mendocino Voice, and The Maine Monitor. Support from Ascendium Education Group made the project possible.
News18
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Shilpa Shetty's Mid-Week Motivation Came Laced With A Jesse Jackson Quote
Last Updated: Shilpa Shetty posted a picture on Instagram Stories which incorporated some major life lessons and a quote from civil rights activist Jesse Jackson. Shilpa Shetty's posts are always super relatable, be it her love for food or her fitness goals. Her latest Instagram offering is no different. On Thursday, the actress posted a picture on her Instagram Stories that incorporated some major life lessons about how to turn unfair situations into something positive. It begins with a quote from civil rights activist Jesse Jackson – 'Both tears and sweat are salty, but they render a different result. Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change." The post further talks about how people often spend their energy complaining about things. An excerpt from the post reads, 'Maybe we really have been treated unfairly. Maybe someone has it in for us. Maybe it's raining on the day we wanted to take a picnic. We would do better to figure out how to turn the situation into something positive – and we'd annoy our friends a lot less." According to the post, it is important to get moving instead of complaining and crying over a situation. Another excerpt from the piece reads, 'Do I need to work harder, try something different, or just change my plans? Chances are, what I need to do is simple and well within my control." Shilpa Shetty stands also as an example of how to live life to the fullest. The actress recently headed to a solo trip instead of her usual travel routine, which includes her husband Raj Kundra and kids. She also posted a video online wherein she shared her long awaited dream to go on a solo trip. In the clip, Shilpa is seen enjoying cycling, hiking and relaxing with spa treatments. Further, the video also captured her exploring various sights and churches, relishing on yummy-looking local cuisine, sunbathing and even relaxing in a bathtub. Sharing the post, she wrote, 'Travel far, travel wide and travel alone. For in solitude, you find yourself. My SOLO trip in a decade was worth the wait." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shilpa Shetty Kundra (@theshilpashetty) On the work front, Shilpa Shetty was last seen in Rohit Shetty's web series, Indian Police Force, in 2024. Up next, she will be seen in a Kannada action thriller, titled KD – The Devil. The movie, directed by Prem, also stars Dhruva Sarja, Reeshma Nanaiah, V Ravichandran, Ramesh Aravind, Sanjay Dutt, Jisshu Sengupta and Nora Fatehi in key roles. First Published: May 08, 2025, 19:02 IST
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘An unlimited piggy bank:' Inside a powerful union's lavish spending
NEW YORK — When Jesse Jackson found himself facing a mountain of medical bills two years ago, the civil rights leader was blessed with an unusual saving grace: the largest health care union in the U.S. His longtime ally George Gresham, president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, sent him $50,000 from the union's coffers, according to public financial disclosures and four union staffers present when the payment was discussed. The request did not come as a surprise to the union's officers. What surprised them, the staffers said, was that Gresham went through the trouble of requesting a vote. 'Whatever George needs, they find the money to do it,' one of the four staffers said. Gresham has for years used the politically influential union's funds to benefit himself, his family and political allies, a nine-month POLITICO investigation found. In some cases, Gresham bypassed the officers tasked with signing off on major expenses and had to request retroactive approval or pay back the union. POLITICO interviewed more than 20 current and former union employees and reviewed thousands of pages of union financial reports filed with the U.S. Department of Labor and the IRS, as well as internal emails and invoices. Nearly all of the people interviewed were granted anonymity for fear of reprisal by Gresham and his allies. Some of the union's spending has become an open secret as it undergoes its first competitive leadership election in decades, part of an anti-incumbent wave rippling through organized labor nationwide. Unions are already struggling to find their footing as overall membership hits an all-time low and President Donald Trump readies attacks on collective bargaining rights. Now, 1199SEIU, which represents 450,000 health care workers across five East Coast states, stands at a crossroads. Gresham and his allies say he is best positioned to take on Trump and Republicans in Congress as they pursue hawkish immigration and health care policies that could harm the union's members and the institutions that employ them. The officers spearheading the bid to oust Gresham this spring say his effort to cling to power is one reason organized labor has faltered: leaders prioritizing their own interests over the needs of dues-paying members. And his spending, they argue, is a prime example of their grievance. The union has spent $60,000 and counting to cover his daughter's room, board and transportation to accompany him on business trips as his caregiver. Two logistics employees serve as Gresham's de facto personal drivers, six people with knowledge of the arrangements said. The union's spending spanned the globe, from flights to South Africa to concerts coinciding with Gresham's annual family reunions in a one-stoplight Virginia town, records show. Federal labor laws require union officers to manage funds 'solely for the benefit of the union' and to properly authorize and report all expenditures — a relic of the Mafia's infiltration of the Teamsters more than 60 years ago when organized labor was at the peak of its political power. Those guardrails are meant to hold unions accountable for how they spend their money, which comes out of members' paychecks in the form of monthly dues. In response to a detailed summary of POLITICO's findings, spokesperson Bryn Lloyd-Bollard said the union is in full compliance with those requirements and that all the expenses were 'either incurred in the normal course of Union activity, and at market rates, or were expressly authorized by the Union's Executive Council.' 'Allegations of financial impropriety are categorically false,' Lloyd-Bollard said in an emailed statement. 'Our expenditures are vetted and normal for an organization of our size and scope, and to suggest otherwise is a misreading and cherry-picking of our Union's financial records or based on falsehoods.' Lloyd-Bollard, who is running in the union election to be an officer on Gresham's slate, added that the union 'will not be responding further to what are false claims regarding expenses that have been properly vetted and recorded.' He also declined to make Gresham or the union's chief financial officer, Lucy Chen, available for interviews. The union justified the transactions as business expenses, creating a 'legacy award' for Jackson and hosting a 'get out the vote' concert series that coincided with the family reunions, according to financial disclosures. But it's unclear how the spending directly benefited 1199SEIU's members, many of whom are hourly workers earning minimum wage. The spending was clearly a boon to Gresham's allies, like Jackson. Political activist Carmen Perez, who gained name recognition co-chairing the 2017 Women's March on Washington, was on payroll for years despite not doing any work directly for the union, according to five people familiar with the matter. A production company run by a former union driver received hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to plan elaborate rallies and lavish parties with celebrity musicians and scores of DJs — including Gresham's son. 'They would be better off taking that money and buying lotto tickets,' said a current staffer, one of the four present when the Jackson payment was discussed. Former prosecutors and an investigator briefed on POLITICO's findings cast doubt on the spending's benefit to union members. Andriana Vamvakas, who previously oversaw probes of union spending as a regional director for the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards, said the examples highlighted by POLITICO are the kind of transactions she would have investigated. 'All of them are red flags,' she said. As money for Gresham's priorities flew out the door, the rest of the union was scrounging for crumbs. The dissonance took center stage last year in a conference room at a luxury golf resort in New Jersey, where the union was hosting its annual officers' retreat. To kick off what many presumed was a five-day planning and strategy marathon, a woman dressed all in white sprinkled water on the ground and led a breathing exercise, according to five attendees. Even that could not dispel the tension in the air, one of the attendees said: 'It was like, what about all the fucking problems in the union?' Their frustrations spilled out that day at Crystal Springs Resort, the luxe hotel favored by Gresham for union confabs. Some of the union's top officers were pressing Gresham for a strategic plan to better coordinate their advocacy work, breaking down silos among the five states where it has members. Key roles were languishing unfilled. Rumors were flying that the union's own employees were trying to organize. Now they were all together, and they were doing breathwork. An officer stood up and said what many of them were thinking: They were there to work. The wellness agenda got scrapped, but attendees left Crystal Springs with more questions than answers. For many, Gresham was at the top of that list. Having risen through the ranks from hospital housekeeper to president over the course of more than three decades, Gresham commands deep respect and reverence within the union. But in recent years, he has grappled with health problems. He shows up late to meetings, often logging on virtually while hooked up to a dialysis machine, then falls asleep in the middle of them, according to screenshots shared with POLITICO and four people who've witnessed it. The union's executive officers, many of them health care workers themselves, were long reluctant to raise concerns about the impact of Gresham's declining health. They felt similarly conflicted about his spending decisions. The staffers interviewed by POLITICO said they thought it best to brush aside any misgivings, for fear of causing division that could weaken the union. 'It was clear I wasn't supposed to ask questions about a whole bunch of stuff,' one former staffer said. Just before the officers' retreat in February 2024, the dam burst. One week earlier, during a meeting of the union's highest governing body, a lawyer presented a proposal to authorize the continuing use of union funds for 'supportive services' for Gresham, retroactive to January 2023, according to five attendees and a copy of the resolution reviewed by POLITICO. Specifically, that meant assigning a union staffer to drive him to union functions in New York City and tasking another union staffer to provide 'physical assistance' for Gresham during out-of-town business. The resolution also greenlit paying for hotels, meals and transportation for Gresham's daughter Siana — who works for the Montefiore Health System — so she could provide 'daily supportive medical and related services' on a volunteer basis when he traveled for union-related business. Meeting attendees were told the union had already spent about $60,000 on such costs, even though the matter had never come before them for a vote. And Gresham already had two employees from the logistics department driving him around in a black sprinter van, according to four staffers who directly witnessed it. A former logistics staffer said it was common knowledge that the two drivers also ran errands for Gresham, like picking up his medications. The resolution passed on the condition that executive officers would receive regular spending reports. Still, it left some officers with growing discomfort. The union had no permanent political director. The staff support and contracts departments had no director either. The dues department, which collects the money that keeps the union afloat, was understaffed. The union needed more organizers. But Gresham hardly ever convened the committee responsible for approving new hires, several current staffers said. They were told the union was experiencing financial difficulties. 'Our members don't get an unlimited piggy bank where they can just tap it anytime they need something,' a current staffer told POLITICO. Lloyd-Bollard, the union's spokesperson, declined to address the concerns about vacancies. He said he has 'never once' witnessed Gresham fall asleep during a virtual meeting and said sometimes he reclines because he has sciatica. Gresham's own needs, by contrast, were a priority — all on top of his $300,000 annual salary. The spending on his daughter Siana's travel, for example, was necessary for him to 'effectively function as President,' because he has 'multiple, significant health issues' that require daily assistance, the resolution stated. Even though Gresham owns a house in the Bronx, the union spent more than $17,000 in 2022 on the Residence Inn in the Bronx, a hotel next to Montefiore Medical Center where he has long been living, according to two people who recently saw him there. The two people said the union's executive officers did not approve any spending on that hotel, which appears to have ended that same year. When POLITICO called the hotel's front desk in March asking for Gresham, a receptionist offered to transfer the call to his room. No one picked up. Previously the union rented an apartment for Gresham 'on an emergency basis,' citing the Covid pandemic, financial disclosures show. After word of the mounting cost reached the executive officers, who had only authorized about a week's worth of rent, Gresham cashed out vacation days to reimburse the union, according to two people familiar with the matter. Union money even covered flights to South Africa in 2014 and 2018, at a cost of more than $86,000, financial disclosures show. One former staffer said Gresham brought back souvenirs from the first trip — framed rand notes, the local currency — when he accompanied several other union members at a memorial service for anti-apartheid activist and politician Nelson Mandela. The 2018 trip was for Gresham and does not appear to have been authorized by executive officers, according to a current staffer briefed on the matter. The trip's rationale is not entirely clear. Lloyd-Bollard said the union is obliged to accommodate Gresham's medical disability and that his daughter provides 'cost-effective support,' compared with the alternative of hiring per diem caregivers. He did not respond to a request for the total spend to date, and union officers have yet to receive any update on the expense. Gresham's daughter did not respond to a request for comment. Lloyd-Bollard did not explain the $17,000 Residence Inn bill, saying 'President Gresham's living situation is his own business,' but noted the union is not paying for Gresham's housing. The executive council approved the vacation payout for the Manhattan apartment on a one-time basis, he added. He said member delegations traveled to South Africa to meet with representatives of the African National Congress and the Congress of South African Trade Unions — 'such as in 2014' — but did not specifically address the 2018 trip. Under the union's constitution, officers have broad discretion to approve spending that would 'promote the aims and objects' of the organization. Even so, many of the transactions uncovered by POLITICO did not appear to meet that standard. The union spent more than $300,000 annually to lease a penthouse suite that served as office space for the Gathering for Justice, a nonprofit founded by the legendary singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, according to two people briefed on the expense. Executive officers approved the terms in 2021 under the stated rationale that Belafonte provided 'in-kind' assistance to the union, one of the two people said. The nonprofit's stated mission is to eliminate racial inequities in the criminal justice system. The Gathering for Justice's president, Carmen Perez, has been on the union's payroll since 2009 as a national program director. The union has spent more than $1 million on her salary to date, including over $120,000 last year, according to an analysis of public financial reports. Five current and former staffers said they were unaware of any work Perez did for the union. 'I never had a single conversation with her,' one of the five staffers said. Since at least 2016, Perez has also drawn a salary from the Gathering for Justice, which lists her as a full-time employee, the nonprofit's tax filings show. She earned $101,000 in 2023, according to the most recent available data. Perez and the Gathering for Justice did not respond to an emailed list of questions. Perez did not return calls requesting comment. Lloyd-Bollard, the union spokesperson, said Perez was 'expressly assigned' to help with a national social justice campaign under a formal partnership with Belafonte and the Gathering for Justice to advocate for criminal justice reform, starting before Gresham became president. He said the office space and a 'service agreement' were approved by the executive council and concluded upon Belafonte's death in 2023 but later told POLITICO the partnership ended last year. '1199's origins and development have always been tied to broader struggles for civil rights and social justice, which is how it has grown and thrived,' he said in a statement. In the case of Jackson's $50,000 legacy award, which was approved by a majority of officers, it is unclear how the money was used. Jackson could not be reached for comment, and a family representative declined to answer questions about the matter. The crowd went wild when Trey Songz took the stage of the Sheraton Hotel in Times Square for the union's 2009 holiday party. 'Say aah!' the R&B singer yelled out in a reference to his chart-topping single that year, a video of the performance on YouTube shows. Everyone familiar with 1199SEIU knows it throws a great party. Ashanti, Shaggy and DJ Funkmaster Flex are among the celebrity artists who have performed at its events. Hip-hop legends Doug E. Fresh and Rakim headlined a 2023 rally in an Albany arena to fight for more funding for the state's Medicaid program, which covers low-income New Yorkers. 'George knows music is something that brings people together, and he does it well,'' said Mindy Berman, who retired last year after 22 years working for the union. For decades, the man behind the scenes of these spectacles has been Kevin Zambrana, a longtime friend of the union who once worked as a driver for its officers. Now his production company earns hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to liven up the union's political rallies, parade floats and social gatherings. To bring Trey Songz to the Sheraton's stage in 2009, Zambrana charged the union a $30,000 deposit for the booking and $5,000 for 'airline tix,' according to an invoice reviewed by POLITICO. Zambrana charged the union the same flat $5,000 rate for plane tickets for two other performers at the party — an unusually round number for airfare. At least some of Zambrana's bill for the party was paid in cash, at his request, according to emails reviewed by POLITICO. 'I need the cash, same as last year,' one of Gresham's assistants wrote in December 2009 to Lucy Chen, the union's chief financial officer. 'OK, I will contact my source,' Chen later responded. Two years later, in 2011, Zambrana asked for $50,000 in cash to pay for entertainers to appear at the union's holiday party, emails show. The union's financial disclosure for that year reports a payment of only $25,000 to Zambrana's company the day after the email. Zambrana's roster of performers includes Gresham's son, James, who has DJed for union parties on at least three occasions, social media posts show. The gigs included a virtual 'disco night jam' in 2020 and a 2023 rally for union nurses at Clara Maass Hospital in New Jersey. Reached by phone, a woman who identified herself as an assistant with Zambrana's production company said he would not participate in POLITICO's article. Zambrana did not respond to an emailed list of questions. Gresham's son did not respond to requests for comment. The union said entertainment costs are paid at market rates and properly recorded. The union added that Gresham's son was paid at 'market rate' to DJ for one event, but POLITICO's request for the cost went unanswered. Several current staffers tied the lavish parties to Gresham's well-known love for hobnobbing with celebrities, especially classic hip-hop and R&B artists. Others defended the extravaganzas, saying they hyped up members and kept them engaged. But the union also paid for festivities with little apparent benefit to members, according to people who attended the events and POLITICO's analysis of financial disclosures. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of dollars went to an R&B concert series in Middlesex County, Va. — where Gresham is from. Those concerts happened to coincide with his annual family reunions there, according to social media posts and four people familiar with the matter. The union hosted its first 'Raise Our Voices' concert in 2014 with Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network, according to local news archives. The concerts, located in the 500-person town of Urbanna, are billed as 'get out the vote' events for state and national races. The convenient timing and location of the concert series enabled the extended Gresham family to enjoy some unexpectedly star-studded weekends. Kathy Sledge of the Grammy-winning group Sister Sledge, who performed at 'Raise Our Voices' in 2014, made an appearance at the family reunion that year as well, according to one person who attended. Singer Willie Rogers, who was a member of the Soul Stirrers gospel group, did the same in 2017 when he was among that year's 'Raise Our Voices' lineup, a video posted on Facebook shows. Lloyd-Bollard, the union spokesperson, said the organization has a 'significant interest' in building progressive politics in Virginia, calling it a 'crucial East Coast swing state.' He said no union funds have ever been used for 'family reunions.' A second former staffer said the cost of the concerts seemed to outweigh any benefit to the union. 'It was a stretch, but it was also understood it happened at the same time as the family reunions,' that staffer said. 'Was it an efficient use of union dollars? I would say no.' The union appears to have last hosted 'Raise Our Voices' in 2019. That year, the union reported spending nearly $25,000 on a boutique hotel in Urbanna and $33,000 on hotels in two nearby towns, according to its 2019 financial disclosure. Another $10,800 was reported as a contribution to the Middlesex Volunteer Fire Dept., which hosted the concerts at its firehouse, while $23,000 went to PayPal for 'Virginia concert ticket sales,' that disclosure shows. The only elections in Virginia that November were for the state Legislature and local offices. Today the union's top brass is focused on an election of its own. Two of Gresham's top lieutenants, Yvonne Armstrong and Veronica Turner-Biggs, are leading a faction called the Members First Unity Slate to unseat their longtime leader. It's the union's first competitive leadership election since 1989. When members cast their ballots by mail this month, they will choose between two different visions not only of the union's future but of its past and present. Asked to comment on POLITICO's findings, a spokesperson for the Members First Unity Slate said, 'This pattern of financial misappropriation and lack of transparency is exactly why we are running.' 'For years, the majority of executive officers have questioned and challenged President Gresham on numerous inappropriate expenditures, even pressuring him to repay misused union funds,' the spokesperson, Erin Malone, said in the statement. 'Yet time and again requests for financial transparency have gone unanswered or punished, prioritizing Gresham's own interests over the members.' William Key, an executive vice president for the union, said Gresham's record speaks for itself and accused the Members First Unity Slate of 'stooping to lies' to win the election. 'Everywhere that George campaigns, we've seen a groundswell of support from members who know that his tirelessness and vision have helped to win historic gains for members,' he said in a statement to POLITICO on behalf of Gresham's campaign, 1 Union 1 Future. 'Health care workers understand that a physical disability should never mean that one can't serve and lead. We're humbled to have their support.' Both sides in this election share at least one of the same goals: a huge turnout.
Politico
08-04-2025
- Business
- Politico
‘An unlimited piggy bank:' Inside a powerful union's lavish spending
NEW YORK — When Jesse Jackson found himself facing a mountain of medical bills two years ago, the civil rights leader was blessed with an unusual saving grace: the largest health care union in the U.S. His longtime ally George Gresham, president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, sent him $50,000 from the union's coffers, according to public financial disclosures and four union staffers present when the payment was discussed. The request did not come as a surprise to the union's officers. What surprised them, the staffers said, was that Gresham went through the trouble of requesting a vote. 'Whatever George needs, they find the money to do it,' one of the four staffers said. Gresham has for years used the politically influential union's funds to benefit himself, his family and political allies, a nine-month POLITICO investigation found. In some cases, Gresham bypassed the officers tasked with signing off on major expenses and had to request retroactive approval or pay back the union. POLITICO interviewed more than 20 current and former union employees and reviewed thousands of pages of union financial reports filed with the U.S. Department of Labor and the IRS, as well as internal emails and invoices. Nearly all of the people interviewed were granted anonymity for fear of reprisal by Gresham and his allies. Some of the union's spending has become an open secret as it undergoes its first competitive leadership election in decades , part of an anti-incumbent wave rippling through organized labor nationwide. Unions are already struggling to find their footing as overall membership hits an all-time low and President Donald Trump readies attacks on collective bargaining rights. Now, 1199SEIU, which represents 450,000 health care workers across five East Coast states, stands at a crossroads. Gresham and his allies say he is best positioned to take on Trump and Republicans in Congress as they pursue hawkish immigration and health care policies that could harm the union's members and the institutions that employ them. The officers spearheading the bid to oust Gresham this spring say his effort to cling to power is one reason organized labor has faltered: leaders prioritizing their own interests over the needs of dues-paying members. And his spending, they argue, is a prime example of their grievance. The union has spent $60,000 and counting to cover his daughter's room, board and transportation to accompany him on business trips as his caregiver. Two logistics employees serve as Gresham's de facto personal drivers, six people with knowledge of the arrangements said. The union's spending spanned the globe, from flights to South Africa to concerts coinciding with Gresham's annual family reunions in a one-stoplight Virginia town, records show. Federal labor laws require union officers to manage funds 'solely for the benefit of the union' and to properly authorize and report all expenditures — a relic of the Mafia's infiltration of the Teamsters more than 60 years ago when organized labor was at the peak of its political power. Those guardrails are meant to hold unions accountable for how they spend their money, which comes out of members' paychecks in the form of monthly dues. In response to a detailed summary of POLITICO's findings, spokesperson Bryn Lloyd-Bollard said the union is in full compliance with those requirements and that all the expenses were 'either incurred in the normal course of Union activity, and at market rates, or were expressly authorized by the Union's Executive Council.' 'Allegations of financial impropriety are categorically false,' Lloyd-Bollard said in an emailed statement. 'Our expenditures are vetted and normal for an organization of our size and scope, and to suggest otherwise is a misreading and cherry-picking of our Union's financial records or based on falsehoods.' Lloyd-Bollard, who is running in the union election to be an officer on Gresham's slate, added that the union 'will not be responding further to what are false claims regarding expenses that have been properly vetted and recorded.' He also declined to make Gresham or the union's chief financial officer, Lucy Chen, available for interviews. The union justified the transactions as business expenses, creating a 'legacy award' for Jackson and hosting a 'get out the vote' concert series that coincided with the family reunions, according to financial disclosures. But it's unclear how the spending directly benefited 1199SEIU's members, many of whom are hourly workers earning minimum wage. The spending was clearly a boon to Gresham's allies, like Jackson. Political activist Carmen Perez, who gained name recognition co-chairing the 2017 Women's March on Washington, was on payroll for years despite not doing any work directly for the union, according to five people familiar with the matter. A production company run by a former union driver received hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to plan elaborate rallies and lavish parties with celebrity musicians and scores of DJs — including Gresham's son. 'They would be better off taking that money and buying lotto tickets,' said a current staffer, one of the four present when the Jackson payment was discussed. Former prosecutors and an investigator briefed on POLITICO's findings cast doubt on the spending's benefit to union members. Andriana Vamvakas, who previously oversaw probes of union spending as a regional director for the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards, said the examples highlighted by POLITICO are the kind of transactions she would have investigated. 'All of them are red flags,' she said. As money for Gresham's priorities flew out the door, the rest of the union was scrounging for crumbs. The dissonance took center stage last year in a conference room at a luxury golf resort in New Jersey, where the union was hosting its annual officers' retreat. To kick off what many presumed was a five-day planning and strategy marathon, a woman dressed all in white sprinkled water on the ground and led a breathing exercise, according to five attendees. Even that could not dispel the tension in the air, one of the attendees said: 'It was like, what about all the fucking problems in the union?' Their frustrations spilled out that day at Crystal Springs Resort, the luxe hotel favored by Gresham for union confabs. Some of the union's top officers were pressing Gresham for a strategic plan to better coordinate their advocacy work, breaking down silos among the five states where it has members. Key roles were languishing unfilled. Rumors were flying that the union's own employees were trying to organize. Now they were all together, and they were doing breathwork. An officer stood up and said what many of them were thinking: They were there to work. The wellness agenda got scrapped, but attendees left Crystal Springs with more questions than answers. For many, Gresham was at the top of that list. Having risen through the ranks from hospital housekeeper to president over the course of more than three decades, Gresham commands deep respect and reverence within the union. But in recent years, he has grappled with health problems. He shows up late to meetings, often logging on virtually while hooked up to a dialysis machine, then falls asleep in the middle of them, according to screenshots shared with POLITICO and four people who've witnessed it. The union's executive officers, many of them health care workers themselves, were long reluctant to raise concerns about the impact of Gresham's declining health. They felt similarly conflicted about his spending decisions. The staffers interviewed by POLITICO said they thought it best to brush aside any misgivings, for fear of causing division that could weaken the union. 'It was clear I wasn't supposed to ask questions about a whole bunch of stuff,' one former staffer said. Just before the officers' retreat in February 2024, the dam burst. One week earlier, during a meeting of the union's highest governing body, a lawyer presented a proposal to authorize the continuing use of union funds for 'supportive services' for Gresham, retroactive to January 2023, according to five attendees and a copy of the resolution reviewed by POLITICO. Specifically, that meant assigning a union staffer to drive him to union functions in New York City and tasking another union staffer to provide 'physical assistance' for Gresham during out-of-town business. The resolution also greenlit paying for hotels, meals and transportation for Gresham's daughter Siana — who works for the Montefiore Health System — so she could provide 'daily supportive medical and related services' on a volunteer basis when he traveled for union-related business. Meeting attendees were told the union had already spent about $60,000 on such costs, even though the matter had never come before them for a vote. And Gresham already had two employees from the logistics department driving him around in a black sprinter van, according to four staffers who directly witnessed it. A former logistics staffer said it was common knowledge that the two drivers also ran errands for Gresham, like picking up his medications. The resolution passed on the condition that executive officers would receive regular spending reports. Still, it left some officers with growing discomfort. The union had no permanent political director. The staff support and contracts departments had no director either. The dues department, which collects the money that keeps the union afloat, was understaffed. The union needed more organizers. But Gresham hardly ever convened the committee responsible for approving new hires, several current staffers said. They were told the union was experiencing financial difficulties. 'Our members don't get an unlimited piggy bank where they can just tap it anytime they need something,' a current staffer told POLITICO. Lloyd-Bollard, the union's spokesperson, declined to address the concerns about vacancies. He said he has 'never once' witnessed Gresham fall asleep during a virtual meeting and said sometimes he reclines because he has sciatica. Gresham's own needs, by contrast, were a priority — all on top of his $300,000 annual salary. The spending on his daughter Siana's travel, for example, was necessary for him to 'effectively function as President,' because he has 'multiple, significant health issues' that require daily assistance, the resolution stated. Even though Gresham owns a house in the Bronx, the union spent more than $17,000 in 2022 on the Residence Inn in the Bronx, a hotel next to Montefiore Medical Center where he has long been living, according to two people who recently saw him there. The two people said the union's executive officers did not approve any spending on that hotel, which appears to have ended that same year. When POLITICO called the hotel's front desk in March asking for Gresham, a receptionist offered to transfer the call to his room. No one picked up. Previously the union rented an apartment for Gresham 'on an emergency basis,' citing the Covid pandemic, financial disclosures show. After word of the mounting cost reached the executive officers, who had only authorized about a week's worth of rent, Gresham cashed out vacation days to reimburse the union, according to two people familiar with the matter. Union money even covered flights to South Africa in 2014 and 2018, at a cost of more than $86,000, financial disclosures show. One former staffer said Gresham brought back souvenirs from the first trip — framed rand notes, the local currency — when he accompanied several other union members at a memorial service for anti-apartheid activist and politician Nelson Mandela. The 2018 trip was for Gresham and does not appear to have been authorized by executive officers, according to a current staffer briefed on the matter. The trip's rationale is not entirely clear. Lloyd-Bollard said the union is obliged to accommodate Gresham's medical disability and that his daughter provides 'cost-effective support,' compared with the alternative of hiring per diem caregivers. He did not respond to a request for the total spend to date, and union officers have yet to receive any update on the expense. Gresham's daughter did not respond to a request for comment. Lloyd-Bollard did not explain the $17,000 Residence Inn bill, saying 'President Gresham's living situation is his own business,' but noted the union is not paying for Gresham's housing. The executive council approved the vacation payout for the Manhattan apartment on a one-time basis, he added. He said member delegations traveled to South Africa to meet with representatives of the African National Congress and the Congress of South African Trade Unions — 'such as in 2014' — but did not specifically address the 2018 trip. Under the union's constitution, officers have broad discretion to approve spending that would 'promote the aims and objects' of the organization. Even so, many of the transactions uncovered by POLITICO did not appear to meet that standard. The union spent more than $300,000 annually to lease a penthouse suite that served as office space for the Gathering for Justice, a nonprofit founded by the legendary singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, according to two people briefed on the expense. Executive officers approved the terms in 2021 under the stated rationale that Belafonte provided 'in-kind' assistance to the union, one of the two people said. The nonprofit's stated mission is to eliminate racial inequities in the criminal justice system. The Gathering for Justice's president, Carmen Perez, has been on the union's payroll since 2009 as a national program director. The union has spent more than $1 million on her salary to date, including over $120,000 last year, according to an analysis of public financial reports. Five current and former staffers said they were unaware of any work Perez did for the union. 'I never had a single conversation with her,' one of the five staffers said. Since at least 2016, Perez has also drawn a salary from the Gathering for Justice, which lists her as a full-time employee, the nonprofit's tax filings show. She earned $101,000 in 2023, according to the most recent available data. Perez and the Gathering for Justice did not respond to an emailed list of questions. Perez did not return calls requesting comment. Lloyd-Bollard, the union spokesperson, said Perez was 'expressly assigned' to help with a national social justice campaign under a formal partnership with Belafonte and the Gathering for Justice to advocate for criminal justice reform, starting before Gresham became president. He said the office space and a 'service agreement' were approved by the executive council and concluded upon Belafonte's death in 2023 but later told POLITICO the partnership ended last year. '1199's origins and development have always been tied to broader struggles for civil rights and social justice, which is how it has grown and thrived,' he said in a statement. In the case of Jackson's $50,000 legacy award, which was approved by a majority of officers, it is unclear how the money was used. Jackson could not be reached for comment, and a family representative declined to answer questions about the matter. The crowd went wild when Trey Songz took the stage of the Sheraton Hotel in Times Square for the union's 2009 holiday party. 'Say aah!' the R&B singer yelled out in a reference to his chart-topping single that year, a video of the performance on YouTube shows. Everyone familiar with 1199SEIU knows it throws a great party. Ashanti, Shaggy and DJ Funkmaster Flex are among the celebrity artists who have performed at its events. Hip-hop legends Doug E. Fresh and Rakim headlined a 2023 rally in an Albany arena to fight for more funding for the state's Medicaid program, which covers low-income New Yorkers. 'George knows music is something that brings people together, and he does it well,'' said Mindy Berman, who retired last year after 22 years working for the union. For decades, the man behind the scenes of these spectacles has been Kevin Zambrana, a longtime friend of the union who once worked as a driver for its officers. Now his production company earns hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to liven up the union's political rallies, parade floats and social gatherings. To bring Trey Songz to the Sheraton's stage in 2009, Zambrana charged the union a $30,000 deposit for the booking and $5,000 for 'airline tix,' according to an invoice reviewed by POLITICO. Zambrana charged the union the same flat $5,000 rate for plane tickets for two other performers at the party — an unusually round number for airfare. At least some of Zambrana's bill for the party was paid in cash, at his request, according to emails reviewed by POLITICO. 'I need the cash, same as last year,' one of Gresham's assistants wrote in December 2009 to Lucy Chen, the union's chief financial officer. 'OK, I will contact my source,' Chen later responded. Two years later, in 2011, Zambrana asked for $50,000 in cash to pay for entertainers to appear at the union's holiday party, emails show. The union's financial disclosure for that year reports a payment of only $25,000 to Zambrana's company the day after the email. Zambrana's roster of performers includes Gresham's son, James, who has DJed for union parties on at least three occasions, social media posts show. The gigs included a virtual 'disco night jam' in 2020 and a 2023 rally for union nurses at Clara Maass Hospital in New Jersey. Reached by phone, a woman who identified herself as an assistant with Zambrana's production company said he would not participate in POLITICO's article. Zambrana did not respond to an emailed list of questions. Gresham's son did not respond to requests for comment. The union said entertainment costs are paid at market rates and properly recorded. The union added that Gresham's son was paid at 'market rate' to DJ for one event, but POLITICO's request for the cost went unanswered. Several current staffers tied the lavish parties to Gresham's well-known love for hobnobbing with celebrities, especially classic hip-hop and R&B artists. Others defended the extravaganzas, saying they hyped up members and kept them engaged. But the union also paid for festivities with little apparent benefit to members, according to people who attended the events and POLITICO's analysis of financial disclosures. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of dollars went to an R&B concert series in Middlesex County, Va. — where Gresham is from. Those concerts happened to coincide with his annual family reunions there, according to social media posts and four people familiar with the matter. The union hosted its first 'Raise Our Voices' concert in 2014 with Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network, according to local news archives . The concerts, located in the 500-person town of Urbanna, are billed as 'get out the vote' events for state and national races. The convenient timing and location of the concert series enabled the extended Gresham family to enjoy some unexpectedly star-studded weekends. Kathy Sledge of the Grammy-winning group Sister Sledge, who performed at 'Raise Our Voices' in 2014, made an appearance at the family reunion that year as well, according to one person who attended. Singer Willie Rogers, who was a member of the Soul Stirrers gospel group, did the same in 2017 when he was among that year's 'Raise Our Voices' lineup, a video posted on Facebook shows. Lloyd-Bollard, the union spokesperson, said the organization has a 'significant interest' in building progressive politics in Virginia, calling it a 'crucial East Coast swing state.' He said no union funds have ever been used for 'family reunions.' A second former staffer said the cost of the concerts seemed to outweigh any benefit to the union. 'It was a stretch, but it was also understood it happened at the same time as the family reunions,' that staffer said. 'Was it an efficient use of union dollars? I would say no.' The union appears to have last hosted 'Raise Our Voices' in 2019. That year, the union reported spending nearly $25,000 on a boutique hotel in Urbanna and $33,000 on hotels in two nearby towns, according to its 2019 financial disclosure. Another $10,800 was reported as a contribution to the Middlesex Volunteer Fire Dept., which hosted the concerts at its firehouse, while $23,000 went to PayPal for 'Virginia concert ticket sales,' that disclosure shows. The only elections in Virginia that November were for the state Legislature and local offices. Today the union's top brass is focused on an election of its own. Two of Gresham's top lieutenants, Yvonne Armstrong and Veronica Turner-Biggs, are leading a faction called the Members First Unity Slate to unseat their longtime leader. It's the union's first competitive leadership election since 1989. When members cast their ballots by mail this month, they will choose between two different visions not only of the union's future but of its past and present. Asked to comment on POLITICO's findings, a spokesperson for the Members First Unity Slate said, 'This pattern of financial misappropriation and lack of transparency is exactly why we are running.' 'For years, the majority of executive officers have questioned and challenged President Gresham on numerous inappropriate expenditures, even pressuring him to repay misused union funds,' the spokesperson, Erin Malone, said in the statement. 'Yet time and again requests for financial transparency have gone unanswered or punished, prioritizing Gresham's own interests over the members.' William Key, an executive vice president for the union, said Gresham's record speaks for itself and accused the Members First Unity Slate of 'stooping to lies' to win the election. 'Everywhere that George campaigns, we've seen a groundswell of support from members who know that his tirelessness and vision have helped to win historic gains for members,' he said in a statement to POLITICO on behalf of Gresham's campaign, 1 Union 1 Future. 'Health care workers understand that a physical disability should never mean that one can't serve and lead. We're humbled to have their support.' Both sides in this election share at least one of the same goals: a huge turnout.
