SERVICE EMPLOYEES (SEIU)
New York Boss Sentenced for Trespassing
Dennis Rivera, boss of Serv. Employees Int'l
Union Local 1199 in N.Y.C., was hauled off to jail July 6 after U.S. Dist.
Judge Hector Lafitte sentenced him to 30 days for trespassing in order
to protest Navy bombing on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. Rivera
was reluctantly prepared for jail time, said his spokesman Ken Sunshine.
His conduct appears even more irresponsible given the fact that he is currently
leading contract negotiations with the Greater N.Y. Hosp. Ass'n for his
local. "Dennis is a warrior for the cause, but he doesn't relish going
to jail," said Sunshine. [Daily News (N.Y.) 7/7/01]
This is the same union boss who last year gave a check believed to be the largest single campaign contribution in post-Watergate federal politics to House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) and top Democratic fundraiser David Jones. The two accepted a $1 million soft money check made out to the Democratic Cong. Campaign Committee. Local 1199 also is the same local that led a lobbying effort that spent $15 million in 1999 to have N.Y. State drastically alter its state health program.
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