In the matter of:
COMPLAINT AGAINST:
American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations;
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees;
Gore/Lieberman, Inc.
NATIONAL LEGAL AND POLICY CENTER, a corporation organized and existing under the District of Columbia Non-profit Corporation Act and having its offices and principal place of business at 1309 Vincent Place, Suite 1000, McLean, Virginia, 22101, ("Complainant") files this Complaint with the Federal Election Commission in accordance with the provisions of 2 U.S.C. § 437g(a)(1) and 11 C.F.R. § 111.4(a). Upon information and belief, Complainant submits this Complaint ("Complaint") for the reason that Respondents are in violation of the provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended, 2 U.S.C. §§ 431, et seq. ("the Act"). Complainant hereby submits the verified facts demonstrating that the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations ("AFL-CIO"); the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees ("AFSCME"); and Gore/Lieberman, Inc. ("Gore-Lieberman") have violated and continue to be in violation of the provisions of the Act.
For the reasons stated, the undersigned hereby requests that the Federal Election Commission ("FEC" or "Commission") conduct an investigation and determine that an ongoing violation of the Act is occurring and is being committed by the Respondents and further requests the Commission pursue enforcement of civil and injunctive relief against the Respondents.
1. AFL-CIO: The AFL-CIO is a "voluntary federation of America's unions" comprised of sixty-eight (68) individual labor unions. See AFL-CIO Frequently Asked Questions, www.aflcio.org/front/faqs.htm (visited Oct. 19, 2000) (Attached as Exhibit 1). The stated purpose of the AFL-CIO is "to bring social and economic justice to our nation by enabling working people to have a voice on the job." Id. As such, the AFL-CIO is a labor organization, within the meaning of 2 U.S.C. § 441b(b)(1).
2. AFSCME: AFSCME is a labor union that represents "public service and health care workers." See About AFSCME, www.afscme.org/about/index.html (visited Oct. 19, 2000) (Attached as Exhibit 2). The stated purpose of AFSCME is "to make sure that each and every member of AFSCME gets a fair deal from the boss and from the politicians." Id. As such, AFSCME is a labor organization within the meaning of 2 U.S.C. § 441b(b)(1).
3. Gore-Lieberman: Gore-Lieberman is the principal campaign
committee of Albert B. Gore, Jr., and Joseph Lieberman, the candidates
for president and vice president, respectively, registered with the FEC
under ID number C00360982. See Statement of Organization,
August 18, 2000 (Attached as Exhibit 3).
The Advertisement may either be considered express advocacy, or a coordinated
"issue ad." Either interpretation results in a violation of the Act.
The Advertisement cannot be considered a "voter guide" under 11 C.F.R.
§ 114.4(c)(5) because the Advertisement presents only opinion and
not a summary of the respective positions of the candidates. See
11 C.F.R. § 114.4(c)(5)(ii)(E) ("The voter guide and its accompanying
materials shall not score or rate the candidates' responses in such a way
as to convey an electioneering message."). In fact, there is nothing
in the Advertisement to indicate that either candidate provided information
to the AFL-CIO or AFSCME as is required for a communication to be a voter
guide. See 11 C.F.R. § 114.4(c)(5)(ii)(A)&(B). Therefore,
the Advertisement does not meet an exemption from being express advocacy.
Alternatively, the Advertisement may be considered an issue ad. If issue ads are coordinated with a candidate, they are treated as an in-kind contribution to the candidate. The FEC has adopted the standard of "coordination" set forth in Federal Election Commission v. Christian Coalition,52 F. Supp. 2d 45, 92 (D.D.C. 1999) construed in General Counsel's Report to MUR 4291, et al. Coordination has thus been defined to occur when:
[i]n the absence of a request or suggestion from the campaign, an expressive expenditure becomes 'coordinated;' where the candidate or her agents can exercise control over, or where there has been substantial discussion or negotiation between the campaign and the spender over, a communication's: (1) contents; (2) timing; (3) location, mode, or intended audience (e.g., choice between newspaper or radio advertisement); or (4) 'volume' (e.g., number of copies of printed materials or frequency of media spots). Substantial discussion or negotiation is such that the candidate and spender emerge as partners or joint venturers in the expressive expenditure, but the candidate and spender need not be equal partners. This standard limits § 441b's contribution prohibition on expressive coordinated expenditures to those in which the candidate has taken a sufficient interest to demonstrate that the expenditure is perceived as valuable for meeting the campaign's needs or wants.Id. The prior contacts between the AFL-CIO and Democratic candidates are of this very nature.
The AFL-CIO has a lengthy history of working with Democratic candidates. See generally General Counsel's Report, June 12, 2000, MURs 4291, et al. The General Counsel's report details the relationship between the Clinton-Gore '96 and the AFL-CIO during the 1996 campaign. See id. In fact, the report concludes that there were such regular contacts between the AFL-CIO and Clinton-Gore '96 so as to be sufficient to create "coordination." See id. at 40 ("[T]he evidence indicates that the ads may well have been effectively coordinated with representatives of Clinton-Gore '96...."). The only reason that there was not a violation of the Act resulting from these activities is that the communications involved were for House candidates and not for the presidential race. See id. at 38 ("Thus, if there was coordination, it may have occurred with representatives of candidates in the 1996 elections for President and Vice President of the United States."). There is no reason to believe that such coordination does not exist between Gore-Lieberman and the AFL-CIO during this election.
Based upon this history of regular contacts and the acknowledgements by AFL-CIO political operatives between the union and presidential candidates, more than sufficient evidence exists to infer an on-going relationship with Gore-Lieberman that would constitute "coordination."
The Advertisement clearly is "for the purpose of influencing" a Federal election, which under 2 U.S.C. § 431(8)(a)(A)(i), means that because it is coordinated, it is an in-kind contribution to Gore-Lieberman. Because Gore-Lieberman is accepting public financing under the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act, 26 U.S.C. §§ 9001-9042, it may not accept contributions, including in-kind contributions, from any political committee except a political party. See 26 U.S.C. § 9012(f)(1). Therefore, the Advertisement violates the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act, subjecting the AFL-CIO and AFSCME to prosecution. Furthermore, based on The Washington Post's published advertising rates (attached as Exhibit 5), a full-page advertisement appearing on page A11 would cost approximately $82,000.1
Union treasury funds may not be used to make expenditures or contributions.
See 2 U.S.C. § 441b. Therefore, if the Advertisement
was coordinated with Gore-Lieberman, the Advertisement violated the Act
because it was a contribution paid for with the general treasury funds
of a labor union.
Respectfully submitted,
Peter Flaherty, President
National Legal and Policy Center
October 30, 2000
1 AFL-CIO Frequently Asked Questions, <www.aflcio.org/front/faqs.htm>.
2 About AFSCME, <www.afscme.org/about/index.html>.
3 Gore/Liberman,
Inc., Statement of Organization, August 18, 2000.
4 Advertisement,
Washington Post, October 11, 2000, at A11 (FULL).
5 Washington Post, AdSite Rates: General: Full-Run ROP Rates.
Washington Post, AdSite: Broadsheet Mechanical Specifications.
Washington Post, AdSite Rates: General: Premium Position Charges
NLPC Links:
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