Labor union funding non-profit ads

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- The largest public employee union in the United States channeled more than $5 million to a series of non-profits running attack ads, federal records indicate.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees donated nearly $5.5 million to Campaign Money Watch, Patriot Majority and Patriot Majority Midwest, which spent more than $2 million on ads critical of Republican congressional candidates, USA Today said.

While dozens of groups have paid for advertisements targeting various politicians during the past two months, AFSCME stands out because of the size of its contributions and the lack of clear identification of its role in paying for the ads, which don't mention AFSCME by name.

The union discloses its tie to the ads in its Federal Election Commission filings, Paul Booth, executive assistant to the AFSCME president, told USA Today.

"Our motivation is simply this: There are issues that we want aired as soon as they can be," Booth said. "We want to promote policy changes that ought to be attended to immediately in Congress."

Labor groups are hiding "behind shadowlike front groups to prop up their candidates of choice," said Ken Spain, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which asked the FEC to investigate Patriot Majority, saying it shouldn't be allowed to operate as a non-profit.