SEIU, other unions launch campaign to defeat Whitman

The SEIU will join with two other unions to launch a campaign against Meg Whitman, who is expected to win the GOP primary in June given her huge lead over Steve Poizner. writes Joe Garafoli at SFGate.

For starters, each of the three unions at the forefront of Working Families 2010 is kicking in $1 million each, Bob Balgenorth, president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California (SBCTC), told us. "It will probably go more than that," he said. Plus there's another $1 million -- and more to come if needed, we hear -- from supermarket magnate and Dem superdonor Ron Burkle.


The best news, in the interest of saving precious printed page space -- is that they've named themselves something less clumsy and lawyerized than "Level the Playing Field 2010 Against Billionaire Meg Whitman for Governor, a Coalition of Nurses, Faculty and Painters Organizations."


Led by the California Professional Firefighters (30,000 members), State Building and Construction Trades Council of California (SBCTC) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU), "California Working Families 2010" will spend the next several weeks in research/fundraising mode.


They're likely to stay on the down low until after the June primary. Then the artillery will start.

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