Was Sarah Palin Really A Union Member?
Posted on October 7, 2008 by andrew
The answer appears to be, “Kinda.” (Via)
The Las Vegas Sun appears to have spent some serious time and effort trying to find the facts of Palin’s union membership. The McCain campaign’s regional office wouldn’t respond to the paper’s inquiries. The national headquarters directed reporters back to the regional office. A spokesperson in the governor’s office in Alaska wasn’t aware of any history as a union member. The campaign finally came up with the name of a specific union, but several days of searching at both the local and national union offices failed to turn up any information about the governor’s membership. Finally, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers found the information the Sun was seeking.
On Monday, Jim Spellane, the union’s media director, corrected the record. Palin, he said, was in fact a member of Local 1547 for nine months in the late 1980s, from September 1987 through January 1988 and again from September through December 1988.
What was the nature of her work? Don’t know, Spellane said.
But maybe something can be gleaned from the fact that her membership seemed to coincide with her tenure as a sports reporter for two Alaska TV stations.
The union, he said, has at times represented on-air talent in the broadcast industry.
John McCain and his running mate presented Sarah Palin to the American people as someone with serious ties to organized labor. I don’t know that they ever outright lied on this point, but it does appear as though they stretched the truth, and I also know that their unwillingness to answer even the most straightforward of questions is disturbing.
Can you trust John McCain and Sarah Palin?
Sphere: Related Content» Filed Under 2008 presidential election, John McCain, Labor, Sarah Palin
Comments
Leave a Reply
