State Democrats promised to meet with union officials—only if the labor leaders forked over $50,000 in donations first. In a letter sent to labor groups as Senators considered budget cuts that could have major ramifications for unions, state Sen. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) offered to sell $50,000 "chairmanships" of a "Labor Advisory Council" that would give union honchos "the unique opportunity to advise the Senate Dems" as well as "an exclusive meeting with the Senate majority leaders," the Post reports.
Many insiders were appalled that Democrats—who hold a slight majority in the Senate—would send out such a letter, especially considering that they've recently suggested that they might be willing to stop supporting $2 billion of education and health cuts that are strongly opposed by unions. On Monday, the same day the letter was mailed, Democrats allegedly suggested they might cut $180 million in cash that would have gone to unionized state workers. "Given the timing of the cuts, this looks like either blind incompetence or a clumsy attempt at extortion," Dick Dadey, executive director of the good government group Citizens Union, told the Post. "It sure looks like a shakedown," said GOP spokesman John McArdle.
Even Mayor Bloomberg blasted Klein's letter. "Pay to play is just something we shouldn't have." The Daily News and the Post published editorials decrying the policy, with the latter exclaiming that "Klein, who's supposed to be among the smarter Senate Democrats, is dumb enough to put it in writing. (So how dumb must the rest of them be?)."
Senate Democrats deny any wrongdoing. Klein defended the letter as "a fund-raising tool," and Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) told the Times Union. "[T]his is just a fund-raising mechanism. Nobody's twisting anybody's arm. Everyone knows me; there's always access, free access, for everybody to come and talk to me about any significant issues."
