"Very Shady": Oregon Union Tricked Lawmakers In Serious Ethical Breach According To Complaint

Oregon State lawmakers lobbed a Molotov cocktail of an ethics complaint at SEIU Local 503. The target? A blatant attempt to rig the legislative game by flooding lawmakers with 1,000 pre-printed "constituent postcards" hyping House Bill 3838 - a union power grab masquerading as a "workforce standards board" for long-term care. 

The catch? At least two individuals, named in the complaint, are screaming foul after union leadership - well aware of their public opposition - added their names to the cards, urging lawmakers to pass the bill.

Filed Friday with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, the complaint—backed by Reps. Ed Diehl (R-Stayton), Lucetta Elmer (R-McMinnville), and Republican Minority Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby)—alleges the union knowingly misrepresented worker support for House Bill 3838. 

The bill, which hands unelected bureaucrats sweeping control over care providers’ working conditions, sparked "considerable opposition” from the union's own members.

According to the complaint, Shannon Carskadon, an adult foster home owner and SEIU member, publicly opposed HB 3838 in written testimony submitted to the House Committee on Rules. 

Carskadon, represented by the union's collective bargaining agreement with the state,  also vocalized her opposition directly to Melissa Unger (SEIU Local 503’s executive director), while in-person at the Oregon State Capitol—long before SEIU Local 503 delivered the postcards to legislators.

“I was present at the capital, at the very first hearing where I met Melissa Unger with [another care provider],” Carskadon wrote. “Melissa was very surprised to see [the other care provider] there and in a face-to-face conversation with her, I expressed my concerns and opposition to the bill again, directly to her personally.”

In an email sent to Representative Ed Diehl, Carskadon said she was shocked, disgusted, and disappointed to find the union had forged her name in support of a bill she had so publicly and adamantly opposed. 

Despite the considerable opposition from the union's members, lawmakers received this:

“You have my COMPLETE support and I urge you to do the right thing! Thanks!” the postcards read. 

This wasn't just a clerical error, according to the ethics complaint—but a calculated play. 

Orchestrated through ambiguous Facebook surveys, the complaint alleges the union manufactured political momentum, in violation of ORS 171.764, which bans false or misleading statements made by lobbyists.

According to Rep. Ed Diehl, lawmakers believe that union leadership may have forged support well beyond those represented by the complaint filed. 

“Based on the evidence we have, I believe SEIU Local 503 knowingly and intentionally misrepresented facts,” Diehl told ZeroHedge. “It’s quite possible that none of the individuals named on the postcards ever actually authorized the statements attributed to them.”

The postcards may have been the final push needed, Diehl told ZeroHedge during a phone interview Sunday.

“These postcards clearly left an impression on many legislators and likely influenced the bill’s passage out of the Rules Committee to Ways and Means,” Diehl said. “The Commission must investigate this matter to determine the full scope of the misrepresentation and how many individuals were falsely represented.”

However, in a state run by progressive democrats willing to toss out their own to forge ahead with unpopular votes, don't count on accountability.

Oregon’s Ethics Board, similar to the majority party, has torched its credibility. With Oregon’s one-party dominance, unions have controlled the governor’s office and legislature for years. 

Without campaign contribution limits until 2027, and the SEIU'S (CAPE) PAC being the single largest donor to Gov. Kotek's election campaign, it's anyone's guess if loyalty will come before accountability. 

Our bet: the short-term memory loss of Oregon’s voters will keep the union-Democrat machine rolling and blue, no matter who.