Grapevine: Media Matters vs. SEIU

Labor union trying to force liberal watchdog to hold union election

And now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine...

Flanking Movement

Liberal watchdog group Media Matters has supported unionization movements in the past -- though apparently not now -- in their own backyard.

The Service Employees International Union is trying to force Media Matters to hold a union election.

The local director released a statement earlier this month that said --

"Media Matters and SEIU are partners in many progressive causes. I don't expect the organization to oppose unionization."

The Washington Examiner reports -- the union took the statement down from its website-- after Media Matters rejected the union's bid -- and called in the lawyers.

"For an organization that says they are not opposing employees' efforts to unionize, it's a little suspicious that they hired such a fancy legal team."

Financial Judgment

More than a dozen federal appeals court judges have violated federal conflict-of-interest laws over the past three years -- by ruling in cases -- in which they had a financial interest.

The Center for Public Integrity says-- one Atlanta-based Judge was part of a three-judge panel that ruled in favor of health care giant Johnson & Johnson -- while owning as much as $100,000 in Johnson & Johnson stock.

A spokesman for the Courts blamed human error for the mistakes -- and said the 26 violations are just a fraction of the cases decided by federal appeals courts over the past three years.

The Show Must Not Go On

The end-of-the-year kindergarten show at a New York school has been canceled.

The school says -- it's a matter of priorities.

"We are responsible for preparing children for college and career with valuable lifelong skills and know that we can best do that by having them become strong readers, writers, coworkers and problem solvers. Please do not fault us for making professional decisions."

One parent of a 6-year-old student told the New York Post -- her daughter doesn't understand the decision -- she just wants to sing.

A petition on Change.org to reinstate the show has over 2,000 signatures.