Washington’s largest labor organization has agreed to a $26,000 fine for past campaign finance violations. The attorney general’s office announced the penalty Friday against the Washington State Labor Council.
The Labor Council will pay more than $16,000 with the remainder of the fine suspended as long no further violations occur over the next four years. The case involved lobbyists for the Labor Council who failed to properly report in-kind and cash contributions to the Council’s political action committees between 2011 and 2015.
Labor Council spokesman David Groves said as soon as the problem was identified they filed amended reports and took steps to ensure the mistake isn’t repeated. The Labor Council is an umbrella organization representing 600 unions with more than 400,000 members.
Earlier this year, the union representing home care workers in Washington paid a nearly $40,000 fine over similar reporting violations. Both complaints were initiated by the conservative Freedom Foundation.
