New Report Reveals the Truth About ACORN

Ties to voter fraud, union busting, poor labor practices, and federal grant violations just a few chapters in ACORN’s notorious history
  • Publication Date: July 2006

  • Topics: Minimum Wage

Washington, DC –A new report released today by the Employment Policies Institute reveals the truth behind the community group ACORN, including new information about the group’s hypocrisy over paying their employees the minimum wage, ties to voter fraud, federal grant violations, and union-busting.

ACORN and Minimum Wage Hypocrisy – ACORN is a vocal proponent of minimum wage hikes—except when it applies to them. ACORN actually sued the state of California to have its employees exempted from the state minimum wage. ACORN argued that being forced to pay higher wages would mean that they would be unable to hire as many employees—the very dilemma faced by businesses.

Not only does ACORN fail to pay their employees the “living wage” which they advocate, but ACORN’s failure to pay their employees overtime or in a timely manner has led to demonstrations and lawsuits against the group.

ACORN and Voter Registration Fraud – ACORN has been linked to voter fraud in at least 12 states, including Ohio in 2004. In Cuyahoga County, ACORN and its affiliate Project Vote submitted registration cards that had the highest rate of errors for any voter registration group; in Franklin County, two ACORN employees submitted what the director of the board of election supervisors called “blatantly false” forms; a grand jury indicted a Columbus ACORN employee for submitting a false signature and false voter registration form.

ACORN and Federal Grant Violations – The ACORN Housing Corporation (AHC) had a $1 million government grant stripped after it was caught using the funds illegally. Evidence uncovered by the Inspector General of the AmeriCorps program found that AHC utilized the AmeriCorps grant to increase ACORN membership, a violation of federal guidelines. AHC had distributed leaflets stating that low-income, first-time homebuyers were required to join ACORN (at an annual cost of $60) in order to receive the government-subsidized counseling which was supposed to be free. Despite this apparent fraud, the group continues to receive millions in taxpayer dollars.

ACORN Union-Busts Its Employees – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found that ACORN violated the National Labor Relations Act and required the group to rehire and pay restitution to employees terminated for attempting to form a union. ACORN employees have historically demanded higher wages, safer working conditions, and more timely payment of contracted wages. These efforts have been repressed behind closed doors by the hypocritical ACORN leadership, which organizes tens of thousands of public and private sector employees into unions.

For more on the truth about ACORN visit www.RottenACORN.com