Our Philadelphia

Representative, District 172

Perzel's Top Donors, 2001-2008

1	United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America	$456,750
2	University City Housing Associates	$285,700
3	Exelon & PECO, an Exelon subsidiary	$226,221
4	International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 21	$195,850
5	Harold Honickman, Beverage Distribution Center	$176,000

About Perzel's Top Donors

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America

With over 12,000 members, the UBCJA is one of Philadelphia’s largest and most influential unions. U.S. Rep. Bob Brady has been a member of UBCJA since 1964 and the union has continued contributing to his pension for work performed, according to a 2/6/08 article in the Inquirer. Lobbying by the union’s leader Edward J. Coryell, Sr. was instrumental in getting the Philadelphia Convention Center built, yet Coryell also led a strike that halted work on the Center for three weeks in 1991. High labor costs, including wages for carpenters, have been blamed for the dearth of new home construction in Philadelphia. According to a 8/12/01 article in the Inquirer, “The wage rates for union workers who build houses in Philadelphia are as much as 50 percent higher than the rates the same unions charge in the suburbs. The long-standing but little-known wage disparity, combined with union domination of the city building trades, increases the overall construction cost of a new single-family house in Philadelphia by 30 percent when compared with the suburbs, according to interviews, labor contracts, and cost data . . . Builders and city officials say the disparity is one reason that new-housing construction in Philadelphia is virtually nonexistent, threatening Mayor Street's ambitious effort to build 16,000 units and attract 75,000 residents to a city that has suffered a 40-year population decline.”

University City Housing Associates

University City Housing Associates

Exelon & PECO, an Exelon subsidiary

As the nation’s largest gas and electric utility, and largest producer of nuclear power, Exelon distributes electricity to approximately 5.4 million customers in northern Illinois and Pennsylvania, and natural gas to approximately 480,000 customers in the Philadelphia area. Exelon is also the parent company of PECO, the Pennsylvania Electric Company. One of the biggest recipients of Exelon’s political largesse has been former Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel, who was given a combined $226,221 by Exelon and PECO from 2001-2008. PECO has curried favor with elected official in other ways, most notably by making a secret $17 million contribution to Citizens Alliance, a nonprofit controlled by former State Sen. Vince Fumo. "Something is wrong here, and I don't know what it is. Inquiring minds want to know," Perzel said about the relationship between PECO and Fumo in a 12/23/03 Inquirer article. "No one in the world will give you $17 million for nothing."

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 21

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 21 includes painters, drywall finishers, wallcoverers, glaziers, glass workers, floor covering installers, sign makers, display workers, and convention and show decorators. City and state support for construction projects is a key part of generating jobs for IUPAT, and its President James A. Williams estimated in a 9/7/09 Inquirer article that there is $175 million in painting to be done on bridges around Philadelphia. Interestingly, one of IUPAT’s political directors, Joe Ashdale, has also served as chair of the Philadelphia Parking Authority, and was appointed to the PPA’s board as part of the state takeover of the Authority in 2001. In 2006, Ashdale joined a group that included Laborers District Council leader Sam Staten in bidding for a casino license in Philadelphia. This raises the question of whether IUPAT itself has lobbied in support of expanding legalized gambling. IUPAT is not registered to lobby with the state, and Philadelphia does not require lobbyists to register. At the national level, IUPAT has lobbied in support of health care reform and the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to form unions without going through a secret ballot election.

Harold Honickman, Beverage Distribution Center

Harold Honickman, Beverage Distribution Center