Oakland union says it didn't endorse Thao's anti-recall effort, despite use of logo
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 17: Mayor Sheng Thao delivers her first State of the City address at City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Nor Cal Carpenters Union says Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao used its name and logo without permission, and the group is now asking Thao's team to cease and desist from use of its name or logo in any campaign materials, according to a statement from the union.
"As you know, our union has never given you or the anti-recall campaign our endorsement nor have we given you permission or the right to use our name, logo and endorsement in your anti-recall campaign. This letter serves as a cease-and-desist notification to you, your campaign, and funders to immediately cease and desist from falsely using the union and its memberships’ good name on any of your campaign materials," read the cease and desist letter sent to Thao's team.
As of Monday morning, Sheng Thao's anti-recall website displayed the Nor Cal Carpenters Union as a supporter of Thao and voting no on the recall.
KTVU obtained a screenshot of the endorsement claim made by Thao's team that was available on the campaign's website Monday morning (shown above). The list was updated by 11:45 a.m. on Monday (shown below).
As of Monday at 11:45 a.m., the Nor Cal Carpenters Union had been removed from the website.
The NCCU has headquarters in Oakland and has over 36,000 members. The union states it also filed a complaint with the Oakland Public Ethics Commission as well as the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
The union is putting fellow unions on notice too, due to their alleged funding of the campaign materials that "falsely" used its name and logo.
"We never gave Mayor Sheng Thao nor her campaign our endorsement nor the right to use our members’ good name in her anti-recall campaign. We demand she immediately cease and desist the use of our name, logo and endorsement, destroy all existing materials, and publicly apologize to union members for her false claims" said Nor Cal Carpenters Union Executive Secretary Treasurer Jay Bradshaw.
It's a tough blow to Thao's anti-recall campaign, which has faced several challenges leading up to next week's election. Last week, KTVU reported that former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff supports Thao's recall, saying Thao didn't seem capable of growing in the job.
KTVU reached out to the Mayor's office for a statement on the cease and desist, and received the following:
"If you go to our website, www.oaklandersdefendingdemocracy.org, you will see the NO recall campaign has the support of Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Senator Nancy Skinner, nurses, business leaders, faith leaders and many others. The mayor is focused on her work on behalf of Oakland residents including how to continue building on the fact Oakland is experiencing an historic drop in crime and homicides with 50 fewer homicides at this time than in 2021. That’s what the Mayor is focused on. Dealing with the challenges Oakland faces. The coal funded recall against her is focused on division, distraction and distortion."