Last update - 00:00 28/05/2007
American political strategists sue Labor party over unpaid wages
By Carmel Ben-Zour, Haaretz Correspondent
American political strategist Stanley Greenberg and his partner Jeremy Rosner are suing the Labor Party, which they say has not paid them for work leading up to the elections for the 17th Knesset. The consultants are seeking NIS 400,000.
The lawsuit, filed yesterday at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court, is based on an agreement the plaintiffs allegedly signed with Labor Party Secretary General MK Eitan Cabel. The agreement described the services the plaintiffs would provide, including strategic campaign planning, opinion polls, focus groups and data analysis.
Greenberg and Rosner maintain that they fulfilled their obligations under the agreements, to the party's full satisfaction. They say the conflict began when the party decided on a drastic, unilateral cut to its budget for strategic research, contravening the agreements.
The plaintiffs also say the party ceased paying them their salaries.
Greenberg and Rosner said that since their wages were not being paid, and lacking the necessary budget, they could not continue their work under the terms of the contract or meet their performance standards.
The consultants say that following repeated warnings, they informed Labor that they would halt their work. At that point, they maintain that Labor still owed them $82,000.
Greenberg and Rosner say that in order to avoid double taxation, they asked the party to give them formal documentation stating how much tax was deducted from the payment they received.
The party did not do so, and the consultants say they have sustained financial damages as a result.
The plaintiffs also said they had tried to resolve the problem amicably but failed, and pointed out that MK Cabel has not denied that a debt exists.