In its rush to collect money from people not yet unionized, Working America, the AFL-CIO’s “community affiliate,” employs some shady characters. As a report from The Independent in Ohio indicates, the group appears to flagrantly disregard laws designed to protect public safety. Wayne C. Christopher, 48, was arrested in Canal Fulton in eastern Ohio for soliciting Working America memberships in a residential area without a permit, having apparently violated a law “meant to protect residents from criminals who may be casing homes and neighborhoods.”

So what threat did this Working America canvasser present? Well, he faces two open arrest warrants in Cleveland, “has convictions for rape, felonious sexual penetration and pandering obscenity and is a tier-three registered sex offender.”

Worst of all, even the notice Working America did give to police seems to have selectively omitted any mention of its criminal canvassers: “Canal Fulton police were notified Monday afternoon that a group from Working America was coming down to do canvassing. A faxed list of names did not include the three people with criminal histories, [Officer Douglas] Swartz said.”

Perhaps Working America has taken a page out of the handbook of another union-backed organizing group — ACORN, which can’t seem to keep its own canvassers out of trouble.