Union members are roughly divided 60% to 40% between Democrats and Republicans, a recent survey by the Pew Research Center reveals. With millions of members nationwide, it would be reasonable to expect these powerful organizations to represent their members with a similar breakdown in political spending. Sadly, consideration of all of their members’ political views doesn’t seem to exist.
New data from the Federal Election Commission, released on October 17, shows that of the money the American Federation of Teachers PAC spent on politics, a whopping 99.9% went to Democrats. The same pattern is true for the National Education Association, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Service Employees International Union, and the American Federation of Government Employees, all of which represent public sector workers. Collectively, of the contributions made by these unions’ PACs, more than 95% went to support the Democratic Party.
It’s not a new phenomenon: In the 2022 election cycle, union PACs contributed more than $13 million to Democrats, while a measly $1.7 million was transferred into the coffers of Republicans.
While PAC contributions are voluntary, the trend is not isolated, nor should it be ignored. The landmark 2018 Janus v. AFSCME case relieved public employees who opt out of union membership of the obligation to pay dues or fees, but for those employees who choose to stay, dues are mandatory. And those membership dues are routinely spent on partisan political interests, often in direct opposition to the beliefs that a union’s members hold.
Legally, unions can’t spend dues money on candidates or federal PACs, but that doesn’t prevent them from contributing to PAC administration costs, advocacy causes, and other political lobbying.
Last year alone, NEA spent more dues money on partisan politics than it did representing its own members: a whopping $50 million to $39.2 million, respectively. AFT spent less than 30% of its annual budget on representation, the chief function of a labor union. Reports that uncover where dues money is spent locally and nationally show that these are not isolated incidents and that the money is overwhelmingly flowing to Democratic candidates and liberal causes.
How can a union that purports to represent all of its members give so freely to only one political party? The answer: It can’t. At least, not while accurately representing its diverse membership.
At best, public union executives are misrepresenting their members and are mismanaging their finances. At worst, they are engaging in coercion of dues and political corruption. Neither is a good look for the executives who claim to be helping everyday workers.
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Those workers, Democrats included, should be concerned about the steady increase in political contributions. Every dollar spent on partisan interests is a dollar not spent advocating for workers’ rights.
There is a better way: Unions must abandon political spending altogether in favor of serving the needs of their members. Whether the union executives follow through will tell workers all they need to know about whose interests the union has at heart.
Chip Rogers is the CEO of Americans for Fair Treatment. Chip previously served as president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, which represents the interests of the U.S. hotel and lodging industry.