Collin Anderson of the Washington Free Beacon looks into the political uses of union dues.
Labor unions contributed more than $1.6 billion to left-wing political advocacy groups between 2010 and 2018, according to a new report.
Organized labor’s political spending stands in stark contrast with how membership votes. While 2016 exit polls showed that nearly half of union households voted Republican, 99 percent of all union political contributions since 2010 went to Democratic causes. Unions gave more than $1.6 billion to Democratic political operations and liberal advocacy groups, according to a Center for Union Facts analysis.
Major recipients outlined in a new watchdog group report include the Democratic Governors Association, the Center for American Progress, and Planned Parenthood.
Rick Berman, executive director of the Center for Union Facts, said many workers are unaware that a major portion of their union dues and fees are used to finance political operations they might otherwise not support.
“Many union members have no clue that their dues are being diverted to groups that have no impact on collective bargaining issues,” Berman said in a statement.
Of the $1.6 billion in union political spending, more than $458 million went to groups aligned with the Democratic Party, including the Clinton Foundation, the National Democratic Club, and Planned Parenthood. More than $384 million went to groups that focus on advancing progressive economic causes. Nearly $11.5 million went to left-wing media operations.
