Labor unions make up a dozen of the 25 largest outside spending groups in the 2018 midterm elections, and they are donating overwhelmingly to support Democrats, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Of the twelve unions, four donated money to conservatives. The Carpenters and Joiners Union, Laborers’ International Union of North America, Operating Engineers Union and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees donated a combined total of nearly $1.8 million to aid conservatives versus nearly $43 million to aid left-wing candidates. The data were first reported by The Washington Free Beacon. (RELATED: Democrats Make Millions More Off Federal Unions, Bureaucrats Than Republicans)
The other unions in the top 25, the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, United Steelworkers, Communications Workers of America, United Food & Commercial Workers Union, American Federation of Government Employees, Service Employees International Union and International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers, donated an additional $29 million to help Democrats win.
President Donald Trump has courted several private-sector unions and pursued policies, such as tariffs, to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. Despite this, unions have suffered major losses under the Trump administration.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a majority Republican under Trump, has incrementally undone major pro-labor decisions made under former President Barack Obama.
The Supreme Court ruled in June that public-sector employees could not be forced to pay union fees as a condition of employment. The ruling affected the contracts of more than 5 million workers, and as many as a fifth of those may drop union representations or stop paying fees, representing a total loss of tens of millions of dollars for unions.
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