New Site Tracks $1.5
billion in Public Union Spending, by laborpains.org. 4/17/19.
On Monday, the Center for
Union Facts launched a new project www.PublicUnionFacts.com. The first of its kind, the
website compiles 20 years of data on public-sector union political spending in
one place. The site includes over 385,000 political contributions from nearly
5,000 labor unions.
Unlike most private
unions, public-sector unions are not currently required to file financial
disclosures with the Labor Department. The best source of information on
public-sector union spending habits is its political giving. Unfortunately,
this information is often spread across multiple difficult-to-access state
databases. With PublicUnionFacts.com, employees can simply
type in the name of their union to find its political spending history.
The site also highlights
the disproportionate amount of member dues unions have sent to Democratic
causes over the last 20 years. Of the $1.5 billion that was sent directly
to Republicans or Democrats, 90 percent went to Democrats with only 10 percent
going to Republicans. Additionally, Democrats in just five states—California,
New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Oregon—received more money from public
unions than Republicans did nationwide.
After the Supreme Court’s
landmark decision in Janus vs. AFSCME, public-sector union members are no longer
forced to financially support their union as a condition of employment. Now,
workers can choose to keep the portion of their dues that would have gone to
support predominantly left-leaning causes. In fact, early data from the Labor
Department shows many workers are doing just that.
There is a growing
disconnect between how unions are spending money and what workers really want.
Now, with access to more facts, employees can start to hold their
representatives accountable.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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