Union Leaders, Not Members, Determine Union Political Donations
Mother Jones blogger Kevin Drum dismisses the fact that 38 percent of Wisconsin union households voted to retain Governor Scott Walker as “exactly the opposite of surprising,” because “[f]or better or worse, about 37% of union members vote for Republicans, both nationwide and in Wisconsin.” That is indeed the case.
However, Drum’s acknowledgment that over a third of union households vote for Republicans on a consistent basis highlights a major problem with union political contributions: They go to fund candidates and causes which a large segment of union members do not support.
There’s a lot of money involved. Cumulatively from 1989 to the current election cycle, unions count for 12 of the top 20 political donors in the nation, according to the Center for Responsive Politics — with nearly all their contributions going to Democrats. The solution to this imbalance is simple: Individual worker choice of whether to join a union and pay dues in the first place.