A Union Bank with a Goal: Victory for the Left

The California Political Review discusses the Amalgamated Bank, a union-owned bank, with Ivan Osario. 

Ivan Osorio, editorial director at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (and a former editor of Labor Watch), said the union controlled bank’s lending in electoral politics is far less transparent than the typical political activity of unions. "One major difference is that union political donations are done directly. That’s very clear. They collect so much money in dues, they give so much money to candidates. . . . It’s pretty straightforward,” he said. “With a bank, it’s supposed to be run like a business, so it’s not a direct donation. Whether that kind of campaign lending constitutes undue risk, that’s for the bank to decide."

"Campaign lending can be a complicated process because campaigns and PACs often have little credit or collateral, yet they are forced by the nature of elections to move enormous sums of money on short timelines—for example, to buy expensive TV ads. Revenue is sporadic, with donations coming in spurts as largely unpredictable events unfold on the campaign trail."

Read the full article at the California Political Review.