Labor Department Report Reveals Billions in Additional Union Political Activity - Granite Grok

Labor Department Report Reveals Billions in Additional Union Political Activity

From 2006 to 2011, Unions in the United States spent $4.4 Billion dollars on political activity, $3.3 Billion more than typically advertised.  This astounding number comes from the Center for Responsive Politics, which collected data from a set of obscure annual reports that Unions are required to file with the Department of Labor regarding detailed spending on politics and lobbying not covered in FEC reports which only collect spending by Union PAC’s which do not spend union dues dollars on campaigns.

The unions’ reports to the Labor Department capture an additional $3.3 billion that unions spent over the same period on political activity.

The costs reported to the Labor Department range from polling fees, to money spent persuading union members to vote a certain way, to bratwursts to feed Wisconsin workers protesting at the state capitol last year. Much of this kind of spending comes not from members’ contributions to a PAC but directly from unions’ dues-funded coffers. There is no requirement that unions report all of this kind of spending to the Federal Election Commission, or FEC. 

Emphasis mine.
So based on the Labor Department Data, unions spent three times as much in member dues on politically related activities than what was spent by union Political Action Committees alone.  An additional $3.3 billion on political activity over the span of six years (2006-2011) for a total of 4.4 billion,  $700,000,000  million dollars every year or $1.46 Billion per average two-year cycle.   And almost always to elect Democrats.

Who is it again that is buying elections up with shadow money?  I don’t think the Koch brothers are in a union.

This is an important revelation.  Democrats surely knew about all this behind-the-scenes political spending, yes?  And still, they demagogue their opponents for spending in the light of day?

And why did New Hampshire Democrats want tax-paying business owners to jump through hoops before engaging in political speech while unions (who, as far as I know, don’t even pay taxes on dues they collect) have been hiding billions in political spending nationally to elect Democrats? (About 93% to Democrats–the other 7% to what, get rid of moderate Democrats?)

So at 4.4 billion in total union spending over six years….could unions be spending more to manipulate elections than  George Soros?

And what about all the claims (mostly by Democrats and union employees, if that is not redundant) that union dues are not spent on political activity?  I guess they meant “not out in the open!”   But there it is.  Un-taxed billions more in support of Democrats and Democrat causes, secretly outspending the Union PACs by 3 to 1.

$4.4 Billion.  Wow.

So. …

Union people who are not Democrats, or who object to abortion, or broad-based taxes, or big bureaucracies, or Solyndra’s, or bailouts, or stimuli, or the entire Democrat Agenda, which these billions are spent to advance…

Republicans in New Hampshire who voted against the right to work…

Republicans who wanted to pass campaign finance laws that would not have touched a dime of this spending, most of which has been and will continue to be to get you out of office–unless you are a RINO firefighter Democrat running as a Republican…Riddle me this?

What will it take to make you realize that dues-paying employees should enjoy the right of conscience so as not to be forced into contributing to the next $3.3 billion dollar tax-free, left-wing political-campaign windfall for candidates and issues they object to?

We just wanted them to have the option to say no thank you.  And you had the chance to give that choice to them.  But some of you backed down or ran away.  Who scared you off?  Who intimidated you?  What lies did you choose to believe?  Did they all come from the unions?

$1.5 Billion in non-PAC money, spent nationally by unions on politics every two years, almost exclusively against Republicans?  Suckers.   Did you even have a clue?  It’s not like we didn’t give you enough reasons to embrace real choices for workers.

You Republicans should think long and hard about how much of that was spent to get you to roll over on Right to Work in New Hampshire.  Then think about how much will be used to replace you this November with someone willing to help them do a better job of hiding that spending; so that next time, no one will know what volume of resources were applied to sway the vote against you.  And there won’t be any opportunity to pass Right to Work in NH—an extra 3.3 billion.  And you were worried about what exactly?

More here.

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