Tweet
According to an analysis of contribution data at the Center for Responsive Politics, labor unions gave at least $15,897,750 to the DSCC and its candidates since the 2006 cycle.
Labor unions contributed $8.1 million directly to Democratic Senate candidates in 2008, and $6.7 million to Democratic Senate candidates in 2006. In addition to those direct contributions, labor unions gave at least $327,000 in 2008 and $280,750 to the DSCC in 2006. Add in at least $490,000 to the DSCC in the 2010 cycle, and you have a smooth $1 million.
You can find a table of labor union contributions to the DSCC in the 2010 cycle here; below is a table of major unions’ contributions to the DSCC for the 2006 and 2008 cycles.
| Union | 2008 Cycle | 2006 Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| SEIU | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| AFL-CIO | $25,000 | $30,000 |
| AFSCME | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| UNITE HERE | $30,000 | $15,000 |
| UFCW | $30,000 | $26,250 |
| NEA | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| AFT | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| CWA | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| USW | $25,000 | $15,000 |
| IBEW | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| Boilermakers | $22,000 | $14,500 |
| UAW | $15,000 | – |
The context of these years is important. In 2006 and 2008, the DSCC was led by Senator Chuck Schumer, who congratulated Blanche Lincoln yesterday for “fighting unions” in her primary election victory this week. Under Bob Menendez, the DSCC continues to shake down labor unions for millions of dollars with the same contempt for their members.
Now the question is: will labor unions stop the DSCC’s money train for the 2010 cycle? And when will Bob Menendez start cutting checks to give back $16 million to the “special interests” he sees as his job to defeat?
3 Comments
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About Work in Progress
Man we have over 400 activists here looking for change in the movement. We really need to march on their offices TOMORROW! it’s a missed opportunity if we don’t. Afew years ago we took 6 busses of health and safety conference attendees to a lock out line and it was the highlight of the conference for many of them. It totally changed the course of the lockout.
We didn’t shoot the first bullet, but we damn well better shoot back!
Don’t you mean “Washington unions” or, as they are known among the Senate Democratic Caucus now, “special interests?”
Democrats only care about the money they get from organized labor. Sadly, most Democratic lawmakers are part of and beholden to the wealthy elite, and could care less about the issues that are important to working people. Which is why organized labor is always betrayed when it comes to time for the Democrats to actually enact Labor’s agenda. Tom Frank wrote an Op-Ed about this last year:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124035645604940949.html
“The sole clever reversal we have seen so far has been the familiar one where Democrats torpedo the most trustworthy member of their coalition.
Why does labor always get it in the neck?”
Maybe it’s time to stop being so trustworthy.