Union Membership Shrinks As Political Clout Grows

Labor Day was established as a national holiday in 1894 to officially "honor the social and economic achievements of American workers." Labor unions mounted the campaign for an annual celebration to showcase their influence and to recruit and retain members.  The strategy hasn't worked.

Union membership has steadily dwindled since 1983 when the Bureau of Labor Statistics began an official tally.  Thirty-four years ago 20.1 percent of all wage and salary earners in the country belonged to a union.  At the end of last year, union representation had dipped to 10.7 percent.

In 2016, there were 14.6 million union workers, a steep plunge from 17.7 million in 1983.  Most of the members (34.4%) were represented by public sector unions at the end of last year.  Their membership rate was five times higher than the private sector (6.4%).

One of the largest and most powerful unions is the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) with a membership of 1.52 million.  AFT has an annual budget of more than $329 million and has reported assets of $106 million.  Overhead and political lobbying account for nearly 22% of its spending.

Those figures were obtained from the Office of Labor-Management Standards, which requires unions to file annual reports with the group.

The teachers union wields enormous political clout. AFT flexed its muscles in the 2016 presidential election, dishing out a striking $32.85 million to candidates.  Every single dollar found its way into the election coffers of Democrats.  Not even a penny was donated to Republicans.

This is a predominant theme repeated throughout today's unions.  The organizations have become nothing more than a fund-raising arm for the Democratic Party.  A review of the Federal Election Records reveals that nearly every dollar the big unions pored into elections went to Democrats.

While the teachers spent the heaviest amount, not far behind was the Laborers' International Union of North America (LINUA), which represents primarily construction workers.  LIUNA funneled $25.9 million during the 2016 election cycle to an overwhelming majority of Democrats (98%).

The AFL-CIO, American Federal of State/County/Municipal Employees (AFSCME)  and the Operator Engineers Union combined to contribute more than $42 million, the lion's share landing in the pockets of Democrat candidates.  AFSCME donated 100% to Democrats.

Yet Democrats always grumble about the notorious Koch Brothers' deep-pocketed giving to Republicans.  All the unions mentioned above each shelled out more than the Koch's did.  Is this a case where Democrats better represent union members?  Does that explain the lopsidedness?

Not according to the actual vote of union members.  Surveys show for example that 20 percent of teachers union members cast their ballots for Donald Trump.  Among all union households, Mr. Trump carried 43 percent of the votes, compared to 51 percent for Hillary Clinton in 2016.

This should make it clear that the unions' largess for Democrats has little or no relationship to the political views of their members.  It is a scandal that union bosses continue to ignore their members, while using dues from their paychecks to support Democrats.

The rank-and-file in powerful unions are held captive by their organization's bosses, who are more interested in burnishing their own political influence. Workers have no voice in the choices the union makes in terms of its political activity.  It is time members were consulted.

Fifty years ago there were legitimate worker issues for unions to address concerning hours, wages and benefits.  Labor unions were champions of worker rights. Today they have evolved into nothing more than political organizations. Contract negotiations and bargaining are afterthoughts.

In light of this development, labor unions should be required to register as an arm of the Democratic Party since their primary function appears to be funding that organization's candidates.