Public Sector Unions

The Center for Responsive Politics ^ | 9/11/14 | The Center for Responsive Politics

[mdittmar]

Public employee unions represent workers at every level of government - federal, state and local. Since contract negotiations for these workers are dependent not on private corporations, but on the size of government budgets, this is the one segment of the labor movement that can actually contribute directly to the people with ultimate responsibility for its livelihood. While their giving pattern matches that of other unions (which overwhelmingly support Democrats), public sector unions also concentrate contributions on members of Congress from both parties who sit on committees that deal with federal budgets and agencies.

This broad category encompasses teachers, firefighters, police officers, postal workers and any other employee of the government at any level. Their legislative demands therefore vary significantly. Like any union, however, public sector unions focus primarily on strengthening workers' rights and working conditions, securing fair wages, buying domestically produced goods, guaranteeing workers' safety and eliminating corporations' abuse of their employees.

[mdittmar]

Top Contributors, 2013-2014

Contributor	Amount
National Education Assn	$7,944,727
American Fedn of St/Cnty/Munic Employees	$5,035,905
American Federation of Teachers	$2,230,020
International Assn of Fire Fighters	$1,579,930
American Federation of Govt Employees	$1,551,469
National Assn of Letter Carriers	$1,440,610
American Postal Workers Union	$865,700
National Rural Letter Carriers Assn	$493,500
National Assn of Postal Supervisors	$335,000
National Treasury Employees Union	$300,800
National Active & Retired Federal Employees Assn	$282,500
Aft Solidarity 527	$250,000
National Postal Mail Handlers Union	$238,000
National Assn of Postmasters	$164,080
Federal Aviation Admin Managers Assn	$126,000
California School Employees Assn	$79,015
Garden State Forward	$65,000
National Weather Service Employees Org	$53,500
National Assn/Farm Service Agency County Employees	$40,500
Council of School Supervisors & Admins	$34,815

[RetiredTexasVet]

The chart doesn’t include personal donations, encouraged and reimbursed in many cases by the unions or the in kind contributions, such as auditing conservative groups, sending out emails on gov’t computers, advising subordinates how to vote, or just general old Hatch violations.

[ansel12]

“In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order 10988, which permitted collective bargaining by federal employees. Widely seen as a gift to George Meany, the AFL-CIO head who helped Kennedy win the White House, the executive order was also a gift to government unions, both because it widened federal membership and because it signaled national approval of unions for state and local employees.”