By Kim DixonPosted 2011/11/08 at 5:45 pm EST
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| Who Conned Who? |
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2011 (Reuters) — Members of labor unions are guarding their pocketbooks this election season, according to a new analysis, which may hurt Democrats in Congress in the 2012 elections.
Union political action committees donated just under $15 million to federal candidates in the first three quarters of this year, down 26 percent from $20.4 million for the same period four years ago, according to an analysis of union giving compiled for Reuters by the Center for Responsive Politics.
The trend is bad news for the party as it fights next year to re-elect President Barack Obama, keep its majority in the U.S. Senate and make gains in the House of Representatives.
Reasons for the downturn include the impact of a weak economy, a lack of enthusiasm for politics among Democrats, and new strategies by unions to redirect their efforts, according to unions and labor experts.
"As things heat up next year, the situation may be different, but the reality is there will be a lot of people who have not voted to create jobs," said Jim Spellane, a spokesman for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union.
Organized labor is facing battles in several states for its own existence, with Republicans seeking to overhaul employment rules and severely limit collective bargaining rights of public sector workers.
A major test comes on Tuesday in Ohio, where voters will decide whether to repeal a law backed by Republicans limiting bargaining for police and other state workers.
AFL-CIO spokesman Jeff Hauser said the drop reflects a conscious decision by that giant umbrella union to focus more on "year-round mobilization and political independence."
Obama is unlikely to be hit much by the slowdown in labor giving. Already far ahead in 2012 fund-raising, he is expected to top his record-breaking $750 million haul from 2008.
Things will be tougher in Congress, whose members face historically low approval ratings from a public frustrated with unemployment stuck above 9 percent. Democrats are not likely to take back control of the House, and they may also lose their majority in the Senate to Republicans, analysts say.
Giving by union political action committees (PACs) to candidate PACs is also down, though not by as much. Union-affiliated PACs gave about $27.5 million to candidates in 2007, compared to $25.4 million this year, according to CRP data.
BUSINESS VS. UNIONS
Nearly all unions favor Democrats. Labor contributed about half of million dollars to Obama in 2008, and spent millions more in advertising. Unions gave $96 million to congressional candidates in 2010.
Republicans benefit to a larger extent than Democrats from donations from the business community, whose giving far outstrip unions. Corporate interests hold a 15-to-1 edge in political donations over organized labor, according to CRP.
"At the end of the day, corporations have more money than unions. A lot more money than unions," said Trevor Potter, who was Republican presidential candidate John McCain's lawyer during his 2008 run for the White House.
A major benefit of union support is organizing ability. Unions provide armies of volunteers for telephone banks, help get voters to polling places and spread candidates' messages.
That is one area where the AFL-CIO says it is stepping up its efforts.
"We're redoubling our efforts to keep working people mobilized, not only before federal elections but year round, even year and odd year alike" from local to federal elections, Hauser said.
A lack of a Republican candidate is also failing to inspire union members, compared to the contest four years ago.
"There is an enthusiasm deficit right now but I think much of that will go away when there is an actual Republican candidate and the stakes of the 2012 elections become clear," said labor professor Harley Shaiken of the University of California at Berkeley.
(Editing by Alistair Bell and Philip Barbara)
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