Joe Biden has been repeatedly courting the support of unions ahead of the 2024 presidential election, as unions contributed over $1.7 billion to Democrats in the 2022 midterm election cycle.
As reported by Just The News, the $1.7 billion total – as documented by the National Institute for Labor Relations Research -includes spending by political action committees (PACs) controlled by various unions. Further investigation by the watchdog group OpenSecrets reveals that PAC spending overall accounted for nearly $55 million worth of political contributions from 2021 to 2022. At least 183 different PACs contributed directly to candidates, with just $6.8 million going to Republicans while the remaining $47.7 million went to Democrats.
But according to self-reporting from the unions themselves, the unions vastly outspent PACs in 2022. Information filed with the Department of Labor via the LM-2 form shows union spending of $1,616,575,642, which accounts for various political activities and lobbying in addition to campaign contributions.
Among other examples, the National Education Association (NEA) donated $12,675,000 to the State Engagement Fund (SEF) in 2021 and 2022. Another watchdog group, InfluenceWatch, describes the SEF as “a left-of-center 501(c)(4) advocacy organization that funnels money to select left-wing groups.” It has also been described as a “pass through for dark money,” receiving massive donations from far-left billionaires such as George Soros and Tom Steyer.
Also in 2022, the AFL-CIO donated $8 million to the Strategic Victory Fund (SVF), a PAC started by the left-wing Democracy Alliance in 2020 for the purpose of defeating President Donald Trump’s re-election bid.
Now, ahead of the 2024 election and with polls showing a tightening race between Joe Biden and President Trump, Biden has been actively courting unions to once again show support for his candidacy. On Labor Day, Biden declared during a speech in Pennsylvania that he was “proud to be the most pro-union president … in American history.”
On September 1st, the Biden White House released a report outlining Biden’s pro-union policies, including highlighting “how unions benefit the economy” and “Supporting Workers’ Right to Organize,” among others.
Biden’s 2024 bid has already been endorsed by several top unions, including the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of Teachers. But while many top union leaders have endorsed Biden, many regular union members support Trump. The Associated Press’ “AP VoteCast” system reported that only about 6 out of 10 union members voted for Biden in 2020.