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.
That’s a staggering amount considering it is pilfered from a captive group of donors. Yet, the more staggering number is the amount “donated” by billionaires:
Mark Zuckerberg - $400 million
Koch Brothers pledged to spend $889 million between 2009 and 2016
Gyorgy Schwartz aka George Soros pledged $32 billion to Open Society which funds local D. A. elections and God only knows the entire scope of that nefarious entity.
Michael Bloomberg spent $310 million in the 2020 campaign.
Tom Steyer spent $156 million on the 2020 election, some from fundraising, most his own money.
Ken Griffen recently donated $5 million to DeSantis’ campaign.
A brief search reveals the 2020 election resulted in (depending on the source) expenditures of between $10 and $14 BILLION in order to steal this republic from its citizens. What the hell do I care whether it’s a filthy union or a filthy hedge fund manager?