Massachusetts among top states for union political contributions

(The Center Square) – Massachusetts ranked 10th in the nation for union political spending, raking in over $3.6 million, according to a new report.

The Commonwealth Foundation’s analysis tracked union contributions to political action committees and candidates. It skewed heavily toward Democrats.

Leading the pack of union donors in the commonwealth, the Service Employees International Union donated $825,000 to Fair Share Massachusetts – a political movement promoting The Fair Share Amendment, which tacked on a 4% surtax on annual incomes of over $1 million. Voters passed the amendment in November 2022.

Campaign finance reports also revealed that SEIU donated $440,000 to Raise Up Massachusetts, which also advocated for the millionaire’s tax.

The millionaire’s tax movement also proved popular among the National Education Association, which donated $3 million in membership dues to Fair Share Massachusetts, according to federal financial disclosures.

In addition, Massachusetts government unions donated $403,000 to the organization Vote Yes for Work and Family, according to state campaign finance reports. The organization encouraged voters to vote for a ballot initiative allowing individuals to obtain driver’s licenses, regardless of immigration status. Commonwealth voters approved the measure in November 2022.

The largest contribution to a political candidate was to state Sen. Jason Lewis, a Democrat who received $5,000 from unions. Lewis chairs the Joint Committee on Education and is vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, two key committees for government unions.

Nationally, the report showed an overwhelming trend among unions supporting Democrats and left-leaning PACs, aligning with the trend in Massachusetts.

“PAC contributions were heavily one-sided, with 95.7[%] of contributions going to Democratic candidates and organizations across state and federal elections,” according to the report.

David Osborne, senior fellow of Labor Policy at the Commonwealth Foundation, said the commonwealth is generous with its union political spending – especially among Democrats.

“Massachusetts punches above its weight in terms of union political spending, and PAC spending is almost exclusively (99-1) for Democrats,” Osborne told The Center Square.

Osborne believes it makes sense from the standpoint of public unions, given their stances on government expansion.

“The alliance makes sense: public-sector union executives want more members, so they tend to support causes and policies that grow government and increase taxes,” Osborne said. “For example, federal financial disclosures revealed that the NEA teacher union gave $3 million in membership dues to Fair Share Massachusetts, an organization that advocated for the millionaire’s tax.”

Nationally, the report noted the four largest government unions – NEA, SEIU, American Federation of Teachers, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees – spent over $708 million on politics during the 2021-22 election cycle, with membership dues accounting for nearly 60% of union political spending.

In addition, government union PAC contributions attributed to an estimated 40% of political spending from unions.