By MELANIE TROTTMAN and BRODY MULLINS Labor-union contributions to candidates and parties are leveling off in the 2012 election cycle, hindering Democrats' campaign- funding plans amid a spending surge by groups backing Republicans.
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Wisconsin State Journal / Associated Press The AFL-CIO is spending money in union battles in Wisconsin and Ohio. Above, a firefighter backs an effort to oust Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Some union officials suggest that, in addition to donating directly to candidates, they plan to spend significantly on their own voter-mobilization efforts in support of Democrats, though that is hard to verify because this type of spending doesn't have to be disclosed.
In any case, the shift will leave President Barack Obama and other Democratic candidates more dependent on support from new pro-Democratic super PACs—groups that spend money independently of campaigns—which are struggling to raise funds. And if the pattern continues for the rest of the year, outside entities supporting Republicans may for the first time surpass the overall spending by unions and other outside organizations backing Democrats.
When it comes to the presidential candidates themselves, both Mr. Obama and the eventual Republican nominee likely will have plenty of money to pay for their election campaigns. Because Mr. Obama doesn't have a primary challenger, he has been socking away funds for the general election. The Republican candidates have been spending money as fast as they take it in as they battle for the GOP presidential nomination.
Mr. Obama and the Democratic National Committee raised more than $200 million in 2011 for the president's re-election effort.
Labor organizations must disclose the amount of money they collect from members for their political-action committees, which are used to make direct contributions to candidates and political parties. They aren't required to disclose how much of their funds they use for much of their own political activities.
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Associated Press In Ohio, above, Charlene Petties voices support for repealing a labor bill.
A recent snapshot of the accounts used to directly aid candidates and parties shows unions are barely surpassing the spending they did in 2010, a nonpresidential election year. This comes as local unions around the country are instead diverting resources from the presidential and congressional elections to local organizing fights, races for state legislatures and to combat anti-union efforts at the state level.
In past election cycles, unions had sharply increased their giving to candidates and the Democratic Party every two years. But as of Jan. 31, unions had collected only slightly more in their PACs for the 2012 presidential election than they had at the same point in 2010. These figures, compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, show that unions had collected a combined $138.9 million in their PACs as of Jan. 31, up 3% from $134.8 million two years earlier.
The amount raised by labor union PACs is up nearly 15% from the 2008 levels. But that increase is minimal compared with the ballooning campaign spending by organizations supporting Republican candidates.
Entities founded with the help of Republican strategist Karl Rove expect to raise and spend as much as $300 million to help GOP candidates this fall, according to people familiar with the matter. That is more than four times as much as the same organizations spent on the 2010 midterm elections; the groups didn't exist during the 2008 presidential election. As of the end of 2011 they had raised a total of $50 million, said the organizations' spokesman.
Mike Podhorzer, the political director for labor federation AFL-CIO, which represents 57 unions, agreed that the AFL-CIO and some affiliates are donating less money to candidates and political parties this election. But he said that is because the AFL-CIO has decided to put "significantly more" resources "into independent advocacy rather than just writing checks to candidates."
He said unions are shifting money toward getting their own members and others to vote for labor-backed candidates. The federation is also investing in key states, such as Wisconsin and Ohio—sites of big battles over the rights of public-employee unions—to build a political structure that will operate year-round instead of just ahead of elections. Mr. Podhorzer asserted that this type of spending will result in Mr. Obama and other Democratic candidates "getting more value out of what we're doing."
Some labor unions will continue to be a big force through direct participation in the 2012 presidential election. One of the largest, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, has already spent more than $1 million on television advertisements attacking former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Republican primary states. AFSCME plans to spend at least $100 million on across-the-board election efforts, up from about $93 million in 2010, though it is unclear how those funds will be divided.
Still, other union officials acknowledge that their overall spending on the 2012 congressional and presidential elections could suffer because of union resources being drained by other issues.
In Wisconsin, where Republican Gov. Scott Walker led a bruising fight that curbed public employees' collective bargaining rights, unions say their countereffort depleted their budgets.
Lyle Balistreri, president of the Milwaukee Building and Construction Trades Council, said his focus right now is an effort to recall Mr. Walker, not on the presidential election. "There is a limited pot of money out there and this has been a very expensive endeavor," said Mr. Balistreri, who represents about 11,000 state construction workers. Meanwhile, unions across Wisconsin have less money because there are fewer dues-paying members.
In Nevada, the state's largest labor union is focused on coming contract negotiations and a big effort to form a union for employees of Station Casinos Inc., said Yvanna Cancela, the political director for the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which represents about 60,000 people. Typically, the union would send volunteers door-to-door to register voters, educate people about the issues and make sure people vote in November.
"It's just not something that we are focusing on right now," Ms. Cancela said. |
