The AFL-CIO is gearing up to revamp organized labor’s political operation, the Associated Press reports, by establishing a new “super PAC” that could raise unlimited amounts of money, just as business groups have also done.
Forming a so-called “super labor PAC” would allow the labor federation to raise money from sympathetic donors both inside and outside union membership and mobilize support beyond its traditional base, instead of ramping up political activities each election cycle.
Perhaps more importantly, the creation of a super PAC could allow the AFL-CIO to focus on state legislative battles, where laws restricting collective bargaining for public employee unions have been advanced in states such as Ohio and Wisconsin.
“The essential idea is that changes in the law for the first time really allow the labor movement to speak directly to workers, whether they have collective bargaining agreements or not,” AFL-CIO political director Michael Podhorzer told the AP. “Before, most political resources went to our own membership.”
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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