From the desk of Stephen Cabot: According to an article in The Wall Street Journal ( by Melanie Trottman, presidents of the AFL-CIO and SEIU (Richard Trumpka and Mary Kay Henry, respectively) have agreed to spend at least $88 million to elect pro-union representatives to the House and Senate this fall. That is an astounding amount of money which could certainly affect the outcomes in such states as Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Though the money will be generously spent in closely contested races in those states, the two unions plan on spending members’ dollars in more than 20 other states as well.

Both unions are significantly increasing their budgets from previous years, for they believe that in order to effect pro-union legislation they must have pro-union majorities in both houses of congress. Most of the pro-union candidates are Democrats.

The unions’ aggressive campaign, targetting millions of union households, will employ an army of campaign workers, each of whom will call upon union members and their families. They will ring doorbells, send out e-mails, repeatedly telephone their constituencies, and send out millions of direct mail pieces. The success of their efforts will be measured and then tweaked following the revelations of weekly polling data. According to the Wall Street Journal, 23% of the electorate are union members. That’s a sufficiently large enough number to determine the outcomes of elections in the most hotly contested states.

It is essential for those who oppose the Democratic leadership’s pro-union agenda to organize their own campaigns to defeat those who will be injurious to the American economy. America is at a turning point, and it is essential that it point to a future of economic growth free of union restrictions.

expert labor relations advice