Posts tagged Democratic Primary
Michigan Democratic Senate hopefuls tout their union bona fides
February 12, 2026 // Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El-Sayed, a former Wayne County public health official, each said they would champion workers rights and manufacturing if elected to the Senate in what’s expected to be one of the most closely watched races this year. Support from autoworkers could be crucial in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. Senate Democrats need to net four seats to win control of the chamber, and defending Peters’ seat is key to that effort.
Opinion: My teachers union calls it representation. I say there are $114 million reasons to sue them
October 28, 2025 // But during the current election cycle, I learned that the NJEA quietly sent more than $40 million from our dues to a political action committee — without the knowledge or consent of members, and without a shred of transparency. Even worse, union officials used that money — including my money — to serve themselves. Those funds fueled former NJEA President Sean Spiller’s failed gubernatorial run, while he was still president of the union. Even when it was quite clear that Spiller had no chance of winning (he ended up finishing a distant fifth in the Democratic primary), PACs supporting him recklessly burned through piles of our dues money as Spiller was on the campaign trail — all while he somehow also served "full-time" as union president, collecting his enormous salary and benefits package from that job.
Opinion: A Teachers Union Candidate Took My Money and Ran for Office
October 22, 2025 // in a lawsuit filed Sept. 30 in New Jersey Superior Court, that it was also an illegal breach of contract and a violation of the union’s fiduciary duty to its members. On paper, the union tells teachers that giving to its political organizations is voluntary. The membership forms we signed, which function as a contract between a member and the union, have a separate box to check for voluntary donations to the union’s political action committee. I didn’t check that box and therefore believed my money wouldn’t be used by a PAC. That wasn’t true. In 2013 union officials created an obscure political group called Garden State Forward and funded it with more than $100 million in teachers’ dues.
UAW President Shawn Fain: “We Need More Than A Party – We Need A Movement”
October 14, 2025 // Fain, Speaking At A Center For Working-Class Politics & Jacobin Event, ‘Emphasized The Need For A Political Program That Addresses Workers’ Most Basic’ Issues - And ‘How A Broad Strike In 2028 Could Put Them Front & Center’
Former teachers union president sued, accused of $40M campaign cash grab
October 3, 2025 // Dupont said she opted out of supporting the union’s PAC when she signed her membership card. “Then I found out that a handful of union insiders spent $40 million of teachers’ dues – including mine – on the union president’s political ambitions. That’s wrong, and I believe it’s illegal.”
Commentar: Why the UAW Endorsed Zohran When Other New York City Unions Held Back
August 11, 2025 // The UAW’s risky endorsement of Mamdani would never have happened without the transformation of the union that occurred over the past half-decade. After a serious of corruption and embezzlement scandals led to the removal and conviction of top UAW officials, the union reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice that required a national referendum on adopting direct election of union leadership.
Cuomo’s education plan filled with goodies for powerful teachers’ union — as he tones down support of charter schools
May 21, 2025 // “Cuomo is definitely playing ball with the teachers’ union,” said a longtime political insider. His plan does promote other initiatives backed by the UFT and public school teachers, such as more early childhood education programs and “community schools” with wraparound health services. He also backed implementing the UFT-backed class size reduction law with adequate state funding.
NYC firefighter unions back Andrew Cuomo for mayor, solidifying labor support
May 13, 2025 // He has secured the lion’s share of endorsements from labor unions compared to his rivals including: the Teamsters, health care workers 1199SEIU, 32BJ SEIU, the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and most of the construction trade unions. UFA, which represents 20,000 firefighters, endorsed Andrew Yang in the 2021 primary while current Mayor Eric Adams. had been previously received support from the UFOA — which has 7,500 members including lieutenants, captains, battalion chiefs, deputy chiefs, supervising fire marshals and medical officers.
Nevada’s Primary Results Reveal Union Influence Waning
July 22, 2024 // The union’s aggressive stance in the 2024 Democratic primary, which included unendorsing 18 Democratic state lawmakers and endorsing challengers against them, underscored its discontent with legislative decisions such as the passage of SB441. It showed that it was willing to make any outlandish attempts to get what it wanted. But, this time, their attempts weren’t enough. Despite a significant campaign effort, including nearly half a million dollars spent on advertisements, the Culinary Union’s candidate, Hughes, was defeated by Nguyen with a decisive margin of over ten percentage points.
Labor Union Gives $100K to Bernie Bro Embezzler
March 28, 2022 // A prominent labor union gave $100,000 to a super PAC run by a former Bernie Sanders campaign adviser who was convicted of defrauding another union.