Posts tagged Lee Saunders
Union Leaders Get Tough With Democrats as Members Drift Toward Trump
August 11, 2025 // “Every time we talk politics, the first thing that comes up is, ‘The Democrats let us down,’” Jimmy Williams, the president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, told The New York Times.
‘With you or without you’ – The growing rift between unions and Democrats
June 21, 2025 // O’Brien said that, during a meeting he had in the summer of 2024 with unnamed Democratic senators and three other major union leaders, he opposed bringing up the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act for a Senate vote ahead of the election. This was despite the PRO Act being a wish list of union priorities. O’Brien assumed that a vote at that time would have been an act of political theater, not a serious bid to get the legislation through the Senate. That would have suited Democrats, who could claim that they voted in support of unions, without actually benefiting them. “They wanted to introduce the PRO Act, and I’m like, ‘It’s never gonna pass,’” O’Brien told Walsh. “I had a sidebar with these three other general (union) presidents and I said, ‘They’re using this as an issue to weaponize it.’” O’Brien said that the “weaponization” of the legislation made it politically toxic and therefore impossible to get enough bipartisan support.
Op-ed: Who Are Unions Really Fighting For?
June 20, 2025 // Let’s not forget: Weingarten’s AFT represents 1.7 million workers, including educators, healthcare professionals, and public servants across the country. Many of them are not Democrats. Many are centrists, independents, or conservatives. And yet their dues continue to support a relentless stream of partisan causes, political campaigns, and social crusades that often run completely counter to their own values. In fact, more than 90% of union political contributions go to Democrats – despite the fact that union households are politically diverse. Roughly 41% of union members voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, while 57% supported Kamala Harris. The disconnect is undeniable: nearly half of union members are effectively subsidizing political causes and candidates they do not support.
Commentary: The Flight of the Unions from the DNC
June 18, 2025 // Only a few short months ago, Weingarten and Saunders both enjoyed plum speaking spots on the stage at the Democratic Party’s presidential nominating convention. There, along with ridiculous figures like the National Education Association’s Becky Pringle, these labor officials presented a united front against Donald Trump’s GOP. Today, they are defenestrated — either by their own hands or Martin’s. Why?
Democratic drama: Union leader exits underscore DNC divisions
June 17, 2025 // “It was very clear to me that they were looking to blow up the DNC,” the source said. “[Martin] is not looking to blow the place up.” The two unions represent significant Democratic constituencies. The American Federation of Teachers boasts more than 1.8 million members, while the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has more than 1.3 million members. The groups and their leaders are also expected to continue to play major roles in the Democratic ecosystem. Some Democrats note Weingarten’s and Saunders’s departures come after Republicans made inroads with some union constituencies in 2024. “Although Republicans are not sweeping unions, Republicans are starting to be viewed by union members as the party of the people who have to take a shower after work or, in this case, the people who have to take an Excedrin after work,” Wilson said.
Public sector union head steps down from DNC
June 17, 2025 // The union led by Saunders represents more than 1.3 million public sector employees and retirees. Saunders’ letter comes as news surfaced that the American Federation of Teachers Union President Randi Weingarten informed Martin of her decision to step down from her post in a letter dated June 5. Saunders and Weingarten both endorsed former Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler in his race against Martin for DNC chair. Like Weingarten, Saunders was removed from the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee by Martin.
Pay for Play: Al Sharpton Books Labor Bosses Who Pour Millions Into His Nonprofit on MSNBC Show
March 30, 2025 // In the past year alone, Sharpton, who hosts PoliticsNation on the weekends, has interviewed the presidents of five unions that have given his nonprofit a total of $6.3 million: American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association (NEA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), American Federation of Government Employees, and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). In all, labor unions have given nearly $8 million earmarked as "gifts," "grants," or payments for "political activities" to the National Action Network, which in some years has paid Sharpton a $1 million salary and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for private jets and limo services.
The leader of a major government union outlines their strategy to battle Trump federal cuts—And says Elon Musk has ‘no clue’ about workers
March 16, 2025 // We’re filing these lawsuits—that's number one. We are pushing even though we understand that the climate here in Washington, D.C. is not the best. But we’ve still got to continue to go on the offense, as I said earlier. We are supporting the PRO Act, which would give workers the right to have a seat at the table to improve labor labor law in this country. We're doing the same thing with the Public Freedom to Negotiate Act for public service workers.
COMMENTARY: You Can’t Support Trump and Government Unions
November 21, 2024 // Trump and his allies have talked endlessly about the need to take on the “deep state” or “drain the swamp” in Washington, D.C. Sometimes such talk veers into conspiracy-theorizing, but it’s certainly true that many federal bureaucrats are opposed to Trump and their obstruction can prevent him from governing as he was elected to govern. For years, conservatives have been raising the alarm about the constitutional problems that an entrenched, unelected administrative state presents when it hinders the elected leaders from making decisions. Government unions stand in the way of making many reforms to the civil service that Trump would like to see.
Largest Public Sector Labor Unions Unite to Get Out the Vote in Battleground States
October 23, 2024 // This joint action represents a significant escalation of labor's political engagement, with the unions pooling resources and mobilizing their combined membership of several million workers and includes people of all backgrounds working across the public service – as nurses, child care providers, sanitation workers, first responders, teachers, education support professionals and higher education workers, among others.