Posts tagged lobbying
Opinion: California’s unions have built a $1B taxpayer-funded machine
August 31, 2026 // One group, more than any other, has cashed in on this arrangement: California’s public-sector unions. For them, higher taxes are good business. More taxes means more state workers, which means more union members, more dues, and more power for union bosses. The union bosses, in turn, keep the dollars flowing, agitating for more tax hikes, more spending, and more state workers. How powerful are California’s public-sector unions? In the calendar or fiscal year ending in 2024, 10 of the largest California-based unions with public-sector members collectively raked in more than $1 billion in dues and fees.
Teacher unions dedicate money to political activism, lobbying
August 18, 2026 // In 2025, the NEA spent a total of $448,171,192, according to Union Facts, a nonprofit that focuses on transparency and accountability. AFT spent a total of $278,261,430. The NEA spent more than $51 million on political activities and lobbying in 2025, and the AFT spent more than $41 million, according to Union Facts. In comparison, the national average salary for a public school teacher is $74,000, according to the NEA.
Op-Eds Union bosses almost blew the $2.5 billion Nippon deal. Don’t let them sabotage the next contract
August 13, 2026 // In 2025, USW held two significant strikes. One that put nearly 2,000 represented employees out of work for eight months, and another that forced 650 people out of work for five months. The strike likely cost these workers tens of millions collectively in lost wages. It also reported 615 employees earning more than $75,000, with an average total compensation of $107,476. The union paid its own staff more than 10 times what it paid in strike benefits. The terms were strong, as Nippon’s offer included $2.7 billion in capital investment earmarked specifically for USW facilities.
She never worked in a steel mill. Now she leads the United Steelworkers.
July 31, 2026 // “She’s going to have to get the trust of the steelworkers,” said Richard Tikey, a union local vice president at the coking coal plant for U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works south of Pittsburgh. He said the union should have pushed for additional benefits or a new contract during the sale process. “The union had more leverage then,” Tikey said. U.S. Steel’s initial proposal included an 18.2% pay increase over five years and a $4,000 contract bonus, but would implement employee copays for health insurance. Union negotiators said this was insufficient. They will counter in August.
Commentary: Unionized workers are bargaining with the bots
July 27, 2026 // "AI is something we can negotiate," Schleuss says. "Without a contract and without a union, you have no say." Former FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya notes that union-negotiated rules could easily map onto federal policy — if Congress ever finds the political will. Case in point: The NewsGuild currently has between 85 and 90 contracts with explicit AI provisions, Schleuss says.
Op-ed: You can’t legislate member loyalty
July 23, 2026 // Oregon State House Bill 3789, which last year made it illegal to “impersonate” a union, created new restrictions and legal risks to communicating with union-represented workers. The Freedom Foundation maintains that the law was designed to suppress effective outreach and has challenged it on constitutional grounds.
Billionaire tax backers burn big money on retreats, out-of-state political efforts and breathing ‘coach’
July 22, 2026 // The Post’s review of federal records found that officials for Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West burned millions on an out-of-state political effort as well as dues on travel, conferences and beachfront retreats — all while paying nearly $235,000 to a “clarity coach” who appeared in a series of low-budget mindfulness videos on Instagram.
1-in-3 reject union membership in AFSCME Council 31
July 21, 2026 // AFSCME Council 31’s questionable spending could be driving workers away. The union’s report with the Labor Department reveals that: Just 20% of its spending was on “representational activities” in 2025. It spent a record-high $3.4 million on politics that year. Nearly half of its own officers and employees made over $100,000.
Union and Troubled Home Care Company Maintained Close Partnership, Records Show
July 21, 2026 // Home health aides the company employs have decried missed paychecks, glitchy software, and hours-long waits on the phone, among other issues. Last month, PPL agreed to a $162 million settlement to resolve claims of wage theft, and the US Department of Justice sued the company, alleging Medicaid fraud. The powerful health care union 1199SEIU is currently seeking to unionize PPL’s roughly 200,000 workers, who care for disabled and elderly New Yorkers. But 1199 has also been working closely with the PPL for years, according to internal records obtained by New York Focus.
A Union for Home Care Workers? Many Are Wary.
July 17, 2026 // New York Focus independently spoke to more than a dozen aides for this story, and eight were either against it or leaning in that direction. Saba Nakhai, 32, who cares for her mother in Westchester full time, told New York Focus that she doesn’t see a place for the union in her work. “Maybe if I was working at a corporation, I would want a union,” she said. “But here, who’s the enemy, my mom?” Saba Nakhai, a young woman, stands smiling behind and holds the arms of her older mother, who is seated and wearing sunglasses. The room seems celebratory; a cake is on the table in front of them, and pictures of Saba hang from the ceiling. Saba Nakhai cares for her mother in Westchester full time. | Courtesy of Saba Nakhai To win, 1199 must convince workers like Nakhai that they need an advocate — not against their patients, but against the sprawling bureaucracy that sets their wages and benefits. If it’s successful, 1199 — already one of New York’s political kingmakers — will become even more powerful. Its membership and dues revenue will balloon, enabling more organizing and lobbying.