Earlier today, The Washington Free Beacon reported that Democracy Alliance, who Politico called a “secretive club of wealthy liberals,” was “scrambling” with ways to come up with money due to big labor’s waning influence.
Democracy Alliance president Gara LaMarche warned attendees of the group’s donor conference in Santa Monica, California, last week that a reduction in labor union support would seriously damage the Alliance’s financial clout and the resources available to its portfolio of political and policy groups.
“Not all the resources we currently bring to bear are secure,” LaMarche told conference attendees gathered at the ritzy Fairmont Miramar hotel.
The Free Beacon also notes the LaMarche lauded the influence that big labor had in the past on behalf of far-left causes and candidates, but points out the he said their influence may be waning.
Unions have been “a key anchor of funding for progressive campaigns and causes,” LaMarche said, but the Alliance—and the larger progressive movement—need to find new ways to raise money to make up for the disastrous financial shortfall that could follow policies that prevent forced unionization and political participation by their members.
It’s not surprising that Democracy Alliance is worried that they can no longer rely on union funding. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that efforts to set up a big labor SuperPAC never materialized.
“A fight among labor unions over who would control a proposed $50 million super PAC has slowed the creation of a unified effort to boost the chances of labor-friendly Democrats winning the White House and control of Congress in the November election.”
The piece added that Union membership rolls had significantly declined and then reported that the SuperPAC would not happen because the various big labor groups couldn’t agree on who would take control.
While the union leaders agreed that creating a super PAC was a good idea, divisions emerged over how the entity would be run. The SEIU and NEA, which rank as the top spenders on political campaigns in recent years, are reluctant to turn over their political funds to a new political organization without retaining enough control over how the money was going to be spent, according to people familiar with the talks.
Meantime, midsize labor unions inside the AFL-CIO worry that handing over greater control to the SEIU and NEA would reduce their influence over the political spending, these people said.
Between the failure of the SuperPAC and Democracy Alliance now admitting they can’t rely on unions for political contributions, it’s no wonder big labor is struggling and needs the so-called “Fight for 15” campaign to continue to pursue their radical left-wing agenda.