American politics feels completely stuck. The divide between political views is extreme, a ton of PAC money floods the elections, and the rich seem to hold more power than ever, making it look like no one can steer the country in a better direction. However, a new report from the Center for Working-Class Politics presents a surprisingly straightforward idea for how everyday people could gain more sway in our political system: encourage more union members to run for office.
The upcoming CWCP report, written by Jared Abbott, Benjamin Y Fong, Fred De Veaux, Dustin Guastella and Sam Zacher, and backed by Arizona State University’s Center for Work and Democracy, examined the significant impact that candidates with ties to labor unions have on politics. We discovered that those who come from the union movement are precisely what many citizens yearn for: politicians who genuinely resonate with them, champion working-class issues, and propose real solutions to mend our flawed system.
Unions have been active in politics for quite some time now; however, their influence seems to be waning. This isn’t due to reduced spending but rather because individual donations and independent expenditures have surged over the last two decades. In this scenario, many unions have adopted a defensive stance during elections-mostly backing incumbents they consider less harmful than their opponents. Yet this approach is misguided. Unions-traditionally banking on the belief that organized individuals can outmatch organized money-are missing their most valuable resource: their members.
double quotation mark We found that union candidates invoked pro-worker themes 159% more than their non-union candidates
Our research indicates that one major reason people become disillusioned with politicians-especially those from the Democratic party-is they just can’t connect with them. And there’s good reason behind it. Our findings show that working-class candidates represent only 8-14% of Democratic congressional candidates and 5-8% of Republican ones, while nearly half of Americans work in manual labor or service jobs. These statistics haven’t changed much since 2010; contrastingly, there’s been a notable increase in female and non-white candidates within the same timeframe among Democrats. Therefore, most candidates emerge from elite backgrounds which often leads them to miss out on what matters to working-class voters.
This is where candidates with union experience really stand out. They are not only more likely to hail from similar social environments as their constituents-they also tend to address workplace concerns and push pro-worker policies throughout their campaigns. In fact, we discovered that union-affiliated candidates referenced pro-worker themes 159% more often than non-union ones. That’s significant and helps explain why these candidates connect better while elite options struggle.
Moreover, once they take office, these representatives actually deliver results. Our study revealed that those with union backgrounds supported progressive legislation favoring workers at much higher rates compared to non-union colleagues-regardless of party affiliation-even after considering factors like district leanings and demographics. This kind of reliability can foster trust even amid tough challenges.
Lastly, elected officials with ties to unions prove themselves capable of effectively advancing worker issues as well. We spoke with various union politicians who noted that their experiences navigating different groups while advocating for common goals gave them an advantage in legislative discussions. These leaders can identify anti-worker elements easily and ensure every piece of legislation considers its effects on everyday individuals.
Unfortunately, we found there’s still a shortage of union-backed candidates running for office today. Currently less than 5% of congressional hopefuls between 2010 and 2022 reported any association with unions at all. In 2022 alone only 55 union-affiliated individuals ran out of around 1,200 total candidates-and many had minimal connections or short stints within unions themselves. This situation needs improvement.
According to our discussions with insiders, funding remains a huge obstacle. Like other working-class aspirants generally face difficulties supporting themselves during campaigns due to time constraints imposed by modern electoral demands which require continuous attention incompatible with regular employment schedules. Addressing this challenge means creating new protections for union members wishing to run-for example through job-holding contract agreements-and finding fresh sources of financial backing so they can campaign freely.
Fortunately some labor organizations are already tackling this issue head-on. In areas like New Jersey and Alaska , programs aimed at promoting labor-friendly candidates have emerged as successful political initiatives. The New Jersey AFL-CIO Labor Candidate Program trains about fifty union member contenders each year. Their leaders boast an impressive seventy-five percent success rate! Meanwhile , Alaska’s AFL-CIO Allman Labor Candidate School , founded just last year , has already supported twelve candidate runs achieving sixty-six percent wins!
These figures should inspire hope among those invested in worker advocacy suggesting that overall investment into such programs could dramatically benefit labor movements everywhere. As former U. S Representative Andy Levin from Michigan pointed out : “Unions spend millions on campaigns. What if they put two percent into getting their members elected?”
And these positive effects wouldn’t just help those associated directly with unions or their organizations either. Just like higher levels-of-unionization lead towards improved average wages & conditions across industries benefiting everyone regardless-of-whether-or-not-they-hold-a-union-card ; electing-more-labor-candidates-would-help-address-workers’-interests-across-the-board!
As previous studies indicate , working-class Americans across political spectrums seek-out representatives able-to-relate-on-socio-economic-levels-focusing strongly upon economic-related-subject-matter including job availability & workplace-concerns -they crave leaders perceived-as-trustworthy-by-community-members too! The labor movement houses plenty such individuals; we simply need create pathways enabling increased participation-rate amongst-them-in-electoral-processes!
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