Union Pocket? Labor Pours $200K into Races
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Unions have poured at least $200,000 so far into General Assembly races, sparking new accusations that they have far too much control over the Rhode Island House and Senate.
Union political action committees have invested $122,340 in the campaigns of 57 incumbents or challengers for the House and $79,460 in 31 Senate campaigns from 2008 to the latest 2010 campaign finance report, according to an analysis done by the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition, which says it is the largest taxpayer group in the state. Overall, public sector union money was a factor in three fourths of all campaigns for the General Assembly, according to the report.
It was no surprise that unions were involved in state races, but a RISC spokeswoman said the group was taken aback by the sheer extent of their involvement.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“What we were surprised at was the 76 percent of the House members who received the union money and 73 percent of the Senate,” said spokeswoman Harriet Lloyd. “I think that gives credence to what we’ve been saying all along about the unions having control over the General Assembly.”
Lloyd said the group focused on contributions from the AFL-CIO, NEA, and AFSCME.
Labor Leader: Unions Just Participating in Democracy
George Nee, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, yesterday did not contest the data in the report—but he did take issue with the implication that unions have an undue influence in the process. “The people participate in the political process. They make contributions and they report it,” Nee said. “We do it by the book.”
He said there was nothing stopping groups like RISC from doing the same. “If you don’t put a team out in the field, don’t complain when you lose the game,” Nee said.
But Lloyd contended that there is an uneven field because unions collect mandatory dues from their members. “I don’t think the rank and file have anything to say about what George Nee does with that,” Lloyd said. “Our indications are that the rank and file wouldn’t even approve.”
Unions Not Disclosing Activity in General Election
The release of the report comes on the heels of news that the unions defeated several of the General Assembly incumbents that they targeted in the primaries, including one—Doug Gablinske, D-Bristol—whom RISC supported. Lloyd said RISC plans on making another round of endorsements in the general election and is hoping to put money behind those races, but she said the group is not sure just how much money will be available.
Nee told GoLocalProv yesterday that the AFL-CIO is declining to publicly identify which races it will be involved in in the general election. He said the group has decided to keep a “low profile” for the time being.
A spokesman for Gordon Fox could not be reached for comment yesterday.
A Caprio Endorsement?
Given the extent of union ties to members of the General Assembly, Lloyd said RISC has become increasingly concerned about what would happen if independent Lincoln Chafee were elected. Chafee has garnered a number of high-profile union endorsements in recent weeks. She said the combination of a union-backed governor with the current General Assembly would be “the financial death” of the state. “It would be a field day for the unions,” she said.
“We are ready to say ‘anybody but Chafee,’” Lloyd said.
RISC, which is a 501(c)4, could make an endorsement in the governor’s race, she added, hinting that a Caprio endorsement was a possibility. “We are definitely looking at the Caprio campaign. We are definitely looking at all the options,” Lloyd said.
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