Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro’s overflowing campaign coffers underscore the importance of Pennsylvania to national politics—and the influence of government unions in elections.
With four weeks remaining until the mid-term elections, Shapiro reported raising a whopping $25.4 million in his latest campaign-finance report, bringing his total to a record $50.9 million since the beginning of 2021. This represents 47 percent more than Governor Tom Wolf raised in four years as an incumbent running for reelection. By contrast, Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano has raised just over $5 million since the beginning of 2021.
Slightly more than half of Shapiro’s total comes from donors outside of Pennsylvania, compared to less than one-third of Mastriano’s.
But among the largest bloc of Shapiro’s donors are those who typically make up the bread-and-butter fundraising of Democrats’ campaigns: union political action committees (PACs).
So far, government-union PACs have donated $3.6 million to Shapiro, while private-sector union PACs have donated $4.7 million. Meanwhile, Mastriano has received 0.028 percent of that—$1,000—from government-union PACS.
Government unions are among the most powerful special interests in Pennsylvania. Their influence in national elections is unquestionable. Beyond Shapiro’s campaign, they have spent millions to prop up the Democratic Party and other progressive causes.
In this campaign cycle alone, the main Pennsylvania government-union PACs have raised more than $10 million and spent nearly $7 million. As of mid-September, union leaders hold more than $6 million in campaign cash.
National affiliates of these same unions—including the National Education Association (NEA), the American Federation of Teachers, and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees—have spent more than $3 million in Pennsylvania this cycle alone.
Government-union spending is decidedly one-party-focused. Donations to Democratic Party committees totaled $293,500, compared to $39,000 for Republican committees.
The top ten individual recipients of Pennsylvania government-union PAC money have received, collectively, $4,911,779 in the 2021–22 cycle. Nine of these ten individuals are Democrats, led by Shapiro.
For example, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, and its parent union, the NEA, funnel money to a Super PAC called Pennsylvania Fund for Change. Fund for Change has run ads attacking Republicans to the tune of almost $10 million since 2018.
Government unions maintain their power by forcing taxpayers to pay for unions’ political fundraising, using that fundraising to elect candidates to office, and then negotiating billion-dollar labor contracts with these elected officials.
Generally, it’s illegal to use taxpayer dollars for political purposes. But state law gives government-union executives a perk awarded to no other private organization: Pennsylvania state and local governments, including school districts, can use taxpayer-funded payroll systems to deduct union dues and PAC contributions from public employees’ paychecks and send this money to union executives.
Bolstered by these special privileges, Pennsylvania government unions have spent millions on politics—with Shapiro the greatest beneficiary of their largesse—just as the state has become a national focus for election dollars. Taxpayers must demand an end to these sham perks that finance political campaigns.