From Meany to Sweeney: Labor's Leftward Tilt

Publication Date: September 2002

Publisher: Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): Kenneth R. Weinstein

Research Area: Labor

Keywords: Government reform

Type: Report

Abstract:

An activist labor movement may be the most significant new force in American politics, but the agenda of labor’s new leaders is radically different from that of the traditional labor movement. Curiously, much of this new agenda is unconnected with workplace issues, not generally supported among rank-and-file union members, and clearly outside the mainstream of American politics. In recent decades, organized labor has been transformed from a relatively centrist political force into a powerful lobby for liberal special interests and big government. Organized labor has decided to use its billions of dollars in dues revenue to defeat conservative Members of Congress, while also encouraging the Boy Scouts to admit homosexuals and atheists, offering financial contributions to political groups that promote abortion, and opposing welfare reform and a balanced budget.