Parasites in Politics: Labor Unions

Parasites in Politics: Labor Unions

While labor unions have seen a steady decline in memberships over the last few decades, their role in politics has remained influential. During each election season, political candidates vie for the backing of unions that have proved capable of mobilizing and swaying millions of voters. Unions in the United States have historically voted for Democrat Party candidates, or left-leaning politicians, and have been long considered critical to the Democratic Party’s electoral success. Since unions are in many ways a progressive invention, relying largely on the government to exist and operate, it’s unsurprising that unions have voted for political parties that promise them authority, resources, and most importantly, their continued existence.

When it comes to the role that unions play in the political process, the presidential election season of 2024 has proved no different than the preceding elections. The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which represents federal workers in 35 departments and is the only union for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) workers, endorsed Kamala Harris for president on September 18, 2024. The NTEU had also given their support for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, demonstrating a clear yet expected bias. The NTEU represents public-service employees, among them are those in the business of tax collecting. It’s therefore expected that such a cohort would naturally gravitate towards political parties that advocate for more government involvement in the economy.

The same is true for the National Education Association (NEA) which endorsed Kamala Harris and unsurprisingly so given that they’re the largest labor union representing public school teachers as well as faculty at colleges and universities. Adding to the list of public sector unions flocking to the Democratic candidate is the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) which is the sole representative of city delivery letter carriers employed by the United States Postal Service (USPS), a government agency that provides mailing services to Americans.

Akin to parasites, public service workers and their respective unions latch onto the host, or political party, that promises to nourish them; and the most prized of hosts in the last century has undoubtedly been the Democrat Party. That is not to say that there are no labor unions that side with Republican or conservative candidates, for at the end of the day unions vote for whoever provides them better job security, among other benefits. In the case of public service workers, many of whom are represented by unions, they’re quite literally voting for the most favorable of employers given that they’re employed by the government. Unions are ultimately, and problematically, incentivized to side with political candidates that platform socialist policies and ardently oppose any party that advocates for free markets and less government.

Reuters recently went on a “fact-checking” spree to try and dismiss the troubling reality of public sector agencies picking and choosing favorites by endorsing one political candidate or party above another. On October 8, 2024, they fact-checked the claim that the USPS endorsed Kamala, asserting that it was the union which was comprised of USPS workers that made the endorsement. Reuters made the same semantic point on October 15, 2024, claiming that it was the NTEU, a union that represents IRS workers that made the endorsement and not the IRS itself. The reason that Reuters homed in on the fact that federal employees were expressing their opinions about party candidates was to defend against accusations of violations to the Hatch Act, arguing that the agencies themselves were not the ones influencing the elections by picking political sides. Even if the governmental institutions themselves are not personally involved, their employees and representing unions are and they aren’t shy in their attempts to influence elections in ways that benefit them and the institutions they are employed by. The fact that Reuters was tasked with “fact-checking” in the first place illustrates that public-sector unions meddling in politics is a growing problem and is being met with increased scrutiny by the public.

Unions parasitically champion the parties that perpetuate their existence and have created a climate where candidates are forced to gain their support because of their capacity to secure political victories. The role that labor unions play in politics is one that is unhealthy, unethical, and ultimately makes a mockery of the supposedly sacrosanct democratic process. Whether or not unions belong in the economy is up for debate, but what is uncontested is the fact that they’re toxic to the political process – especially unions in the public sector – and don’t belong in politics whatsoever.