New York has the highest number of government union staff, report finds

New York has the nation’s highest number of government union staff, based on a brand new report.

On Monday, the Commonwealth Foundation launched a report titled “State of the Unions: Examining Union Membership in State Government,” which discovered that whereas union membership is declining throughout the nation, public sector unions are thriving. 

Those very unions, in the meantime, have thrown appreciable quantities of money behind Democratic causes lately.

“The report demonstrates that some state governments are even more beholden to unions than we thought,” David Osborne, the Commonwealth Foundation’s senior fellow of labor coverage, instructed Fox News Digital. 

BIDEN ADMIN SCRUBS WEBPAGE SHOWING HOW TAXPAYERS FUND UNION ACTIVITIES

US Vice President Kamala Harris, proper, waves with Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, at the National Education Association 2022 annual assembly and consultant meeting in Chicago, Illinois. The Biden admin has maintained shut relationships with unions. (Tannen Maury/EPA/Bloomberg by way of Getty Images)

“Not only do unions play politics and lobby with union members’ money, but they also have members directly affecting public policy and driving political decisionmaking as state employees,” Osborne continued. “It’s a level of influence no other special interest group would be permitted to exercise.”

According to the report, New York has the highest number of staff represented by a government union (round 219,000) and the most state government dues-paying members (round 174,000). 

The basis, nevertheless, discovered that Connecticut had the highest “union density” charge as a consequence of its complete government workforce belonging to public unions. The “union density” charge refers to “the number of dues-paying union members compared to the total number of state employees,” which “gives a sense of the overall level of union entrenchment in state government,” based on the report.

Additionally, the basis famous that the states with the 5 lowest union density charges – Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Colorado, and North Dakota – have labor legal guidelines “generally more friendly to workers than other states.” 

“When coupled with the grades of the states with the highest union density rates, this data suggests that when a state’s legal environment does not blatantly favor government unions, state employees are more likely to decline unionization and union membership,” the group stated.

The Commonwealth Foundation sought public information from all 50 states for its examine however acquired data from simply 27 of them. The group says California, Illinois and Missouri withheld the requested data utilizing legal guidelines that exempt unions from such requests.

REPUBLICANS WARN BIDEN ADMIN’S FOREIGN FARM WORKER RULE IS ‘GIVEAWAY TO BIG LABOR’

A earlier Commonwealth Foundation report discovered unions shelled out large bucks behind Democratic causes throughout the 2022 election cycle. (Getty Images)

The new report follows a earlier evaluation from the group that discovered the nation’s 4 largest government unions — the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) — spent a staggering $708 million on politics to propel Democratic Party causes in the final election cycle.

The unions mixed to pump the huge sum into lobbying and contributions to political organizations and candidates in federal, state, and native races throughout the 2022 midterm elections.

“Government unions use this power not only to advance leftist causes but also to elect political leaders who will protect their interests and influence,” Osborne beforehand stated. “The result, unfortunately, is that federal, state and local governments are increasingly led by politicians who care more about union executives than union members or taxpayers.”

According to the report, unions spent extra on what the Commonwealth Foundation deemed political exercise than on classes intently aligned with membership assist. 

“Most of a union’s revenue comes from its membership, in the form of member dues. Given this fact, it may make sense for the unions to allocate most financial resources toward membership support,” that report states. 

“However, this is not the case. The four largest government unions spent over $2.79 billion in 2021 and 2022, yet representational activities, the spending category most closely linked to membership support, only accounted for $554 million, or less than 20 percent of total expenditures.”

The Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC acquired tens of hundreds of thousands from unions throughout the 2022 election cycle.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc by way of Getty Images)

Among its notable political expenditures was a mixed $157 million between the unions’ PACs at the federal degree, together with disbursements of $38 million to the Sen. Chuck Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC, $30 million to the NEA Advocacy Fund and $28 million to the SEIU Political Education and Action Fund/United We Can.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The union PACs additionally despatched $8.34 million on to candidates, with an amazing majority ($8.29 million) benefiting Democrats. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia was the prime recipient, and his marketing campaign landed over $60,000 from the PACs.

Additionally, the Commonwealth Foundation found that round $145 million had made its option to the state and native ranges all through the 2022 election cycle. 

The 4 unions didn’t reply to previous Fox News Digital’s requests for touch upon the earlier report.