Why union workers are abandoning the Democratic Party



Scott Sauritch, the president of United Steelworkers Local 2227, drew significant public attention recently when he told a writer for the New Yorkerthat despite being a longtime Democrat, he would be voting for Donald Trump in November. He also said that most of the current rank-and-file members of the union planned on doing the same.

“I don’t care what you see on TV,” Sauritch said. “The grunts in the lunchroom love Trump.”

Union members seek fair wages, safe working conditions, and respectful treatment. Unfortunately, their leaders seem more focused on personal gain.

It isn’t just the steelworkers making the jump to Trump. Poll after poll indicates that he is the clear favorite among members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

It’s little wonder why union members are running away from Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party. Democrats, who receive more than $1 billion in political and election help from the unions every cycle, have been more than willing to turn their backs on corrupt union bosses’ abuse of the rank and file, and the rank and file have noticed.

Take how Harris recently endorsed the high-profile strike led by Harold Daggett, the boss of the International Longshoremen’s Association.

Daggett, who reportedly makes $900,000 a year in salary and bonuses, has threatened to “cripple” the economy if he doesn’t get the money and contract terms he demands. This Bentley-driving union boss, whom the Department of Justice accused of being an “associate”’ of the Genovese crime family, doesn’t care about his union workers who want to get back to work and provide for their families — he just cares about lining his pockets.

Yet despite how out of touch Daggett and the ILA (which provided 100% of its 2023-2024 PAC money and 97% of its 2021-2022 funds to Democrats) are with the union’s rank and file, Harris and other Democrats have chosen to unapologetically rally behind the unsavory union leader.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in Washington state rejected a generous 30% pay increase for its members and called for a strike, demanding a 40% raise. Instead of joining the picket line, the fat and happy union leaders went on a vacation to a beach in Mexico.

Talk about being out of touch with their dues-paying members, who would be thrilled to receive such a massive pay hike. Yet far-left politicians like Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have publicly supportedthe union bosses’ tactics.

In late August, the U.S. Justice Department indicted two former presidents of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers for embezzling $20 million from members. Additionally, two former leaders of the United Auto Workers recently received prison sentences of more than two years for corruption. Despite these charges, Democratic politicians refused to condemn the leaders of these unions, which direct 98% and 100% of their political contributions to the Democratic Party. They also failed to advocate for protections for the union members betrayed by their leadership. Even support for right-to-work laws, which would allow workers to leave a corrupt union without risking their jobs, went unmentioned.

Union members seek fair wages, safe working conditions, and respectful treatment. Unfortunately, their leaders seem more focused on personal gain, treating their members as tools for their own enrichment.

Democratic politicians aren’t stupid. They understand all this but are all too willing to ignore this exploitation, unapologetically supporting these union leaders to keep their political gravy trains going.

With progressive politicians being quick to side with the corrupt union bosses who fund their campaigns, it’s no wonder so many exploited union members want nothing more to do with Harris and the Democratic Party.

It’s only a matter of time before the political consequences of this unholy alliance smack them right in the face come election time. And only then might we finally see this alliance start to break.

Union bosses serve the total state, not American workers



The International Longshoremen's Association and its 45,000 members went on strike Tuesday, threatening to paralyze 36 U.S. ports along the eastern seaboard and Gulf Coast. The already fragile American logistical system gives the union significant leverage, but the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene has made the need to re-establish supply lines even more urgent.

Conservatives have traditionally opposed unions, but a recent shift in focus on working-class conditions during the Trump era has made many on the right more sympathetic to collective bargaining. However, as ILA President Harold Daggett declared “I will cripple you!” many conservatives found it difficult to reconcile their newfound support for labor with the brash statement from a leader seemingly indifferent to the struggles of suffering Americans.

Soulless corporations aren’t the heroes here, but neither are labor unions. Ultimately, both are part of the same destructive system.

Those on the right must learn a hard truth: Big union bosses don’t serve the working class; they serve the total state.

In 1911, sociologist Robert Michels published “Political Parties,” a study on power dynamics that closely examined the inner workings of German labor unions. The book became foundational in what is now called “elite theory” or political realism, due to Michels’ formulation of the iron law of oligarchy.

The iron law of oligarchy asserts that complex organizations, no matter how democratic or egalitarian they claim to be, will inevitably elevate a small group of organizers into a ruling class, transforming the organization into an oligarchy. The organized minority will always lead the disorganized majority. As Michels put it, “It is organization which gives dominion of the elected over the electors. ... Who says organization, says oligarchy.”

The Industrial Revolution radically transformed the relationship between individuals and their labor. Subsistence farmers and guild craftsmen, who once had a direct and personal connection to their work, suddenly found themselves thrust into the alienating environment of factory wage labor. Scale became a significant factor, yet society has largely overlooked its impact.

As production and consumption scaled up, so did labor negotiations. Workers could no longer have individual discussions with their bosses about wages because their bosses were simply cogs in a much larger machine. The boss was no longer an individual owner with meaningful decision-making power but a manager representing a faceless conglomeration of investors. Collective bargaining became the only way for workers to leverage their labor against the vastness of massive capital.

In his analysis, Michels discovered that, despite labor unions claiming to represent workers, union leaders often put their own interests above those of their membership. Union bosses may start as common workers, but their skills quickly elevate them beyond their peers. They transition from performing daily labor to full-time organizing and activism. Their days are spent speaking with politicians and negotiating with CEOs, which separates them from the very conditions they aim to improve.

Labor leaders inevitably realize their personal interests differ from those of the average union member. They are best served by becoming influence brokers within the ruling class rather than securing benefits for workers. In the end, it is the organization and its influence that serve the leaders, not the leaders who serve the organization and its constituents.

While I support American workers earning a wage that allows them to raise a family, own a home, and even strike for that cause, this is not the primary interest of the ILA or Harold Daggett. Although he may be negotiating for higher wages at the moment, his primary goal is to demonstrate influence, not to serve the long-term interests of the working class.

The ILA endorsed Joe Biden and supports the Democratic Party, which is responsible for allowing the nation to be flooded with cheap foreign labor from illegal immigration. In addition to increasing crime and the cost of living for his union members, this influx of illegal labor drives down wages for native-born Americans. But the ILA and Daggett don’t care, because workers are not their real concern. Their true goals are power and securing a position of influence within the oligarchy.

Daggett, unfortunately, embodies the image of an oligarchic elite pretending to be a champion of the working class. As a labor boss, he earns over $900,000 a year after bonuses, drives a Bentley, and owns a 76-foot luxury yacht. The Justice Department has accused him of being connected to the notorious Genovese crime family. Daggett beat a 2005 racketeering charge after the decomposing body of a key witness was found in the trunk of a car outside a New Jersey diner. He lives like an oligarch because he is one.

Many laborers deserve better wages, safe neighborhoods, and affordable housing. The recent shift by many on the right toward supporting the well-being of average American workers is a positive development, but we must be cautious not to embrace corrupt oligarchs posing as labor leaders. Soulless corporations aren’t the heroes here, but neither are labor unions. Ultimately, both are part of the same destructive system.

‘Trouble ahead’ for Americans: Port strike leaves BILLIONS of trade in limbo



Port workers along the East Coast have officially gone on strike — and the effects could be devastating to Americans who are already struggling in the Biden economy.

And those port workers aren’t shy about their intentions.

“I will cripple you,” Harold Daggett, the president and chief negotiator for the International Longshoremen’s Association, warned Americans.

Daggett also detailed how he sees the strike playing out.

“First week, it will be all over the news — boom, boom, boom. Second week, guys who sell cars can’t sell cars because the cars ain’t coming in off the ships. They get laid off. Third week, malls start closing down. They can’t get the goods from China. They can’t sell clothes. They can’t do this.”



“Everything in the United States comes on a ship. They go out of business. Construction workers get laid off because the materials aren’t coming . The steel is not coming in. The lumber is not coming in. They lose their jobs. Everybody is hating the longshoremen now because now they realize how important our jobs are now.”

National Right to Work Committee President Mark Mix is extremely concerned as to what this means for the average American.

“Shelves may be empty here in a week or two, and so it’s going to have a real impact on the economy, and unfortunately, individual people across the country,” Mix tells Jill Savage and Matthew Peterson of “Blaze News Tonight.”

Mix explains that he believes the supply chain will be affected all the way into 2025 and could impact Christmas shopping as well — and Americans need to start preparing now.

“Get your toilet paper, and get your baby formula, and get your bananas, and your meat for the first week because produce and fruit will be the first thing that suffers. And then we’ll have the clothing and the textiles and the other imports. The construction industry, looking for metal and lumber and those types of things, if it goes on three or four weeks,” Mix says.

“From a regular consumer standpoint, there could be trouble ahead when it comes to those basic things that we take for granted,” he adds.

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