$100 Million in Forced Union Dues at Work – a Big Labor Stimulus Plan

From Roll Call newspaper (subscription needed):

The Service Employees International Union [SEIU] would like to deliver a filibuster-proof Senate to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in November, and the 1.9 million-strong union plans on spending a significant chunk of its nearly $100 million political budget to do it. SEIU leaders are targeting at least seven Senate races and around a dozen House contests, believing their ability to affect public policy lies as much in diminishing the Republicans’ demonstrated ability to block union-favored legislation in Congress as it does in electing a Democrat to the White House — if not more so. The union also is playing in various Democratic primaries, including backing attorney Donna Edwards in her bid to oust Rep. Albert Wynn in Maryland on Feb. 12.

A key element of the SEIU’s strategy involves paying 2,000 union members the equivalent of their salaries so they can take either a full- or part-time leave of absence from their jobs to work on Democratic campaigns in Congressional races the union has prioritized. Additionally, the SEIU plans to deploy about 100,000 volunteers into the field nationwide for voter-turnout activities.

. . . Consequently, the union is targeting Senate races in Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon and Virginia, in addition to House contests in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio and Washington. The list is in flux and is based on what SEIU leaders currently believe are the best Democratic pickup opportunities.

Union bosses are counting on a new Democrat majority in the House, Senate and the White House to force millions of workers into paying union dues. Only time will tell if they get what they paid for.