AFL-CIO To Cut Direct Funding to Democrats

After President Obama’s decision to avoid the Wisconsin recall election, undercutting desperate union members who wanted to oust Governor Scott Walker, the AFL-CIO has announced that it will take money away from political candidates and instead put it into “infrastructure and advocacy,” according to AFL-CIO spokesman Josh Goldstein. “There will be less contributions to candidates.”

That means that President Obama will receive less direct funding from the AFL-CIO than usual, but it doesn’t mean the AFL-CIO will be silent – it just means they’ll message independentlyof the Obama campaign. “This is not a slight at the president,” Goldstein said. The goal is to create a massive system that would give “different kinds of support to different candidates.” Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO, had said back in 2009 that the labor movement would be building its own campaign machinery.

More