Their members voted Trump.
Their bosses funded
the resistance.
Seven of America's largest industrial unions. Millions of working-class members who voted for Trump. And union bosses who spent their dues — millions of them — to stop him.
Same playbook. Seven different unions.
We pulled public Department of Labor and FEC records for seven major industrial unions. The same four patterns repeated — union after union, year after year.
The money goes to Democrats.
90 to 99 percent of every political dollar these unions move goes to Democrats and the activist groups behind them. One union gave nothing directly to Republicans.
Leadership endorses the left.
Harris–Walz. Bernie Sanders. Sherrod Brown. Self-declared Democratic Socialists. One union president defended an alleged MS-13 gang member on CNN.
Member dues paid for casinos and racing.
Two million on casinos here. Ten million on motor racing there. Million-dollar zoo trips and golf weekends — billed to working members.
The bosses got rich.
Union presidents earning $300,000 to $600,000-plus while their members earn $50K to $80K. Many headquarters staffs are majority six-figure.
Seven unions. Seven dossiers.
Each report is built from public records: Department of Labor LM-2 filings, FEC disclosures, and the unions' own statements. We're releasing them one at a time.
BLET
March 2, 2026America's oldest union is using member dues to fund the Democrats fighting Trump.
LIUNA
April 2, 2026Half a million laborers. A president earning over $600,000. And ten million dollars of member money — burned at the racetrack.
SMART-TD
May 20, 2026America's largest railroad operating union. Two hundred and thirty thousand workers — led by a man who went on CNN to defend an alleged MS-13 gang member.
IBEW
June 11, 2026IBEW spent $1.5 million on golf during the Trump era. Not a penny went to a Trump property.
USW
June 11, 2026The largest steel union in North America funded "No Kings" protests, coached members on how to "plan for ICE raids," and called Elon Musk "racist" and "sexist."
UAW
June 3, 2026The most aggressive anti-Trump union in America — led by a man in an "eat the rich" shirt who flew his board to Puerto Rico on member dues.
BMWE
June 22, 2026The Teamsters-affiliated rail union that funded the Center for American Progress — and spent $2 million of member dues at casinos.
American Accountability Foundation.
An independent watchdog organization bringing transparency to the institutions and individuals who exercise power in America — and to the gap between what they claim to stand for and what their own records reveal.
Where the numbers come from.
Federal law requires unions to disclose detailed line-item expenditures every year on Form LM-2. We pulled LM-2s for all seven unions from 2017 through 2024, supplemented with FEC PAC and independent-expenditure records. Every figure in every report is footnoted to the original source.