Labor Unions Should Run More Union Members for Office to Increase Political Power
Source: Ned Rust. "Labor Wins When They Run Union Members for Office." March 23, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
The author argues that labor unions are missing a huge opportunity by not running more of their own members for political office. Even though most Americans support unions, very few union members actually run for office, and when they do, they win at high rates and fight harder for working people once elected.
Conclusion
Labor unions should strategically run more union members for political office as their primary path to translating popular support into effective political power
Premises
- Union members make up less than 10% of voters but only 3.5% of political candidates, creating massive underrepresentation
- Union-affiliated candidates use 159% more pro-worker rhetoric and vote more progressively than non-union candidates, even within their own parties
- Union members have authentic lived experience that gives them credibility with voters and no learning curve on working-class issues
- Labor candidates have demonstrated high success rates, with programs like New Jersey AFL-CIO achieving 76% win rates across 1,300 candidates
- Public approval of unions is at historic highs (70%), but unions' share of campaign donations has shrunk from 8% to 2% due to Citizens United
- Union candidates are more effective at advancing working-class legislation because other lawmakers defer to their expertise on labor issues
Assumptions
- Authentic working-class representation leads to better policy outcomes for workers
- Voters prefer candidates with genuine lived experience over wealthy or managerial-class candidates
- Union members possess transferable political skills from their organizing experience
- Financial disadvantages can be overcome through strategic candidate recruitment and training
- Current political underrepresentation of workers is a solvable structural problem rather than inevitable