By Kathryn Watson | Watchdog Virginia Bureau

BIG GIVER: The SEIU has proven to be one of Tim Kaine’s greatest allies, pouring roughly $1.5 million into his campaign efforts near Nov. 6.

ALEXANDRIA — Labor unions got your back?

Well, they certainly have U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Tim Kaine’s  back, if the dollars that labor unions have poured into his election efforts are any indication.

In the final stretch before Election Day on Nov. 6, big-time spenders like the Service Employees International Union, the National Association Education and the American Federation of State and County Municipal Employees have doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars for media advertising and canvassing, according to independent expenditures posted on the Virginia Public Access Project.

Organized labor may be dwindling, but public- and private-sector unions continue to hold as much political sway as ever, said Greg Mourad, vice president of the Springfield-based National Right to Work Committee. The group advocates for right-to-work laws like those in Virginia.

Much of the financial influence peddled by labor unions isn’t reported to the Federal Elections Commission, Mourad said.

“Their influence continues to be far out of proportion to their actual numbers within the population,” Mourad said of labor unions. “… They continue to spend over a billion dollars (nationally) every election cycle on political things. Not all of that is hard, reportable money, but when you look at the LM2 (annual financial) forms that they’re required to file and you include all the staff time they spend on political things, it comes out to over a billion dollars.”

Here’s a quick look at the recent chunks of change unions have dropped in favor of Kaine’s campaign — and against Republican George Allen’s.

• Together, the SEIU and its SEIU Committee on Political Education top all other labor groups contributing to Kaine, pouring roughly $1.5 million into TV, radio ads and canvassing either supporting Kaine or opposing his Republican challenger, mostly since the beginning of September.
• The American Federation of State County and Municipal Workers (AFSCME) has poured more than $750,000 into mailings, and TV and radio ads touting Kaine and opposing Allen since Sept. 28.
• The NEA Fund for Children and Public Education poured $524,182 into nothing but TV attack ads from Oct. 12 through Oct. 23.
• The Firefighters Interest in Registration and Education (FIREPAC) on Oct. 23 reported spending $150,000 on ads attacking Allen.
• The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) Working America reported spending $67,457 for everything from rental vans to salary and benefits to further Kaine’s campaign.
• The United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) reported spending $40,663 on mobile ads opposing Allen on Sept. 18.

Chris Fleming, spokesman for AFSCME, said he was unaware of his organization’s contribution.

“It could be that our local (chapter) gave,” he told Watchdog Virginia.

AFL-CIO President Doris Crouse-Mays, when asked for comment by Watchdog.org, issued a statement:

“The 150,000 working Virginians who make up the Virginia AFL-CIO endorsed Tim Kaine for the U.S. Senate based on his commitment to issues of top concern to Virginia’s working families: creation of jobs; investment in infrastructure and education; quality, affordable health care; and improvement of the overall quality of life in our communities,” Crouse-Mays wrote.

The SEIU, NEA and UFCW did not return requests for comment — nor did Kaine’s campaign over three days of requests via email, phone and even Twitter.

When the Watchdog Virginia Bureau took to Facebook to ask readers how much sway they say union groups like the SEIU hold over Virginia candidates for federal office, reader and former NEA representative in Texas, Thom Humphreys, had some personal experience to back up Mourad’s claim.

“They try to influence elections and votes by hosting fund raisers, dinners, teacher visits, letter writing campaign(s), and intimidation of teachers that don’t agree with their agendas,” Humphreys wrote. “I was a Republican, one of seven in my group, and (we) were often strongly advised to change parties.”

Reader Jan Falk had a different take on the matter.

“I certainly hope (unions have a lot of influence), because without unions, the Republicans have made it clear they are wiping out the middle class who hold these jobs,” she posted.

Of course, Republican George Allen’s campaign is getting some pretty pennies, too.

Las Vegas Casino operator Sheldon Adelson made headlines by making the second-largest individual donation to a candidate in Virginia history when he cut a $1.5 million check to the pro-Allen PAC on Oct. 12, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

With money like that, perhaps there’s little wonder why the matchup between the two former Virginia governors has grown into the most heavily funded in the country.

But Kaine isn’t the only Virginia candidate for federal office backed by organized labor.

Incumbent Virginia Democratic congressmen like Gerry Connolly and Bobby Scott have received tens of thousands in direct donations from the top 20 labor groups in the current election cycle too, according to Opensecrets.org data analyzed by Watchdog.org.

And although Kaine doesn’t yet have a record among union groups for any federal office, a few incumbent congressmen do.

The AFL-CIO gave Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb, along with Congressmen Jim Moran, Scott and Connolly, nearly perfect voting records for siding with their preferred policy approach almost every time.

Connolly, with well over $100,000 in direct contributions from the top 20 labor groups, takes the cake for Virginia’s congressional candidates.

“I don’t know what you mean,” said George Burke, Connolly’s press secretary, when asked how Connolly’s priorities line up with union groups. “Connolly’s priority first and foremost is continuing to grow our Northern Virginia economy.”

Katie Watson can be contacted at katie@watchdogvirginia.org, or (571) 385-0773. 

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Here’s a breakdown of direct contributions to Virginia’s candidates for the U.S. House and Senate from the top 20 big labor contributors for the 2012 federal election cycle. (All candidates are Democrats, unless noted otherwise with an “R” next to his or her name.) These figures can be found here on Opensecrets.org.

National Education Association

• Bobby Scott, $10,000
• Paul Odell Hirschbiel, Jr., $5,000
• Gerry Connolly, $4,000
• Jim Moran, $4,000
• Tim Kaine, $1,000

Service Employees Union International (SEIU)

• Gerry Connolly, $5,000
• Tim Kaine, $2,000

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

• Gerry Connolly, $10,000
• Tim Kaine, $10,000
• Bobby Scott, $4,000
• Paul Odell Hirschbiel Jr., $2,000
• Jim Moran, $1,000

American Federation of Teachers

• Tim Kaine, $10,000
• Bobby Scott, $10,000
• Gerry Connolly, $5,000
• Paul Odell Hirschbiel, Jr., $5,000

Carpenters and Joiners Union

• Tim Kaine, $10,000
• Bobby Scott, $10,000
• Gerry Connolly, $5,000
• John Douglass, $5,000

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

• Gerry Connolly, $10,000
• Tim Kaine, $10,000
• Kristin Cabral, $5,000
• John Douglass, $5,000
• Jim Moran, $5,000
• Bobby Scott, $5,000
• Paul Odell Hirschbiel Jr., $3,000

Plumbers and Pipefitters Union

• Gerry Connolly, $10,000
• John Douglass, $10,000
• Tim Kaine, $10,000
• Adam Cook, $5,000
• Paul Odell Hirschbiel Jr., $5,000
• James Webb, $5,000

National Air Traffic Controllers Association

• Tim Kaine, $10,000
• Frank Wolf, $10,000 (R)
• Gerry Connolly, $8,000
• Eric Cantor, $1,000 (R)
• Jim Moran, $1,000
• Scott Rigell, $1,000 (R)
• Mark Warner, $1,000
• Rob Wittman, $1,000 (R)

Operating Engineers Union

• Gerry Connolly, $10,000
• Tim Kaine, $10,000
• Jim Moran, $10,000
• Bobby Scott, $10,000
• Paul Odell Hirschbiel Jr., $7,500

Communications Workers of America

• Gerry Connolly, $4,680
• Bobby Scott, $1,000

AFL-CIO

• Tim Kaine, $2,500
• Gerry Connolly, $1,000

Teamsters Union

• Gerry Connolly, $7,500
• John Douglass, $5,000
• Tim Kaine, $5,000
• Jim Moran, $5,000
• Bobby Scott, $5,000

National Association of Letter Carriers

• Gerry Connolly, $9,000
• Paul Odell Hirschbiel, Jr., $5,000
• Tim Kaine, $5,000
• Bobby Scott, $5,000

International Association of Fire Fighters

• Gerry Connolly, $10,250
• Jim Moran, $5,000
• Paul Odell Hirschbiel, Jr., $2,500
• Bobby Scott, $2,500
• Randy Forbes, $1,000 (R)

United Food and Commercial Workers Union

• Gerry Connolly, $10,000
• Tim Kaine, $7,500
• Bobby Scott, $7,000
• John Douglass, $5,000
• Adam Cook, $500

Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union

• John Douglass, $10,000

Sheet Metal Workers Union

• Tim Kaine, $11,500
• Gerry Connolly, $7,500
• Jim Moran, $7,500

United Steelworkers

• Paul Odell Hirschbiel, Jr., $5,000
• Tim Kaine, $5,000
• Bobby Scott, $5,000
• Ella Ward, $5,000