Though the Supreme Court's Janus ruling earlier this year was supposed to empty out their coffers, many government unions have yet to feel the full impact of the decision, which bars them from collecting fees from nonmembers. After decades of levying these charges, some unions remain flush with cash heading into this season's elections, and they're pouring millions of dollars into campaigns around the country—especially in Republican-controlled states—to raise taxes, expand government programs, increase mandates on businesses, and support political allies. Their efforts are a reminder that, for the time being at least, government unions remain a formidable force in American politics, waging battles for bigger, more expensive government.
One common union strategy is to go directly to voters in locations where unions haven't been able to advance their agenda through legislatures. In Maine, over the opposition of Governor Paul LaPage and the Republican-majority legislature, union-sponsored groups are pushing a ballot initiative to boost taxes by some $300 million annually. The plan would institute a payroll tax on employers and employees for income above the current federal Social Security tax cap—currently $128,400 a year. Most of the nearly $1 million raised for the campaign effort comes from George Soros's left-leaning Open Society Policy Center and from the Maine People's Alliance, a group backed by the Service Employees International Union, which represents public-sector employees and hospital workers.
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