AWF Urges All Governors to Equalize Union and Corporation Political Giving Rules
On his first day in office, Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) issued an Executive Order that limits the amount of money unions, which have state contracts, can donate to political campaigns. Under pre-Christie law, companies that had state contracts worth more than $17,500 were barred from donating more than $300 to statewide campaigns while unions had no such constraint.
The Alliance for Worker Freedom is sending the below letter (PDF Document) to every Governor urging them to enact similar legislation:
Dear Governor:
On behalf of the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF), I am writing to urge you to consider passing legislation, similar to Executive Order No. 7 recently signed by Gov. Christie (R-NJ), that applies identical campaign finance regulations to business entities and unions who contract with the government.
In many states, campaign donations from companies that contract with government agencies are heavily regulated, while unions that have comparable contracts are subject to significantly less regulation. There is little justification for this discrepancy.
Gov. Christie took steps to correct this inconsistency by issuing Executive Order No. 7 that treats unions and companies who contract with government agencies alike when donating to political campaigns. In his Order, Christie directs:
1. Prior Executive Orders implementing “pay-to-play” restrictions are hereby modified to include within the definition of the term “Business Entity” any Labor Union or Labor Organization which enters into contracts with the State of New Jersey and its instrumentalities or with other New Jersey public entities. The reference in this Executive Order to “labor unions” and “labor organizations” shall include any political committee formed by any such labor union or labor organization, one of the purposes of which political committee is to make political contributions. All Department and Agency heads are directed to revise current regulations to be consistent with this change.
2. Prior Executive Orders implementing “pay-to-play” restrictions are hereby modified to include Legislative Leadership Committees within the list of committees and depositories as to which the contribution restrictions are applicable. All Department and Agency heads are directed to revise current regulations to be consistent with this change. Source: http://www.state.nj.us/infobank/circular/eocc7.pdf
Current bias law only fosters the quid pro quo system often in place, a system that is partially responsible for many state’s budget deficits. With over half of all union members occupying government jobs, Christie-like legislation would be instrumental in bringing equality and transparency to state political contribution laws.
I urge you to consider introducing a similar Order which applies identical campaign finance restrictions to unions and businesses.
Sincerely,
Brian M. Johnson
Executive Director
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