Scathing report claims nation's oldest labor union 'betrayed' MAGA members through 'shocking' spending

FIRST ON FOX: One of the nation’s astir salient railroad unions is facing caller scrutiny aft a watchdog study alleged its enactment is softly moving against the governmental views of its members who enactment President Donald Trump's agenda.

The report, released by the American Accountability Foundation (AAF), claims the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), 1 of the nation’s oldest labour unions, is tally by leaders who are endorsing and promoting Democratic policies and candidates contempt a rank basal that information suggests mostly supports the president.

The report, which alleges the national "betrayed" its MAGA members, points to the union’s endorsement of the Harris-Walz summons successful the 2024 predetermination cycle, arsenic good arsenic its ties to salient Democrats including Sen. Bernie Sanders and erstwhile Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is moving for Senate again.

While BLET has touted Republicans successful caller years, including earlier this twelvemonth erstwhile it applauded Vice President JD Vance and the bipartisan reintroduction of the Railway Safety Act (RSA), the study highlights repeated disapproval of Trump-era policies, including proscription regulations, migration enforcement, and the conservative-backed Project 2025 agenda, alongside praise for the policies of the Biden administration.

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A reappraisal of the union's societal media relationship by AAF shows galore examples of the national opposing assorted moves by the archetypal Trump medication during his statesmanlike run against incumbent Joe Biden, which the study describes arsenic grounds of "woke leadership."

"In the lead-up to the 2024 election, BLET issued 14 tweets that criticized the actions of the archetypal Trump medication portion praising the Biden administration's railroad policies," the study says. "The messaging was intelligibly intended to skew national members toward the Democratic statesmanlike ticket. In these tweets, they attacked astir each large Trump-era obstruction argumentation determination portion framing the Biden administration's actions positively."

The union’s nationalist enactment of Democrats had a fiscal space arsenic well, arsenic the study states that the enactment spent much than $26 cardinal connected governmental enactment successful caller years, with the immense bulk supporting Democratic candidates and causes to a grade that AAF referred to arsenic "shocking."

According to the report, 99% of the union’s enactment committee donations went to Democrats.

"For example, successful the 2016 cycle, BLET donated $15,000 to the DNC erstwhile they were the nexus for GOTV for the Hillary Clinton run but ne'er donated a dollar to the RNC," the study says. "In 2024, agelong aft it had go wide that concern national rank was powerfully down President Trump, the BLET enactment inactive hadn’t gotten the message, making 24 antithetic donations to Democrat enactment committees for a full of $53,400 and a specified 2 donations to Republican committees for a spare $2000."

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According to the report, the disagreement reflects a broader displacement successful American politics, with blue-collar workers progressively backing erstwhile President Donald Trump portion national enactment remains entrenched successful accepted left-leaning positions.

The study goes beyond the union’s spending connected authorities and delves into what it calls "waste and abuse" successful the signifier of millions of dollars of subordinate dues being shelled retired for travel, hotels, and "swag."

"While it’s atrocious capable that BLET spent implicit $5,000,000 connected hotels and conferences, adjacent much concerning is the information that the national spent implicit $2,000,000 connected casinos and resorts alone," the study says. "The national appears much acrophobic with staying astatine entertaining destination resorts than they bash being thrifty with their members’ dues."

Recent polling shows that labour unions similar BLET dwell of a ample fig of workers who enactment Trump, including Teamsters polling that shows a 60/40 breakdown successful favour of Trump and exit polling from the 2024 predetermination that shows working-class voters without a assemblage grade went 56% for Trump and 42% for Harris. 

The study besides points to enactment compensation arsenic portion of the disconnect, noting aggregate apical officials earning implicit $200,000 annually, with the national president and vice president each making much than $300,000.

"The men pulling America’s freight voted for President Trump due to the fact that they judge successful unafraid borders and putting American workers first," AAF President Tom Jones said successful a connection to Fox News Digital.

"But their national bosses are engaged surviving ample connected subordinate dues and carrying h2o for the Left. They’ve turned a blue-collar brotherhood into a woke governmental instrumentality that’s doing everything it tin against the Trump-Vance agenda, and likewise, against mundane railroad workers. Every BLET subordinate should beryllium asking wherever their hard-earned dollars are truly going." 

In a connection to Fox News Digital, a BLET spokesperson said: "We bash not remark connected mendacious property releases by acheronian wealth groups who person nary accountability to the truth."