Pennsylvania’s Big Government Union Payback

Gov. Josh Shapiro signs off on huge pay raises for his top campaign contributors

WSJ editorial. 

"Unions have been collecting big raises from Democratic Governors, and the latest score is in Pennsylvania. On Monday the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (Afscme) signed a new contract that includes a 20.25% wage increase over the four years.

The union notes that the new contract “includes a 0.5 percent increase in employee healthcare contributions,” but “the employer will contribute 28 percent more.” Try getting that from your boss. The contract also includes “increased meal allowances, expanded vacation buyback, improved overtime policy, improved health and safety measures, and more.”

That’s a tidy return on Afscme’s $1.26 million investment in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2022 campaign. In 2023-2024, the increase over the prior union contract will cost Pennsylvania taxpayers $83.7 million. After four years of raises, the state budget will have to account for an additional $724 million in costs. That doesn’t include the long-term cost of larger pension payments that are based on salaries.

This is how it works when public employee unions sit on both sides of the negotiating table. Other bills will also come due: The Service Employees International Union contributed $1.5 million to Mr. Shapiro’s campaign. The Pennsylvania State Education Association and the National Education Association chipped in $1.2 million, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. What will they get?

Since 2007, Pennsylvania government unions have spent $190 million on politics through their political action committees and the 2021-2022 cycle broke records, according to numbers tracked by the Commonwealth Foundation. In the 2021–2022 cycle, 99.6% of public union’s PAC contributions to candidates for statewide office went to Democrats.

Pennsylvania’s unions have been losing members by the thousands since the Supreme Court’s 2018 Janus decision required workers to opt in for membership. But as long as their cash helps get Democrats elected, they will keep writing the terms of their own collective-bargaining agreements."