United Food and Commercial Workers Active Ballot Club (ABC) is a political action committee (PAC) created by United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW). ¹ OpenSecrets lists UFCW as been the 34th-largest organizational contributor to federal political candidates as of 2022, making 99 percent of its contributions to back Democratic and liberal candidates. ²

ABC’s top two recipients during the 2020 election cycle were the House Majority PAC, whose mission is to “defend and expand the Democratic House majority by working with progressive allies and competing with the outside groups on the Right,” and the Senate Majority PAC (SMP), which claims to be founded by “experienced, aggressive Democratic strategists” and was “formed in 2011 to make sure that our Democratic candidates would not be forced to face such overwhelming odds against them again.” ^{3 4 5}

Background

United Food and Commercial Workers Active Ballot Club is a political action committee founded by United Food and Commercial Workers International Union in 1975. ⁶ UFCW ABC supports left-of-center policies, including increased minimum wage, increased safety regulations, expanded unemployment insurance, and reduced immigration restrictions. It claims to donate to “pro-worker” candidates regardless of their political party but overwhelmingly donates to Democratic Party candidates. ^{7 8}

UFCW is the sixth-largest national labor union in the United States, representing employees in the food production, retail, and chemical industries. It is a member of the AFL-CIO and has over 1.2 million members. ⁹ According to the Center for Responsive Politics, UFCW has been the 34th-largest organizational contributor to federal political candidates since 1990 and has directed over 99 percent of its contributions to Democratic party and liberal campaigns. ¹⁰

Financials

According to data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) website, during the 2020 election cycle, United Food and Commercial Workers Active Ballot Club received over $13 million in contributions and had over $12 million in expenditures. ¹¹ Its top four recipients included $1.05 million to House Majority PAC, $900,000 to the Senate Majority PAC, $750,000 to Priorities USA Action, and $375,000 to the Biden Victory Fund. ¹²

During the 2020 election cycle, the FEC reports ABC had 10,237 donors, composed of local United Food and Commercial Workers International Union chapters and individual donors. Its top donor was a $7,600 donation from UFCW chapter 135 and the rest of its donations were of $1,000 or less. ¹³

Leadership

Shaun Barclay is treasurer of United Food and Commercial Workers Active Ballot Club and United Food and Commercial Workers International Union where he also serves as secretary. He has been a representative for UFCW for over 40 years holding positions such as shop steward, rank and file bargaining committee member, strike captain, organizer, local union president, region director, and director of organizing. ¹⁴

1. “United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Active Ballot Club – Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00002766/?tab=about-committee.
2. “Top Organization Contributors.” OpenSecrets. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/top-donors.
3. “Senate Majority Pac.” Ballotpedia. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://ballotpedia.org/Senate_Majority_PAC.
4. “House Majority Pac.” Ballotpedia. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://ballotpedia.org/House_Majority_PAC.
5. “United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Active Ballot Club – Disbursements.” FEC.gov. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00002766/?tab=spending&cycle=2020.
6. “United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Active Ballot Club – Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00002766/?tab=about-committee.
7. “Join the Active Ballot Club.” United Food and Commercial Workers Local 227. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.ufcw227.org/join-the-active-ballot-club.
8. “PAC Profile: United Food & Commercial Workers Union.” OpenSecrets. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/united-food-commercial-workers-union/C00002766/summary/2020.
9. “30 Most Powerful Unions in America.” Yahoo! Yahoo! Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.yahoo.com/video/30-most-powerful-unions-america-090000629.html.
10. “Top Organization Contributors.” OpenSecrets. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/top-donors.
11. “FEC Form 3X for UNITED FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION ACTIVE BALLOT CLUB.” fec.gov. Federal Elections Committee. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00002766/1481210/.
12. “United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Active Ballot Club – Disbursements.” FEC.gov. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00002766/?tab=spending&cycle=2020.
13. “United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Active Ballot Club – Individual Contributions.” FEC.gov. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00002766/.
14. Mbroyles. “Shaun Barclay.” The United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, September 5, 2020. https://www.ufcw.org/about/leadership/shaun-barclay/.