The Working for Working Americans PAC is a federal political action committee wholly funded and operated by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners (UBC), a national labor union representing carpenters with a long history of corruption and ties to organized crime. The UBC provided a total of $28 million to the PAC during the 2022 election cycle and has provided more funding during presidential election cycles. The PAC almost exclusively acts as a pass-through to fund Democratic political action committees including the Senate Majority PAC and the House Majority PAC, the respective official campaign arms of Senate and House Democratic leadership. The Working for Working Americans PAC has also funded small state-specific PACs that target competitive U.S. House and Senate races on behalf of Democratic candidates. ^{1 2}

Background

The Working for Working Americans PAC was founded during the 2010 election cycle and spent $540,000 during that cycle. The PAC was created and is entirely funded by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners (UBC). ^{3 4 5}   

Founded in 1881, the UBC is a left-of-center national construction labor union that was formerly affiliated at various times with Change to Win and the AFL-CIO. As of April 2024, the UBC no longer is affiliated with a national labor federation. The UBC and its local and regional affiliates have a decades-long history of corruption and infiltration by organized crime. In the late 1980s, New York prosecutors charged the leaders of two local unions with extortion, and in 2009 the Justice Department charged eight New York District Council of Carpenters officials with corruption. In that case, Local 608 president Michael Forde  pled guilty and was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment. ⁶

The union’s political agenda includes protectionism. The group praised the Trump administration for pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017, although its PAC has continually supported Democratic super PACs. The union is also a staunch advocate of the Davis-Bacon “prevailing wage” law. Davis-Bacon requires employers to pay a prevailing wage set by the U.S. Department of Labor—in practice, a union-rate wage—for workers contracting with the government. ^{7 8}

Political Expenditures

Since it was founded in the 2010 election cycle, Working for Working Americans PAC has received increasing amount of funding from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. After spending just over half a million dollars in 2010 the PAC spent $4.19 million in 2012, $5.93 million in 2014, and $11.68 million in 2016. 2020 was the largest spending cycle for the PAC. That year, it spent over $32 million total, including $15 million to the Senate Majority PAC, $13.1 million to the House Majority PAC, and $1 million to Priorities USA Action. ⁹

The PAC does not conduct independent expenditure activity or give directly to candidates but rather acts as a pass-through to provide significant funding to Democratic congressional campaign arms like the House Majority PAC and the Senate Majority PAC. Each election cycle, the PAC often contributes over $10 million to these two leadership PACs and has contributed six-figure sums to other Democratic-aligned groups including the Montana Hunters and Anglers Leadership Fund, Take Back 2020, Turnout Project, Defending Main Street, Our Future United, Governing Majority Fund, Everyaction, Georgia Safe and Strong, and Future Progress. ¹⁰

1. “Working for Working Americans: 2022 Expenditures.” Open Secrets. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2022?cmte=C00490847&tab=expenditures
2. “Working for Working Americans: 2022 Summary.” Open Secrets. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2022?cmte=C00490847&tab=summary
3. Kelly, Antoinette. “Carpenters Union Boss Michael Forde Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison.” IrishCentral.com. November 21, 2010. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://www.irishcentral.com/news/carpenters-union-boss-michael-forde-sentenced-to-11-years-in-prison-109656284-237727071
4. “Working for Working Americans: 2022 Expenditures.” Open Secrets. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2022?cmte=C00490847&tab=expenditures
5. “Working for Working Americans: 2022 Summary.” Open Secrets. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2022?cmte=C00490847&tab=summary
6. Kelly, Antoinette. “Carpenters Union Boss Michael Forde Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison.” IrishCentral.com. November 21, 2010. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://www.irishcentral.com/news/carpenters-union-boss-michael-forde-sentenced-to-11-years-in-prison-109656284-237727071
7. U.S. Legislative Issues. https://www.carpenters.org/legislative-issues-us/
8. Press Release. “The United States Brotherhood of Carpenters Backs President Trump’s Decision to Drop the Trans-Pacific Partnership.” The Street Insider. January 24, 2017. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/The+United+Brotherhood+of+Carpenters+Backs+President+Trump’s+Decision+to+Drop+the+Trans-Pacific+Partnership/12453012.html
9. “Working for Working Americans: 2020 Expenditures.” Open Secrets. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2020?cmte=C00490847&tab=expenditures
10. “Working for Working Americans: 2020 Expenditures.” Open Secrets. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2020?cmte=C00490847&tab=expenditures