Before the Citizens United ruling, unions were banned from using dues money to reach out to nonmembers in political campaigns, but now unions plan to campaign among the 89 percent of Americans who do not belong to unions. Union officials have long complained that when their foot soldiers knocked on doors in, say, Milwaukee or Columbus, Ohio, they wasted huge amounts of time because they could visit only union members’ homes and often had to skip 90 percent of the houses. Now they can knock on every door on a block.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Labor takes advantage
Steve Greenhouse writes in the New York Times (registration required) that last year's Citizen's United opinion has liberated unions from campaign reform restrictions and the result is reinvigorated outreach efforts. Money quote: