Texas PACS: 1998 Election Cycle SpendingHome

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Labor PACs Up Close

The 85 Labor PACs, the primary PAC category with by far the smallest absolute expenditures ($2.3 million), grew 19 percent from the 1996 to 1998 cycle. Only five of these PACs broke $100,000 in expenditures; all of these PACs increased their spending substantially over the 1996 cycle.
 
 
Labor PAC Spending by Sector



 
 
 
 
 

Labor PAC
Subsectors		 No. of 
'98 PACs		 '98 PAC
Spending		 '96 PAC
Spending		 Percent
Change
Public Safety
36
$781,109
$682,699
+14%
Public White Collar
19
$751,944
$602,497
+25%
Blue Collar
26
$519,678
$468,599
+11%
AFL-CIO (multi-sector)
4
$206,762
$137,296
+51%
Total
85
$2,259,493
$1,891,091
+19%

One-fourth of all labor PAC spending came from two teachers’ union PACs, the Texas State Teachers Association ($432,005) and the ACT for Texas Classroom Teachers Association ($119,534). The teachers unions have fought school voucher proposals endorsed by the Republican governor and lieutenant governor and opposed by the Democratic Speaker of the House. Texas’ No. 2 labor PAC, the AFL-CIO’s Committee on Political Education Fund ($200,312), is also a voucher opponent, though it has a much broader agenda.

The last two leading labor PACs were those of the San Antonio Police Officers Association ($188,835) and Teamsters Local 745 ($143,720).
 

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