I'm trying to come up with a breakdown of the size of unions in Iowa, along with their endorsement history. Here is what I have so far, but it might not be 100% accurate. Unions report their size using different metrics to fluff up their apparent importance. I've divided their reports into four categories – Membership, Employees Represented, Active and Retired Employees, and Families. Because of the Right to Work (for less) law in Iowa, the membership is always going to be the smallest of these numbers, and probably the most important. (Active and retired members would be helpful too, but no one reports that.)
Of course, it is not all that unlikely that some of the membership numbers are misrepresented, as well. Still, this is a pretty good rough approximation of the most important labor unions in Iowa, at least for the top 5 or so, their sizes, and their track records.
If you can help me fill in the blanks, please email me at simonrstevenson@gmail.com.
(Inspired by this post from Open Left on the national breakdown.)
Union | IFL? | Members | Employees | w/ Retired | 2000 | 2004   | 2006 | 2008 |
ISEA | No | 32000 | ||||||
AFSCME | Yes | 13000 | 20000 | Gore | Dean | Blouin | ||
UAW | No | 30000 | Gore | Gephardt | Culver | |||
USWA | Yes | 7000 | Gore | Gephardt | Blouin | Edwards | ||
SEIU | 2000 | 5000 | Gore | Dean | Blouin | Edwards | ||
IUPAT | Yes | 3000 | Gore | Dean | ||||
IAMAW | Yes | 10000 | Gephardt | Culver | Clinton | |||
CWA | Yes | 2500 | Blouin | |||||
IAFF | 1570 | Kerry | Dodd | |||||
UTU | 1000 | 3000 | None | Culver | Clinton | |||
Teamsters | Gephardt | Blouin | ||||||
IBEW | Yes | Blouin | ||||||
BCTGM | Yes | Gephardt | ||||||
AFT | Yes | Clinton | ||||||
APWU | Yes | |||||||
UA | Yes | |||||||
GMP | Yes | |||||||
NALC | Yes | Clinton |
3 Comments
ISEA endorsed Culver
The ISEA endorsed Culver in the 2006 Democratic Primary for Governor.
noneed4thneed Mon 3 Sep 9:47 PM
Are you sure?
I thought they only endorsed him in the general.
simon-stevenson Tue 4 Sep 11:03 AM
I guess your right
They endorsed him quickly after the primary. I saw the news story and it said June, so I thought it was before the primary.
noneed4thneed Tue 4 Sep 11:37 PM