Democratic Party and the Interest Group AFL-CIO - Essay Example

Democratic Party and the Interest Group AFL-CIO The relationship between the Democratic Party and AFL-CIO has existed since the formation of the latter and has continued to be strong despite the numerous setbacks which have taken place as a result of the American politics and governmental changes between Democrats and Republicans. This has created a situation where these two entities have come to be mutually interdependent as a result of their similar objectives on matters concerning the society and the economy. In addition, the AFL-CIO is one of the largest constituencies within the Democratic Party and the party often relies on its members to campaign and vote for it in all the elections in which it takes part. In addition, because of the widespread influence of this labor organization, it can be said that the Democratic Party has largely come to be dependent on it in order to accomplish its political, social and economic objectives. The fact that a large number of the organizations which fall under the AFL-CIO more often than not lobby their members to vote for the Democratic Party has been one of the bases upon which the power of the latter has been guaranteed over the years and it has ensured that their members are avid contributors to the Democratic cause (Burbank, Hrebenar & Benedict, 2011). This has been mainly through the massive source of funding that the party receives from AFL-CIO as well as the grass roots political organization that the party needs to ensure that it get votes. The ability of this labor organization to conduct most of the tasks which the Democratic Party needs not only at the grassroots but also at the national level has been one of the determinants of whether the party gets to remain dominant in different parts of the United States or not. Thus, it is extremely important to make an exploration of the different aspects of this relationship in order to have an idea of the great interdependency that has developed between these two entities. The Democratic Party is heavily reliant on AFL-CIO for quite a substantial part of its funding and this is mainly done through contributions made by the members of the latter towards the Democratic cause. In addition, the members of AFL-CIO often work at the grassroots to ensure that they encourage individuals to make contributions to the party as a means of ensuring that their aspirations are catered for (Burbank, Hrebenar & Benedict, 2011). The alliance between AFL-CIO and the Democratic Party has been in existence since 1955 and this has been mainly because of the fact that one of the principles of the party is that its objectives cannot be achieved without the support of organized labor. The result has been that the alliance has continued to grow stronger over the decades as a result of the massive donations which are made to the party as well as the party’s policy of supporting labor on the political scene. The ability of organized labor to work towards enhancing the contributions to the Democratic Party is among the most valuable aspects of their relationship because they enable the party to have the necessary funding which is can use to further their mutual cause (Burbank, Hrebenar & Benedict, 2011). In addition, it has been observed that most of the funding that comes to the Democratic Party through AFL-CIO is contributed from a broad spectrum of different labor unions representing different interests as well as different people, from white conservative to liberal minority workers and this has made it possible for the party to be representative of most parts of the American population (Burbank, Hrebenar & Benedict, 2011). The ability of the party to develop and maintain a financial relationship with the AFL-CIO for over half a century is one of the most remarkable aspects of these two entities and this is mainly because of the belief by this labor organization that the party is best suited to protect the interests of it members at the local and national level. The ability of AFL-CIO to coordinate the grassroots political organization of the Democratic Party is one of the most valuable parts of the relationship between these two entities. This is mainly because of the fact that this organization is much better suited for the task of lobbying potential voters at the grassroots level to vote for the Democratic Party (Burbank, Hrebenar & Benedict, 2011). This relationship is highly complementary because which the party takes on the task of representing the interests of the members of AFL-CIO politically, the latter works towards building and maintaining the voter base of the party so that its political representation not only remains stable, but it also increases (Burbank, Hrebenar & Benedict, 2011). This labor organization, because of its presence and membership all over the United States has a greater perspective of the public political mood and leanings better than the party official themselves and this enables it to work towards convincing the people over whom it has some influence of the viability of the Democratic Party. The fact that AFL-CIO is a bastion of Democratic support within organized labor has ensured that the party has remained popular among its constituent membership and this has created a situation where there is unwavering support for the Democratic Party whenever elections come up. In addition, it has been found that a significant number of the members of the party have their origins in AFL-CIO where they have also retained their support. This has created a form of stability for the relationship between these two entities as they have continued to work towards the achievement of their mutual goals at the national level through attempting to influence individuals all over the United States to vote for the Democratic candidates. Because AFL-CIO organizes and supports the Democratic agenda at the grassroots, it has a significant influence on the policies which are adopted by the party and this is mainly because the efforts of this organization on behalf of the party have to be returned through the protection of its interests on the political scene. This has ensured that these entities are indispensable to each other because AFL-CIO, as an interest group, works towards the provision of support for the Democratic Party in return for its members being shielded by the later. While it is a fact that the alliance between the Democratic Party and AFL-CIO has remained strong over the decades, it has come to be hurt by the decreasing membership of labor unions across the United States (Burbank, Hrebenar & Benedict, 2011). This has been mainly because of many workers in the United States feeling that these unions are not beneficial to them in matters concerning the attainment of employment. In addition, the policies of economic liberalization that were put in place by the Republicans when in power have brought about the reduction of workers’ wages in the United States and this has resulted in very harsh economic times for many. The proposals made by labor unions, among them AFL-CIO, to raise the minimum wages were and have continued to be fiercely contested by employer firms which are largely in support of Republican policies. Members of AFL-CIO and affiliated groups have over the years found themselves at a disadvantage because the unions which they depend on for support are slowly being deprived of their powers to act and this through the actions of companies and the laissez faire attitude of Republican policymakers. In addition, the hostility of many companies towards labor unions as well as the job insecurity of workers who are members of such unions has ensured that many workers choose not to join them, and this has reduced the member base of AFL-CIO. They have instead chosen to remain outside of unions in order to make sure that their jobs are secure in the long term. The lack of members in AFL-CIO affiliated unions has made it very difficult for them to marshal enough numbers to take the necessary action to counter the powerful big business lobbies that has come to dominate policy (Burbank, Hrebenar & Benedict, 2011). Thus, the reduction of support for AFL-CIO has also come to be reflected on the Democratic Party which has also come see a reduction of support of labor unions, previously a huge base of support. The liberal policies that have been adopted by Republican policymakers has made companies so secure in their power that they are able to challenge the once great influence of labor unions, and in turn AFL-CIO, for the purpose of having their way with their workers. Despite the fact that AFL-CIO has lost a lot of members over the years, it has also managed to ensure that its legislative agendas have been fulfilled and this has been done through its influence on the Democratic Party (Burbank, Hrebenar & Benedict, 2011). Because it is essentially an interest group, all of the work that it does on behalf of the Democratic Party is best on the interests of the labor unions and groups that are affiliated to it. This has created a situation where because of its over nine million members who are a massive voter base, the Democratic Party has had to ensure that it caters for AFL-CIO’s interests through the formulation of policies which are favorable for union workers. The ability of AFL-CIO to mobilize its members to support the Democratic cause has led to its having an influence on the grassroots membership of the Democratic Party so that the latter cannot afford to ignore its demands. The result has been that the party has had to balance its interests alongside those of the AFL-CIO so that their alliance can remain stable and the latter can continue to support it in the grassroots. Despite the declining numbers of its members, AFL-CIO still has considerable influence among its remaining members and this has provided it with the power to make such initiatives as cooperation with the Democratic Party to ensure that the interests of its members are protected and that the labor conditions in the United States are promoted (Burbank, Hrebenar & Benedict, 2011). The promotion of the interests of its members is done through ensuring that Democratic candidates are elected at all levels so that the agenda of the organization can be protected. Because of the much needed support from AFL-CIO, there have developed instances where some Democratic candidates have had to compromise some of their ideals to ensure that the interests of this organization are given priority over those of the Party. This conflict of interests between these two entities sometimes puts a strain on the political initiative of the Democratic Party which has to make the choice between making policies which are popular with AFL-CIO or risk losing valuable allies within the American electorate. In the discussion above, it has been found that the relationship between the Democratic Party and AFL-CIO has existed since the formation of the latter and has continued to be strong despite the numerous setbacks which have taken place as a result of the American politics and governmental changes between Democrats and Republicans. In addition, the Democratic Party is heavily reliant on AFL-CIO for quite a substantial part of its funding and this is mainly done through contributions made by the members of the latter towards the Democratic cause. Moreover, the ability of AFL-CIO to coordinate the grassroots political organization of the Democratic Party is one of the most valuable parts of the relationship between these two entities. Furthermore, while it is a fact that the alliance between the Democratic Party and AFL-CIO has remained strong over the decades, it has come to be hurt by the decreasing membership of labor unions across the United States. However, despite the fact that AFL-CIO has lost a lot of members over the years, it has also managed to ensure that its legislative agendas have been fulfilled and this has been done through its influence on the Democratic Party. Thus, it can be concluded that the relationship between the Democratic Party and the various interest groups within it, especially AFL-CIO, are mutually beneficial because each of them serves the interests of the other. Thus, the relationship will likely remain intact in the coming years although it is yet to be seen how it will turn out as AFL-CIO continues to record lesser member numbers. Reference Burbank, M.J., Hrebenar, R.J. & Benedict, R. (2011). Parties, Interest Groups, and Political Campaigns, 2nd Edition. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More