Railroad workers voted for Trump 60 to 40 – and federal law will not let them stop writing checks to his enemies.
Their union just got caught sending 99 percent of its political donations to Democrats.
And because of a law most Americans have never heard of, not one of those workers can do a thing about it.
How Forced Union Dues Fund Democrats Against Railroad Workers' Wishes
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen – the oldest labor union in North America, founded in 1863 – just got caught doing what union bosses do best: living large on member money while stabbing their members in the back politically.
The American Accountability Foundation report is brutal.
In the 2024 election cycle alone, BLET leadership cut 24 checks to Democrat party committees totaling $53,400.
Republicans got $2,000.
Those numbers tell the whole story.
The union endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket and spent years on social media praising Biden's rail policies while trashing Trump's.
Immigration enforcement? Attacked.
Project 2025? Attacked.
Fourteen separate tweets criticizing the first Trump administration – all while their own members were voting for him 60-40.
Meanwhile, union leadership is pulling down $300,000 a year in salary.
The Railway Labor Act Loophole That Strips Railroad Workers of Right to Work Protections
What the mainstream media won't tell you.
If you work at a regular job in a right-to-work state, you can opt out of union dues.
Railroad workers can't do that.
The Railway Labor Act – a 1926 federal law – carves railroad and airline employees out of right-to-work protections entirely.
If your railroad's contract requires you to pay union dues, you pay them or you lose your job.
The only legal escape is something called an "Ellis objection" – a 1984 Supreme Court ruling that lets workers reduce their fees to cover collective bargaining costs only.
That means certified letters, legal paperwork, and hoping the union honors the request.
These are the guys pulling America's freight through the night.
They're legally trapped writing checks to Bernie Sanders' allies.
26 Million Dollars in Union Dues and Almost None of It Went to Republicans
The AAF report didn't stop at political donations.
Total political activity spending: over $26 million in recent years – with the vast majority flowing to Democrats.
That $26 million bought hotels and conferences totaling more than $5 million.
Casinos and resorts alone: more than $2 million.
Swag, travel, perks: the kind of spending that would get a private-sector executive fired.
The union president and vice president each make more than $300,000 annually – roughly six times the median household income of the working-class men and women funding those paychecks.
This is not a union protecting workers.
This is a protected class extracting wealth from workers.
Union Bosses Have Been Spending Members' Dues Against Their Own Workers for Decades
Blue-collar workers started walking away from the Democrat Party in the 1970s.
Their union halls used to be community centers – the beating heart of working-class life.
Then union leadership abandoned the rank-and-file to chase white-collar professionals, government workers, and the academic Left.
The old steel and rail workers went to gun clubs.
Their union bosses went to Democrat fundraisers.
By 2024, working-class voters without college degrees broke 56% for Trump and 42% for Harris.
The Teamsters – BLET's own parent organization – polled 60-40 for Trump among its membership.
The members were telling their leadership exactly where they stood.
The leadership ignored them and kept writing the checks.
AAF President Tom Jones put it plainly: "The men pulling America's freight voted for President Trump because they believe in secure borders and putting American workers first. But their union bosses are busy living large on member dues and carrying water for the Left."
BLET's response to the report?
They called it a "false press release by a dark money group."
They didn't dispute a single number.
Sources:
- Andrew Mark Miller, "Scathing report claims nation's oldest labor union 'betrayed' MAGA members through 'shocking' spending," Fox News, March 29, 2026.
- Tom Jones, American Accountability Foundation statement to Fox News Digital, March 29, 2026.
- Center for Union Facts, "100% of Rail Union Political Advocacy Dollars Went to Left-Wing Organizations," LaborPains.org, January 27, 2026.
- National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, "Can I be required to be a union member or pay dues to a union? (Railway or Airline Employee)," nrtw.org.
- InfluenceWatch, "Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET)," influencewatch.org.