The article discusses how conservatives are attempting to distinguish between government-worker unions and private-sector unions like the Teamsters, believing the latter might be potential allies due to some members supporting President Trump. However, the author argues this distinction is misleading because many unions represent workers in both sectors and follow leftist policies. For instance, the United Auto Workers (UAW) has expanded into representing public sector employees, blurring the line between government and private unions. Similarly, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), known for its left-wing activism, also represents private-sector workers who depend on government support. The article concludes that this division is based on a myth and won't help conservatives manage a new coalition effectively.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-19,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Conservatives in Congress have begun distinguishing between government-worker unions like Randi Weingarten’s American Federation of Teachers and private-sector unions such as Sean O’Brien’s Teamsters, believing that the latter could be potential allies due to nearly 60% of O'Brien's members voting for President Donald Trump. However, this separation is based on a myth; labor movement leadership remains uniformly leftist across sectors, including the AFL-CIO, SEIU, and Communications Workers of America. These unions demand coverage for sex change procedures and abortions in contracts while pushing workers to comply with diversity, equity, and inclusion programming. Notably, even the United Auto Workers (UAW), traditionally seen as a private-sector union, now includes both government and private sector members, challenging this simplistic division further.
Written for “Teachers Union Leadership” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Conservatives in Congress have started to separate government-worker unions, such as Randi Weingarten’s American Federation of Teachers, from “private-sector” unions, such as Sean O’Brien’s Teamsters.
asserted
Conservatives → start → Teamsters
They know Weingarten and her friends are irredeemably liberal in their social policy and destructively socialist in their economic policy, so they’re treated as adversaries.
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they → know → adversaries
But since almost 60% of O’Brien’s Teamsters voted for President Donald Trump, conservatives think they could possibly be allies.
uncertain
they → vote → Trump
Some populists on the Right even argue that O’Brien’s leftist policies should be adopted.
asserted
policies → argue → Right
But this division is based on a myth, and making policy rooted in fiction is unhelpful and won’t help conservatives manage a new, working-class coalition.
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conservatives → base → coalition
Organized labor leadership is united in its leftism, and appearances otherwise are just window dressing.
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appearances → unite → leftism
For one thing, the labor movement is changing, and few unions are purely “government employee unions” or “private sector unions.”
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unions → change → thing
Many contain both.
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Many → contain → both
That union is typically thought of as “private sector.”
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union → think → sector
But while it is primarily a private-sector union, in recent years, as its core industrial membership has declined, the group has gone on an organizing spree outside the manufacturing industries.
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group → decline → industries
It has added members in higher education, other government services, and casino operations.
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It → add → education
As of 2023, the UAW represented as many workers in the University of California system — a government enterprise — as it did at General Motors.
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it → represent → Motors
And while its Harvard graduate-student members and casino dealers might not be government workers, their daily bread relies on the good favor of Big Government, which subsidizes and licenses their employers.
uncertain
which → rely → employers
So, if the “private-sector” UAW is also a government union, what about the “government union” SEIU, widely known as activist and left-wing?
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UAW → know → SEIU
In addition to its government-sector members, the SEIU also represents nominally private-sector workers, including its old base constituency of building-services workers and a good chunk of its new base constituency in healthcare support services.
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SEIU → represent → services
Empowering private sector unions, therefore, directly empowers a group that contributed $35.5 million to Democrats and liberals against a paltry $4,531 to Republicans and conservatives in 2024, according to OpenSecrets data.
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that → empower → data
Given how the distinction between government unions and private unions is quickly eroding, it shouldn’t surprise anybody to see private unions rush to the defense of government union privileges.
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unions → give → privileges
When Iowa compelled its local authorities to comply with state rules requiring government unions to be periodically reauthorized, the Teamsters union, which has made overtures to the Right, led protests against the legislature.
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which → compel → legislature
When the Supreme Court considered Janus v. AFSCME, in which it ruled that government unions could not compel nonmembers to pay union fees, private-sector unions came to their defense.
uncertain
unions → consider → defense
The Teamsters, the Laborers, and the Machinists filed briefs supporting compulsory government-union fees.
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Teamsters → file → fees
The left-wing advocacy goes beyond the economic realm.
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advocacy → go → realm
Liberal-to-open-borders immigration policies have been endorsed by the primarily private-sector Unite Here and UFCW alongside largely government unions.
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policies → open → unions
Unions across sectors, including the AFL-CIO, the SEIU, and largely private-sector Communications Workers of America, want contracts to cover sex change procedures and abortions, while other unions demand workers submit to diversity, equity, and inclusion programming.
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workers → include → programming
Conservatives should not expect organized labor, whose members are now nearly half directly employed by governments, to be anything other than fully committed to Big Government and other entities that support Everything Leftism.
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that → expect → Leftism
There’s no clean way to divide organized labor against itself, so any conservative who wants to empower union bosses needs to know they are empowering all of them, including the ones they know better than to help.
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they → ’ → ones
Michael Watson is research director for Capital Research Center and is the managing editor for InfluenceWatch.org and the Who Funds That podcast.
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Who → manage → That
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