Many people have seen the antisemitic radicals who are wreaking havoc at our universities.
But fewer are aware that far-left billionaires like George Soros are working with Big Labor to fund groups that exist to promote pro-Hamas propaganda. Many in the media pretend, for example, that the Teamsters Union’s recent $45,000 donation to the Republican National Convention is evidence that Big Labor is drifting rightward. But this is peanuts compared to the $1.8 billion Big Labor spent during the 2020 election, the vast majority going to Democrats. More than 96% of public-sector union spending funds Democrats.
Big Labor is much less powerful than it used to be thanks to declining union membership, which hit an all-time low in 2023. Fewer union workers means less dues money that union bosses can lavish on their favorite Democrats. Big Labor’s steady decline has created a power vacuum in the labor movement that far-left groups are eager to fill. These groups often paint themselves as humble watchdogs against corporate greed, when, in reality, they are composed of the same radicals terrorizing college campuses across the nation.
Take the “Private Equity Stakeholders Project” for example, a group founded in 2017 that bills itself as a private equity watchdog. Since 2019, PESP has received at least $275,000 from Soros-linked foundations, and $650,000 from the Ford Foundation. PESP has also hopped on the Big Labor gravy train, receiving at least $268,778 from unions since 2018. Overall, PESP has raised millions from various left-wing sources to push their radical agenda.
PESP employs a range of left-wing radicals. PESP founder Jim Baker, previously arrested for criminal trespassing, is a longtime union organizer who most recently worked for a union of hospitality workers. John Ash is the campaign and research director of PESP while also working as lead researcher at 32BJ SEIU. K Agbeybi worked for a constellation of left-wing groups, including Planned Parenthood, before working for PESP.
When they aren’t busy attacking private equity, PESP employees attack Israel. Fox Business recently reported that five PESP employees engaged in anti-Israel protests or spread pro-Hamas messages on social media. Agbeybi, a self-described “communist,” attended a pro-Hamas rally in November 2023. PESP research coordinator Azani Creekes was arrested for her role in organizing an anti-Israel protest that blocked New York City traffic. Other PESP staffers liked X posts accusing President Joe Biden of committing “genocide” and reposted Rashida Tlaib’s video accusing Israel of committing “war crimes.”
Big Labor directly participates in pro-Hamas protests. United Auto Workers organizers waved signs with pro-Hamas radicals, no surprise given that UAW President Shawn Fain has deep ties to the Democratic Socialists of America.
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Big Labor’s embrace of this radicalism will only hasten the decline of union membership. Freelance journalist Damien Fisher reported that union members who attended Labor Notes were treated to a scuffle between a pro-Hamas mob and police on the conference’s first day. Attendees reportedly learned “about transgender rights, heard the pro-Hamas feminist perspective on the Middle East, and were invited to join the Democratic Socialists of America.”
The next time you read a story about pro-Hamas agitators blocking traffic or laying waste to college campuses, know that they have the support of George Soros and Big Labor bosses.
Tom Hebert is Director of Competition and Regulatory Policy at Americans for Tax Reform and executive director of the Open Competition Center.
