AFP has recognized that to make lasting change in US politics, the Koch network would need to permanently weaken the organizations that support liberal candidates and causes – and above all, the labor movement. Reflecting on why conservatives failed to build power in earlier decades, AFP’s national president, Tim Phillips, explained that the Democrats “had the public employee unions … which have only gotten stronger, have only gotten better-funded, have only gotten better organized”. To succeed in electing conservative candidates and promoting right-leaning policy, then, AFP would need to hobble unions, especially those in the public-sector that were powerful state-level allies of Democrats.
The members of AFP who helped brainstorm Walker’s efforts knew that the legislation would impact union membership – and go far beyond it. Since the passage of the anti-union bill, public union membership rates in Wisconsin have plummeted by more than half, falling from around 50% in 2011 to around 19% by 2017. With fewer members and revenue, the political clout of the labor unions has fallen sharply. Campaign contributions by teachers’ unions to state and local races have fallen by nearly 70%.
