EXCLUSIVE: Major Transportation Union Poured Millions Into Dem Politics, Casinos As Workers Got Sold Out, Report Finds
A major transportation union has invested millions in Democratic-aligned political activities while also investing its members’ funds in entertainment and entertainment events, according to a report first obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The American Accountability Foundation report claims SMART-TD invested money in Democratic candidates and liberal groups while spending heavily on entertainment, travel, casinos and resorts. The report also claims that this spending shows that union leaders are out of step with the so-called “MAGA” blue-collar workers they represent.
SMART-TD represents nearly 230,000 railroad, bus and transit workers and is part of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers Association. (RELATED: Union Bosses Betray the Working Class by Funding Democrats)
The report notes that SMART spent more than $35 million on political advocacy between 2017 and 2024. It found that no spending went to Republican-aligned groups, while more than $1 million went to Democratic Party organizations and even more to left-leaning interest groups.
AAF President Tom Jones told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the spending shows union leaders are out of step with the workers they represent.
“While the SMART union claims to defend blue-collar Americans, its leaders remain busy spending millions on left-wing causes, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of their members vote Republican,” Jones said. “In the past few years alone, SMART has pumped more than $35 million into woke groups and even defended an alleged MS-13 gang member on CNN. How long will it be before union leaders learn that American workers are tired of being sold out?”
SMART’s political committee sent the overwhelming majority of its federal political money to Democrats, according to the report. The PAC gave more than $2.3 million to Democratic Party committees, compared to $72,500 to Republican committees, and nearly $1.9 million to Democratic federal candidates, compared to $194,500 to Republican federal candidates.
The report claims the union is alienating many of its blue-collar workers, who it says enjoy “broad support for the Trump-Vance agenda” through its support of Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
The report also notes substantial political spending of $136 million, as well as spending on legal fees, hotels, conferences, merchandise, entertainment, travel and food. He also points out that the union spent $10 million on casinos and resorts, plus another $1 million on theme parks.
A conductor watches a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train at Penn Station on May 15, 2026 in New York. (Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)
The AAF report also highlights 30-year-old hate crime charges against SMART Senior Vice President Zachary Nagy, saying he served prison time for burning a cross in front of a black family’s home in 1996. The report’s section on Nagy comes after he described several members of his leadership as staunch Democrats.
LM-2 spending – the annual financial report that unions file with the federal government – comes from the Office of Labor-Management Standards, and PAC spending and independent spending come from the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
SMART-TD did not immediately respond to DCNF’s requests for comment.
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