The Watchdog says railroad union bosses are supporting Democrats with pro-Trump members

FIRST ON FOX: One of the most respected railroad unions in the country is facing a new investigation after an interview report says its leadership is working quietly against the political views of its members who support President Donald Trump’s agenda.

This report, issued by the American Accountability Foundation (AAF), states that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), one of the oldest labor unions, is run by leaders who promote and promote the policies of the Democratic Alliance and candidates despite the membership base that the data strongly suggests supports the president.

The report, which says the union “betrayed” its MAGA members, points to the union’s endorsement of the Harris-Walz ticket in the 2024 election cycle, and its ties to prominent Democrats including Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is also running for the Senate.

While BLET has uplifted Republicans in recent years, including earlier this year when it applauded Vice President JD Vance and the reintroduction of the Railway Safety Act (RSA), the report highlights repeated criticism of Trump-era policies, including transportation regulations, immigration enforcement, and the conservative-backed Project 2025 and lauded Bit 2025 agenda.

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A review of the union’s social media accounts by the AAF shows numerous examples of the union opposing various measures by the Trump administration during his presidential campaign against incumbent Joe Biden, which the report describes as evidence of “awakened leadership.”

“Ahead of the 2024 election, BLET issued 14 tweets criticizing the actions of the Trump administration while praising the policies of the Biden administration,” the report said. “This message was clearly intended to mislead union members into looking at the Democratic presidential ticket. In these tweets, they attacked nearly every major rail policy decision of the Trump era while putting the actions of the Biden administration in the spotlight.”

The union’s support for the Democrats also had a financial perspective, as the report says the organization spent more than $26 million on politics in recent years, mostly supporting Democratic candidates and contributing at a rate the AAF called “shocking.”

According to the report, 99% of the union’s party committee donations went to Democrats.

“For example, in the 2016 cycle, BLET donated $15,000 to the DNC when they were the GOTV base for Hillary Clinton’s campaign but did not donate a dollar to the RNC,” the report said. “In 2024, long after it became clear that the union membership was overwhelmingly supportive of President Trump, BLET leadership still didn’t get the message, making 24 separate donations to Democratic caucuses totaling $53,400 and just two donations to Republican caucuses totaling $2,000.”

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According to the report, the split reflects a broader shift in American politics, with working-class workers supporting former President Donald Trump while union leadership remains focused on traditional left-leaning positions.

The report goes beyond the union’s political spending and examines what it calls “waste and abuse” in the form of millions of dollars in fees charged to members for travel, hotels and “swag.”

“While it is bad enough that BLET spent over $5,000,000 on hotels and conventions, what is even more concerning is that the union spent over $2,000,000 on casinos and resorts alone,” the report said. “The union seems to be more concerned about living in resorts than saving money for its members.”

Recent polls show that labor unions like BLET have a large number of workers who support Trump, including a Teamsters poll showing a 60/40 split in favor of Trump and exit polls in 2024 showing working-class voters without a college degree going 56% for Trump and 42% for Harris.

The report also points to executive compensation as part of the cutoff, noting most executives earn more than $200,000 a year, and the union president and vice president each make more than $300,000.

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Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen BLET Union hold signs as they participate in a walkout outside the New Jersey Transit headquarters on May 16, 2025, in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images)

“The men who pull American goods voted for President Trump because they believe in secure borders and putting American workers first,” AAF President Tom Jones said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.

“But their union bosses are busy living off the big dues and running water on the Left. They’ve turned the green brotherhood into a vigilante political machine doing everything it can against the Trump-Vance agenda, and similarly, against the railroad workers every day. Every BLET member should question where their hard-earned dollars are really going.”

In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for BLET said: “We do not comment on false media releases made by black groups who cannot be held accountable for the truth.”