Explosive report unearths prominent union money trail labeled a 'stunning betrayal' of MAGA members
FIRST ON FOX — A major railroad union is under fire as a watchdog report alleges its leadership funneled money to support Democratic causes that opposed the Trump administration, thus undermining many of its own MAGA members while also spending millions on questionable expenses.
Leaders of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED-IBT), one of the nation's largest rail unions representing 37,000 members, are accused of using union resources to support Democratic priorities through their spending, according to a report released by the American Accountability Foundation (AAF).
"The leadership's progressive alignment is a stunning betrayal of the large proportion of its working-class members who support the MAGA agenda and President Trump's leadership," the report said.
"BMWE's one-sided partisanship is evidenced by its attacks on the Trump agenda and its broad support for Democratic causes."
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The report described the union’s leadership as "leftward bent," citing attacks on Trump during his first term, including claims he was "undoing Obama's legacy" and that his deregulation efforts were "dangerous."
Additionally, the report found the union supported left-leaning causes such as Black Lives Matter, abortion and universal health care, while opposing Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" and maintaining ties to Democratic organizations and prominent Democrats, including Reps. Jesús "Chuy" García, D-Ill., and Dina Titus, D-Nev.
The report added that the union's leaders have displayed a "stunning betrayal" and abandoned "the will" of their large MAGA member base, underscoring a growing disconnect between organized labor leadership and many "rank-and-file" union members.
"While the broad support for the Trump-Vance agenda by industrial union members has been widely reported on, news of this nearly decade-old realignment has apparently yet to reach the leadership of the Brotherhood of Maintenance and Way Employees Division (BMWE) union whose dues-paying members repeatedly cast ballots for President Trump," the report said.
Beyond the union's political alignment, the report examined BMWED-IBT's spending practices.
The union allegedly sent more than $441,098 to "left-wing" organizations, including the Center for American Progress, a leading progressive think tank, more than $100,000 to the National Democratic Club across multiple years, and the National Teamsters Hispanic Caucus, according to the report.
The report said both the National Democratic Club and the National Teamsters Hispanic Caucus are known for their stances against the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
The report further examines the Teamsters' Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education (D.R.I.V.E.) PAC, which BMWED-IBT joined after its political action committee merged into the PAC in 2004, saying the PAC heavily favored Democrats in its political spending by donating about $13.76 million to Democratic Party committees compared with about $729,846 to Republican committees.
Recent polling shows that labor unions like BMWED-IBT consist of a large number of workers who support Trump, including Teamsters polling that shows a 60/40 breakdown in favor of Trump and exit polling from the 2024 election that shows working-class voters without a college degree went 56% for Trump and 42% for Harris.
Not only did the report point to the union's Democratic associations, but also what it described as "massive wasteful spending," claiming that roughly two-thirds of headquarters employees earned six-figure salaries in 2024, while the average BMWED-IBT member earned $61,692.
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The report said that Cardwell earned $233,492 and Secretary-Treasurer Dale Bogart earned $206,709 that year, adding members of BMWED-IBT Local Lodge 1020, a local union, pay nearly $100 per month in dues "that goes to subsidizing the salaries of union leadership."
Additionally, the report alleges BMWED-IBT spent more than $18 million from 2017 to 2024, including $7.25 million on hotels and conferences, $5.44 million on legal fees, $2.71 million on promotional items and merchandise, and $2.11 million on travel.
The union allegedly spent $2.33 million at casinos and resorts alone during the same period, including a $522,281 payment to Caesars Entertainment in 2023, according to the report, which argues the spending shows leadership's priorities are not in the right place.
"While hardworking rank-and-file members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance and Way Employees Division Union are busting their backs making an average of $60K per year, woke union bosses live like kings and have wasted millions in union dues on progressive activism, hotel stays, and casino trips," AAF President Tom Jones told Fox News Digital.
"The BMWE Union is completely out of touch with its members and is actively betraying the very Trump-supporting workers it claims to support."
The union pushed back strongly against the report in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"Since taking over leadership of the BMWED-IBT in 2022, our union has operated at a budget surplus," BMWED-IBT President Tony D. Cardwell said. "In fact, it was one of our most prioritized goals to become fiscally responsible and diligent stewards of the memberships’ money. We are accomplishing this goal."
Cardwell said the union's work "on Capitol Hill or in any statehouse nationwide" is focused on "securing the best policy and protections" for members, saying that it donates to lawmakers from either party who support railroad workers, as "Party affiliation is not a determining factor for our political arm – support of working railroaders is the only thing that matters."
"No dues dollars are allocated to political lobbying," Cardwell said. "The only money donated to politicians comes from our Teamster PAC, which is and has always been voluntarily funded. It is vital that we have a voice in the political realm and this is how we accomplish it, with impartiality and the goal of achieving the best policies and legislation possible for our members."
Despite the union's Democratic ties, BMWED-IBT has collaborated with Republicans on key rail safety legislation, including Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who recently introduced the Secure Tracks Act, which would require railroad companies to use both human and automated track inspections.
Cardwell said that the union has "garnered more Republican support on the Hill than in the past" and that its relationship with President Donald Trump "has been strengthened," saying Vice President JD Vance also supported rail safety legislation while serving in the U.S. Senate representing Ohio.
A review of the BMWED-IBT's social media accounts by Fox News Digital shows the union reposting and applauding Trump and Vance's push for the Railway Safety Act, legislation the union has fought for after a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, three years ago, causing a major chemical spill.
Earlier this year, the American Accountability Foundation (AAF) released a similar report involving the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), one of the nation’s oldest labor unions, alleging the organization is run by leaders who are endorsing and promoting Democratic policies and candidates despite a membership base that data suggests largely supports the president.