U.S. Chamber and AFL-CIO Join Forces to Lobby for Spending Spree

James Sherk / June 12, 2011

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO do not agree on much. But they have joined forces to persuade Congress to spend more on infrastructure.

On the surface it looks like a story of right and left uniting for the common good. As AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told the Chamber’s board of directors: “We’re pretty strange bedfellows. There have been many times we haven’t agreed, and I’m sure there will be many more. But in the end, I think we all want the same thing: productive and profitable businesses, prosperous families and thriving communities.” What else could unite America’s leading business lobby and America’s largest labor federation?

Self-interest. Both the Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO will gain tremendously if Congress goes on a transportation spending spree. (more…)