Labor and Politics

Report Outline
Labor and the 1952 Presidential Contest
Growth of Union Labor's Political Activity
Political Influence of Organized Labor

Labor and the 1952 Presidential Contest

Labor's Veto of Barkley's Candidacy for Presidency

All signs indicate, as the 1952 political campaign moves into high gear, that organized labor this year will figure more prominently than ever before in the activities and discussion that make up the quadrennial contest for the presidency. Political action bids fair to be more vigorous and more widespread among leading labor groups than in previous presidential campaigns, and the candidates will be under correspondingly greater pressure to go along with labor's demands or, if they cannot go all the way, to devise offsetting appeals to attract labor votes. Conversely, the prominence of labor in the campaign is likely to stir up debate on the influence of labor in government and to make the candidates careful not to give an impression of catering unduly to union interests.

Whether the active support of organized labor helps or handicaps a candidate depends on circumstances and cannot be easily determined in most cases. The labor constituency in a national election, and in many other elections, is too large to be deliberately ignored or alienated, but it is always a question whether labor leaders can make their political recommendations prevail over other influences or loyalties to which individual union members may be responsive—in short, whether they can deliver the votes of the rank and file. Hence a candidate, while welcoming labor support, may not take undue risks if he tempers his position on labor questions out of regard for the feelings of voters who fear that unions may gain too much power.

Although the growth of labor participation in politics attests to the faith of union leaders in their ability to get results from political action, experience indicates that labor endorsement or opposition is not necessarily a decisive factor in elections. A candidate lacking labor support may win on the strength of a broad-based appeal, while a candidate favored by labor may lose unless he inspires general confidence. Labor is one of the largest of various special groups in the American electorate. But such groups, and the interests of such groups, overlap. As a result, other considerations, such as the personal qualifications and the stand of candidates on leading campaign issues, are likely to be more influential than group pressures in deciding the outcome of an election, particularly a presidential election.