A new report released by the Freedom Foundation documents how Montana’s largest union, the Montana Federation of Public Employees (MFPE), consistently supports Democrats for office despite attempting to appear bipartisan by occasionally endorsing Republicans.

The study, “Unbalanced: The Extreme Partisanship of the Montana Federation of Public Employees,” analyzes MFPE political expenditures disclosed to the Montana Commissioner on Political Practices (CPP) from 2019-2022, finding:

• About 99.7 percent of MFPE’s $3.6 million in election spending associated with identified candidates or parties went to support Democrats.
• In 2022, MFPE spent $337,000 backing progressive incumbent Ingrid Gustafson over conservative challenger James Brown in the high-profile election for Montana Supreme Court justice.
• In 2020, MFPE backed Democrat gubernatorial candidate Mike Cooney over Republican Greg Gianforte with $2.3 million in election spending.
• Also in 2020, after the state legislature referred LR-130 to voters to prevent local governments from regulating or banning concealed carry, MFPE spent more than $1.2 million against it, 10 times as much as gun control advocacy groups.
• MFPE regularly contributes to Carol’s List, an organization which backs pro-abortion Democratic women candidates for office.

The report also documented how the Republican candidates for state legislature endorsed by MFPE in 2022 tended to come from safely Republican districts but received no financial support from the union. By contrast, MFPE poured its money into electing Democrats running in competitive districts.

The approach suggests MFPE seeks to appear bipartisan to the majority-GOP legislature while attempting to erode that majority behind the scenes.

Finally, the report refutes MFPE’s claim that members’ dues are not used to make political contributions.

MFPE is free to support whatever political parties, candidates or issues it likes, of course, but the state’s public employees deserve to know the true extent of MFPE’s partisanship so they can make an informed decision about whether membership in the union aligns with their views and values. Thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 Janus v. AFSCME decision, no public employee can be compelled to pay a union against their will, though many practical barriers remain that too often prevent employees from learning of and exercising their rights.