The Democratic National Committee in June quietly passed a resolution that banned fossil fuel companies from donating to the party. Now, just two months later, the DNC is reversing that decision, while claiming it’s not a reversal.
The reversal, approved by a 30-2 vote, now says the DNC “support[s] fossil fuel workers” and will again accept donations from company political action committees, according to The Huffington Post. The new resolution was introduced by none other than DNC Chair Tom Perez.
The resolution states that “the inclusion of working people and their unions, representing all industries, is critical to the Democratic Party’s ability to affect change that improves the lives of workers, their families, and America’s middle class.”
The resolution went on to restate the party’s common line about Republicans “chipping away at workers’ rights, weakening unions, and depressing wages – all while giving massive tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires.” It also negatively mentioned the Supreme Court decision Janus v. AFSCME, which stopped public sector unions from being able to force non-union employees to pay dues. The DNC called the decision “disgraceful union busting.”
In creating this resolution — purportedly to help “the workers,” — one must ask the obvious question: Was the DNC knowingly working against workers when it signed its original resolution two months ago?
Besides union criticism, money might be another issue. The DNC raised just $8 million in June compared to Republicans’ $14 million. Obviously, fossil fuel donations are not going to make up that difference, but for a party struggling to raise money, cutting off any avenue is unwise.