It’s a truism of modern politics that Congress is not particularly responsive to the needs of working-class constituents. However, a new study from Duke University shows that lawmakers are more responsive to constituencies with a larger union presence.
They found that an increase in union membership, “increases legislative responsiveness towards the poor by about six to eight percentage points. As a result, in districts with relatively strong unions legislators are about equally responsive to rich and poor Americans.”
House voting patterns skew heavily toward the needs of the rich, but researchers say a large unionized constituency can alter that dynamic.
House voting patterns skew heavily toward the needs of the rich, but researchers say a large unionized constituency can alter that dynamic.
To read the entire Washington Post article by Christopher Ingraham:
Lawmakers more responsive to working class in districts with strong unions,