The National Education Association’s political-action committee raised record amounts in 1988, according to new figures from the Federal Election Commission.
The union’s pac raised a total of $5.5 million, according to the fec, up from $4.9 million in 1986.
“This is the best we’ve ever done,” said Joe J. Standa, a political specialist with the union. He attributed the increase, in part, to improved fundraising activities.
The figures make the union’s political-action committee one of the top 10 money raisers in the country, the fec reports, and the fourth-largest contributor to national candidates.
It is outranked by such groups as the Realtors Political Action Committee; the American Medical Association Political Action Committee; and the Democratic Republican Independent Voter Education Committee, the political-action arm of the teamsters’ union.
Among labor organizations, the union’s political-action committee ranked second in the nation in 1988, in terms of both money taken in and money8spent.
The wealthiest labor pac was that of the teamsters. It raised $9.2 million in 1988.
The American Federation of Teachers Committee on Political Education ranked 13th among labor pacs in its ability to raise funds, and 12th in terms of the amount of money spent.
The interim report on campaign-finance activities, which was released by the fec this month, found that the contributions of pac’s to election campaigns continue to grow.
Political-action committees contributed $159.4 million to candidates in 1987-88, up 14 percent from 1985-86.
But the fec also reported a general slowdown in the growth of pac receipts and disbursements during the 1987-88 election cycle.
Money receipts increased by only 5 percent between the 1987-88 and 1985-86 election cycles, the analysis found, and disbursements increased by only 3 percent.
By comparison, 1986 pac receipts were 22 percent higher than in the 1984 election, and disbursements were 27 percent higher.
