Report VII · Released June 22, 2026

BMWE

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (Teamsters) · 37,000+ members

The Teamsters-affiliated rail union that funded the Center for American Progress — and spent $2 million of member dues at casinos.

The Bottom Line

BMWE's D.R.I.V.E. PAC funded Democrats 20 dollars to every 1 dollar for Republicans during the Trump era — while funneling $441,000 to the Center for American Progress and other left-wing groups.

A rail-maintenance crew working a section of track at dawn, mist rising off the gravel ballast, tools and tie plates scattered along the line

Bankrolling the Democratic Machine

The Money

BMWE funneled $441,000 to left-wing non-profits — most notably the Center for American Progress, the leading anti-Trump think tank in Washington — while its Teamsters-affiliated PAC funded Democrats 20-to-1.

An empty Washington D.C. think tank conference room at dusk, polished mahogany table and abandoned legal pads, city lights through the windows — BMWE funded the Center for American Progress, the National Democratic Club, and the National Teamsters Hispanic Caucus.

D.R.I.V.E. PAC Hard-Dollar Spending

Democratic candidates & committees

20×

Republican candidates & committees

1×

BMWE's PAC spent twenty dollars on Democrats for every one dollar spent on Republicans during the Trump era.

Funded the Center for American Progress

AAF calls CAP "a notorious left-wing think tank dedicated to undermining the Trump agenda." CAP recently published the headline article "Trump Brings China-Style Authoritarianism to America."

Funded the Teamsters Hispanic Caucus

Over $20,700 across multiple years — to a group that has formally published resolutions opposing Trump-administration immigration enforcement

Other left-aligned recipients

Economic Policy Institute, Equality State Policy Center, We Are Missouri ($100,000 in 2019), and Workers Independent News

"Undoing Obama's Legacy"

Anti-MAGA Advocacy

BMWE leadership has spent the Trump era attacking him from every angle — from "undoing Obama's legacy" in the first term, to opposing the One Big Beautiful Bill in the second, all while supporting Black Lives Matter and the union's own "reproductive justice" advocacy.

A pair of worn work boots with an American flag pin — 37,000 track workers vote Trump. Their leadership says he's "undoing Obama's legacy."

First-term attacks

BMWE leadership publicly bemoaned that Trump was "undoing Obama's legacy" and warned that "Trump's deregulation is dangerous"

Opposed the One Big Beautiful Bill

BMWE came out publicly against President Trump's signature 2025 legislative agenda

Allied with anti-Trump Democrats

Worked publicly with Rep. Chuy García and congratulated Rep. Dina Titus — both vocal Trump critics

Supported Black Lives Matter

BMWE leadership publicly backed BLM in the wake of the George Floyd riots

BMWE Women's Caucus

Advocated for "reproductive justice" as intertwined with universal healthcare and other progressive causes; the union also established a formal "Diversity Committee"

VP on Trump's healthcare

A BMWE Vice President sarcastically remarked "Trumpcare" on an article claiming millions would lose coverage under a GOP plan

$2 Million at Casinos · $18 Million Total

The Waste

BMWE spent over $18 million on wasteful categories during the Trump era — including $2 million at casinos and resorts.

An empty casino floor at night with banks of glowing slot machines — Two million dollars in member dues, spent at casinos and resorts.

$2,000,000+

Spent at casinos & resorts

DOL LM-2 filings

$7,245,943

Hotels & conferences

$2,713,396

Promotional items (swag)

$2,107,763

Travel

Plus

$5.4 million on legal fees — for a 37,000-member union

Leadership Salaries vs. Track Workers

Self-Enrichment

The average BMWE member earns $61,692. President Tony Cardwell earns nearly four times that. Two-thirds of BMWE's national headquarters earns six figures.

An opulent hotel lobby with chandeliers and marble floors at night — The world the bosses fly to. The world their dues built.

The Salary Gap

Tony D. Cardwell — President

$233,492

Average BMWE rail-maintenance worker

$61,692

BMWE's president earns 3.8× the average track worker he claims to represent.

$206,709

Dale Bogart Jr. — Secretary-Treasurer

2024 LM-2

$186,936

Five Vice Presidents — average

Fry, Gerie, Owen, Saulter, Moody-Gilbert — all within $1,600 of each other

65%

HQ staff earning six figures

The directors' band

Seven directors and executive assistants all earn exactly $159,611 — including the Director of Communications, Director of Education, Director of Information Systems, and the Executive Assistant to the President

The Pattern

BMWE is one of seven.

BMWE is not an outlier. Across seven major American industrial unions, the same pattern repeats: rank-and-file members who voted for Trump, led by executives who fund his opposition.