Staff Reports
The director of a legal firm allegedly hostile to labour unions is the largest individual contributor to a PAC backing Rep. Conor Lamb's (D., Pa.) Senate run, a relationship that might harm Lamb's position in the union-friendly state.
Penn Progress, a political action committee supporting Lamb, received a $10,000 donation from Stephen Cozen, the chairman of Cozen O'Connor. Millions of dollars will be spent by the PAC, which counts Democratic strategist James Carville as an advisor, to help Lamb defeat Pennsylvania lieutenant governor John Fetterman in the Democratic primary.
Lamb has positioned himself as the Democratic field's pro-labor candidate, but his dependence on Cozen's backing may call into question that assertion. Cozen O'Connor has previously been charged by labour groups and liberal media outlets for aiding companies in thwarting unionisation attempts. The website of Cozen O'Connor, which boasts of its experience assisting businesses in the face of unionisation drives, pickets, and work stoppages, has been cited by activists. Cozen garnered widespread notice during the 2020 presidential race for his support of Joe Biden, who was running at the time and who also bragged about his pro-labor credentials.
Lamb's Senate campaign website lists 21 union endorsements. Penn Progress also received a $25,000 donation from the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers. Union Pacific, a client of Cozen O'Connor, sued the organisation in October to stop employees from walking out in protest of government immunisation requirements. In order to comply with President Biden's executive order mandating immunisation for government contractors, Union Pacific indicated its workers will be compelled to take the vaccine. The railroad claimed that it was an order-subject government contractor.
Given that Fetterman has raised far more money than Lamb has, Penn Progress may represent Lamb's greatest hope of winning the Democratic primary. According to a Penn Progress survey conducted last month, Fetterman, the progressive front-runner, had a 30-point advantage against Lamb. Since then, the PAC has blasted Fetterman as being too liberal to prevail in the general election. Additionally, the organisation said that Fetterman supported initiatives to free convicts from prison and made friends with anti-police activists. The assertion may be difficult for Lamb to defend given that his campaign gave Fireside Campaigns, a public relations company that works with Black Lives Matter, $270,000 last year.
Cozen gave Lamb's campaign $5,800 in September 2021, but it's unknown whether Lamb and Cozen have ever spoken. The congressman apparently talked on conference calls held by the PAC with Penn Progress contributors. Candidates for federal office are permitted to communicate with super PACs as long as they don't actively seek donations. It is also unknown whether Cozen has given Penn Progress any further donations after his original gift on December 31. For 2022, the PAC has not made any contributors public.
Requests for response from Penn Progress and Lamb's campaign went unanswered. A request for a statement from Cozen O'Connor also went unanswered.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Free Beacon.
