[2] The AUD defines itself as a "national, pro-labor, non-profit organization dedicated solely to advancing the principles and practices of democratic trade unionism in the North American labor movement.

[9] The AUD itself became a target of lawsuits and investigations by the Steelworkers, the New York attorney general, and the Internal Revenue Service, but prevailed in expanding the remit of nonprofits in defending union members' rights.

[4] He argued that the "overthrow" of the "old guard" within the Teamsters Union in 1992 was one of the high points of the movement's success, setting the stage for John Sweeney's victory as the insurgent AFL–CIO president in 1995.

[12] In 1998, Fraser wrote "The Association for Union Democracy ... has been waging the good fight for a half century; although there have been some highs, and especially some very grim lows, in the end it would be hard to argue that much has changed over that span.

"[12] Nevertheless, editor David Moberg has argued, "The history of AUD [has] demonstrated the importance of outside support" in assisting "reformers of undemocratic regimes in unions" despite its small size and limited funding.