Labor & Employment Law

Workers Getting Out the Vote as Election Clock Ticks

By Mike Hall

There are only three days to go before an election fueled by the largest-ever recorded amount of secret corporate campaign contributions along with tens of millions of dollars from wealthy extremists an anti-worker Republican candidates. But for workers and their unions, it’s always been about people power, says Gerry Kelly, business manager of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 22 in Omaha, Neb. (see video).

It?s the time to rally our members, get them to the polls to continue to send a message that we can make a difference. We have phonebanking?We also do canvassing of neighborhoods. It?s our members contacting our members.

Union activists and leaders around the nation are doing the same thing in these last few days before Nov. 2 to mobilize union family voters in vital races across the nation.

They are knocking on doors for Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak and for Jerry Brown in his California governor?s race against Meg Whiteman, who has dumped more than $140 million of her billionaire?s fortune into the race. Union activists are making another round of phone calls for working family-backed House members like Nick Joe Rahall in West Virginia and Suzan DelBene in Washington State.

Union leaders are on the road, too. Yesterday, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn led a press conference on proposals to create jobs and later joined an Operating Engineers (IUOE) phone GOTV bank. Between now and Election Day, Trumka is scheduled for rallies, walks and phone banks in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

This weekend, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler will rally with young workers to get out the vote in Los Angeles and in Denver, and  on Monday and Tuesday she will be getting out the vote in Chicago.  Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker is mobilizing union voters in Philadelphia, Cincinnati and  around Connecticut.

The union members on the phones and in the neighborhoods and those in this IBEW video exemplify the union commitment that drew praise from President Obama Wednesday when he told thousands of union political activists we are ?the backbone of the ground campaign.?

It?s the edge you have when you walk up to a door or make a phone call and say, ?I?m from the union and it matters whether you vote.?

Kelly reaffirms Obama?s assessment of the effectiveness of union member-to-union member contact.

It?s important that they hear from the local union. That they hear from a member of Local 22. It?s not some random campaign worker.

He acknowledges ”there is frustration that change isn?t coming fast enough.?

But we?ve got a great opportunity to put some friends not only in Washington, D.C., but here locally, as well, that will continue on this path to recovery.

Be sure to check out the full video.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on October 30, 2010 (boomark / email).