NWLP Nov. 21, 2008:NWLP
11/18/08
9:43 AM
Page 6
...Union members made a difference
(From Page 1)
states, the difference was even bigger,
with union members going for
Obama 69 to 28 — a 41-point mar-
gin. Among the electorate as a whole,
Obama won by 13 points in Wiscon-
sin, 16 points in Michigan, 10 points
in Minnesota and 11 points in Penn-
sylvania, all states with large numbers
of union households. [In Oregon and
Washington, Obama’s margin of vic-
tory was 16.29 percent (56.74-40.45
percent) and 16.68 percent (57.41-
40.73 percent), respectively.]
Overall, McCain won among vot-
ers ages 65 and up, but active and re-
tired union members older than 65
went for Obama by a 46-point mar-
gin. And overall, McCain won among
veterans, but union veterans went for
Obama by a 25-point margin.
More than 250,000 union volun-
teers devoted time and energy to
reach out to fellow union members.
They knocked on 10 million doors,
made 70 million phone calls, distrib-
uted 27 million worksite fliers and
sent 57 million union mail pieces.
And that made a difference in
races from the White House to state
legislatures.
In Oregon, the AFL-CIO political
effort almost certainly made the dif-
ference in electing Jeff Merkley to the
U.S. Senate.
For three months leading up to the
election, the state federation ran a
phone bank out of its office on NE
Russell St. in Portland. The Working
America community affiliate also
played a major part, staffing up to as
many as 150 canvassers in the final
months. And the effort was bulked up
by “lost-timers,” union activists who
get temporary leave from their em-
ployers, and have their “lost time”
wages paid by the union.
Mike Pucik, for example — a
member of Amalgamated Transit
Union Local 757 — worked on the
Oregon AFL-CIO political campaign
for three months on lost time.
So did Kevin Card, a member of
National Association of Letter Carri-
ers (NALC) Branch 82. Card was one
of seven NALC lost-timers in Ore-
gon, and over 200 nationwide, reflect-
ing a decision of the national leader-
ship to emphasize “boots on the
ground” instead of campaign contri-
butions.
NALC members helped the state
labor federation organize its door-to-
door canvass, using their workplace
expertise to divide up turf into walka-
ble routes for volunteers to knock on
doors in the most efficient order. And
on election day, from 5 p.m. on,
NALC Branch 82 had over 70 volun-
teers stand in front of postal boxes
that had no more deliveries for the
day, directing voters to drop boxes
where they could still get ballots in on
time.
Oregon also swelled with volun-
teers from out of state, like Paul
Rasso of the California School Em-
ployees Association. CSEA sent
about 75 lost-timers to five other
states, including over a dozen to Ore-
gon. Rasso got leave from his job as a
technician at the Colton Joint Unified
School District to spend two weeks in
Portland help the union campaigns
for Obama and Merkley, and against
Measure 64.
“Defeating Measure 64 is a big
plus for us in California,” Rasso said.
“We were afraid something like that,
which would affect public employees,
would roll over to California.”
Within the Change to Win federa-
tion, union staff and volunteers ran a
similar campaign, with phone banks
and door knocking of union members
and the general public. Affiliates
pooled resources to do joint mailings
and canvasses. Service Employees In-
ternational Union, for example, re-
ported making nearly a quarter mil-
lion phone calls in Oregon, knocking
on over 100,000 doors, and distribut-
ing over a third of a million pieces of
literature.
“I feel like the registration work
and the field activity we did around
the ballot measures had an impact
further down on the ballot,” said
SEIU Local 503 political director
Arthur Towers. “You look at the Ore-
gon House Democrats picking up five
seats, look at Kate Brown and Ben
Westlund winning office.”
Towers said Oregon union activists
had three strong motivators this year:
Obama, Merkley and Bill Sizemore.
“That extra motivation turned out
union voters and energized union ac-
tivists. And the anti-Employee Free
Choice Act attack ads really set the
terms of the debate for this election
and galvanized our folks to kick in.
Every time they hit us between the
eyes, our members come back more
committed and more engaged.”
E
E
FR
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Bureau of Labor
& Industries
Apprenticeship
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Current opening for Apprenticeship
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Mon-Fri 10-7:30 Sat 10-5:30 Sun 12-6
PAGE 6
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
NOVEMBER 21, 2008