FED LAUNCHES FINAL GET-OUT-THE-VOTE PUSH; CHANGE TO WIN HITS McCAIN ON WORKER RIGHTS

Friday, October 24, 2008

(PAI)

FED LAUNCHES FINAL GET-OUT-THE-VOTE PUSH;

CHANGE TO WIN HITS McCAIN ON WORKER RIGHTS

WASHINGTON (PAI)--The AFL-CIO led the rest of organized labor in launching its final, intense, get-out-the-vote push for the Nov. 4 election, starting Oct. 20. Meanwhile, Change to Win hit GOP nominee John McCain’s attack on workers’ rights.

Labor’s effort is separate from, but complements, the mobilization by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, who has been endorsed and strongly backed by both labor federations and virtually every union nationwide. Top Obama campaign official David Axelrod told the AFL-CIO Executive Council in Chicago in August that the Illinois senator planned to mobilize three million volunteers.

The AFL-CIO’s 250,000 volunteers, 4,000 paid staffers and thousands of Working America volunteers are concentrating their get-out-the-vote efforts on 20 battleground states in the presidential race, 12 hotly contested U.S. Senate contests and 60 U.S. House races. Several states, such as Minnesota, Oregon and New Hampshire, have key contests for both the presidency and the Senate or, in New Hampshire’s case, all three.

The AFL-CIO’s other top battleground states circle the Great Lakes, including Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Michigan. But two new battleground states are among the least-unionized in the U.S.: Virginia and North Carolina. The Communications Workers and the Steel Workers, the leading unions in Virginia, are marshaling forces there.

“Union members are determined to create a sea change in American politics that will benefit working families for generations to come,” federation President John Sweeney said. “We’ve mounted our largest, broadest grassroots effort ever to elect Obama and candidates at all levels committed to putting our nation back on track after eight years of failed policies" by anti-worker GOP President George W. Bush.

The federation estimated that total spending by itself and its member unions would be $250 million combined. Much of that would be by the fed itself ($54 million) and AFSCME ($60 million). One Change to Win union, the Service Employees, plans to spend $100 million-plus.

Other details of the AFL-CIO’s final push include:

* 25,000 volunteers from non-battleground states like California, New York and Illinois deployed to contact union voters in battleground states.

* 70 million phone calls, 10 million door knocks, 57 million pieces of mail and 27
million worksite fliers focusing on economic issues to union voters and households.

The effort features what the federation calls “A new, microtargeted approach to the most hard-to-reach voters, including working class veterans, retirees and gun owners, many of whom have been contacted 20-30 times and will receive intense communication in the final days.”

* A “Final Four” blitz in the last days of the campaign to drive turnout among millions of working-class voters in battleground states, plus a 9-state “voter protection program” to prevent voting rights violations on Election Day. That will be a particular focus in Ohio and Michigan, where GOP operatives scheme to throw voters off the rolls.

The voter protection program, which is non-partisan and which will focus on preventing abuses, is also running in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Virginia, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada. It includes educating voters about their rights, rebuking stories--such as those peddled by GOP chairmen in Ohio and Michigan--about who can and can’t vote, working with local officials on election administration, and recruiting election poll workers and monitors.

Change to Win, meanwhile, went after McCain, especially after the GOP nominee attacked workers’ rights in a Virginia speech on Oct. 13. The 7-union, 6-million-member federation also launched its final week of mobilization and door-knocking among its members, just before Halloween.

In his speech, McCain denounced the Employee Free Choice Act, though not by name. The act, which a GOP filibuster killed in the 110th Congress, is labor’s top legislative priority and why it wants to elect Obama and pro-worker lawmakers.

“McCain launched another attack on the rights of America’s workers to

receive fair wages and benefits on the job,” CTW Executive Director Chris Chafe said.

“In an election about change McCain’s attacks against workers represent more of the same mistreatment we’ve had throughout his career and the Bush years. Workers know McCain voted to ship our jobs overseas, to give tax breaks to companies that take jobs from our communities, and against raising the minimum wage 19 times. Now McCain’s solution to our health care crisis is to tax our health care benefits.

“Workers know McCain is bad for their jobs, their wallets, and their families’ health care. In this economic crisis, workers want a new president who will fight for good jobs in this country, and who will give every worker a shot at the American Dream. This election is about new leadership who will stand up to rebuild the middle class. That is why Change to Win’s members are supporting Obama.”

###