Election Day 2013

CWAers had plenty to celebrate on Election Day.

In New York City, Bill de Blasio won the mayor's race, making him the first Democrat to gain the seat in 20 years.

In New Jersey, Democrats in the state legislature survived Republican Gov. Chris Christie's victory over Barbara Buono, holding on to majorities in both the Senate and Assembly to better fend off Christie's future attacks on working families. CWA's 68,000 members in the state campaigned hard for a ballot question that will raise the minimum wage to $8.25 an hour, and voters responded with an overwhelmingly approval.

CWAers celebrate at Terry McAuliffe's victory party.

Below: CWA's GOTV troops get ready to hit the streets in New Jersey.

In Virginia, Terry McAuliffe became the state's next governor and Democratic state Sen. Ralph Northam won the race for lieutenant governor.

In Houston, mayoral candidate Ben Hall lost. But we sent a message to the sitting Democratic mayor, who is term limited, so CWA's candidate will have another shot.

And in Ohio, voters defeated Republican Gov. John Kasich-backed candidates and took back the mayoral seats in Dayton, Toledo and Cuyahoga Falls. In Cincinnati, CWA also helped defeat Issue 4, a ballot initiative which would have overhauled the city's pension system.

"In both Virginia and New Jersey, CWA was the No. 1 union in the state with volunteer shifts, helping to not only get our message out to other members, but moving our message of worker rights and dignity to all voters," said CWA Political Director Rafael Navar. "It is because of their commitment and dedication, that we were able to achieve big victories this November for all working people in those states. CWA is building a volunteer army that will build a movement in this country for workers' rights, dignity and justice."

Our volunteers were out in full force this election season.

CWA was a key early endorser of de Blasio's mayoral candidacy. De Blasio was a vocal supporter of Cablevision workers in Brooklyn, and now the newly elected mayor has pledged his continued support to ensure these workers get their first contract.

In New Jersey and Virginia, CWA got this work started early with a new program, the Political Leadership Boot Camp. Designed to strengthen activists' skills, it combined leadership development with political action. The training's topics included political economy, movement building and member-to-member conversations. These workshops also focused on the components of a campaign, recruiting volunteers and signing up PAF donors.

Many of the volunteers were new members who hadn't done political work at this level before. Now they're gearing up to pivot to the legislative cycle, where activists will be fighting back against Verizon's push for phone deregulation in Virginia, fighting for rights for correctional officers and lobbying for fair contracts for home child-care providers in New Jersey and Cablevision technicians in New York.