CWA Members Working to Get Out the Vote for Election 2010

This past weekend, 60 members of Locals 1103 and 1180 were out walking for Rep. John Hall. Members of D 1 Locals have been spending their Saturdays spreading the word about CWA-endorsed candidates.

CWAers are going all out to support candidates that support working families. CWA has state coordinators on the ground in 29 states; here are some reports:

In New York, most locals are running phone banks at least twice and sometimes three times a week. Every Saturday, CWA activists turn out for labor walks supporting candidates in several districts.

Worksite handbilling is going strong, with CWAers focusing on one-on-one, member-to-member contact. CWA members are getting lots of mail too, from their local president and District vice president Chris Shelton. Next week will be a final push with get-out-the-vote activities, including emails and letters from locals, more automated “robo calls,” worksite leafleting and one-on-one contacts.

“CWAers who come to the walks and work the phone banks are energized. And we know that if can get our members to the poll they will vote for candidates who support working families. We need to energize them to get them to the polls and we’re doing everything we can to do that,” said Joyce Patrella, CWA’s New York political coordinator.

In Ohio, activists are having great success in contacting “drop off voters,” those CWAers who voted in 2008 but normally don’t vote in mid-term elections. The CWA team is focusing on one-on-one contacts with these members, making sure they register for absentee ballots, then following up to make sure those ballots are mailed.

Diane Bailey, Ohio coordinator, says the program is working great. “When we’re at a worksite, talking with drop off voters, other members want to sign up too.”

CWA District 9 members get ready to walk the early shift to support Senator Harry Reid. Hundreds of union members from Northern Nevada and California converged on Reno for the massive show of support for Reid and other labor-backed candidates.

Locals have leafleted every worksite every week and will keep that up through the election. Weekend labor walks throughout the state also will continue until Nov. 2.

CWAers have turned out for political rallies throughout the state, most recently for the visit by President Obama to Ohio State University. “Everyone there was so energized. We know what’s at stake here, we need to get the vote out and get our members to the polls,” Bailey said.

A big get-out-the-vote phone bank is set for Oct. 26, with CWAers taking over the state AFL-CIO office to call members. “We’ll do everything we can up until the election,” Bailey said.

In Kentucky, CWA members are rallying behind Senate candidate Jack Conway. CWA and IUE-CWA activists pushed to make certain that nearly every member of IUE-CWA 83761 in Louisville was registered to vote, and get-out-the-vote  efforts will focus on getting every member to the polls.

Stakes are high in this election for the 2,200 IUE-CWAers who work at the GE plant and who have seen thousands of GE jobs shipped overseas. The plant once employed 23,000 people, but has lost 90 percent of its workforce.

More than 60 volunteers have turned out for four rounds of worksite leafleting and member-to-member conversations with co-workers and will keep up these efforts until Nov. 2, reports Steve Wimsatt, CWA co-coordinator for Kentucky.

In Maryland, lots of work is going on. Across the state, every local has leafleted at worksites at least three times. Locals have sent out letters and newsletters supporting CWA candidates, and phone banking continues.

CWAers have been a big part of candidate rallies, most recently for Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. O’Malley also joined CWAers in leafleting and greeting members of Local 2108 in Silver Spring.

As in District 4, Maryland locals are putting a special emphasis on contacting “drop off voters,” CWA members who don’t usually vote in mid-term elections. There is a big push, through one-on-one contacts, to get these members to the polls on Nov. 2. Other get-out-the-vote efforts include contacts to members from local union presidents and more worksite leafleting, reports Pam Wilt, CWA’s Maryland coordinator

CWA and the union movement are working hard on these member-to-member contacts to help offset the huge campaign spending advantage that candidates backed by corporations now have. Corporations will spend about $3 billion in this election alone, mainly to undermine the programs and issues that are so important to working families.

Stay tuned for more updates on CWA’s political work and get-out-the-vote campaign.