Election Victory Depends on Having the Best 'Ground Game'

With the Nov. 4 election just 12 days away, activism by CWAers continues to build across the country, as members – despite encouraging polls for Barack Obama and labor-backed congressional candidates – are leaving nothing to chance.

"Our activists are not letting up or getting overconfident," stated CWA Executive Vice President Annie Hill. "Past elections have taught us some bitter lessons. We realize that our work doesn't stop until the polls close on Nov. 4," she said.

Reports that continue to pour in from CWA locals show that local activists are working hard to make voter turnout in 2008 the highest in history. Whether distributing flyers at worksites, manning phone banks, walking union members' neighborhoods, or helping fellow members get registered, CWAers realize that the candidates with the best "ground game" – number of activists working in key battleground states – will prevail in the election.

At right, Kathy Antoniewicz, CWA Local 4603, prepares a local union mailing while phone banking. At left, CWAers sign in at District 7 HQ before participating in a labor walk in Denver.

Here is a rundown of just some of the many reports we are getting from across the country.

In Michigan, CWA members are playing a major role in phone banking efforts. "Our members are excited about the Bush presidency coming to an end," said CWA 4050 President Dave Skotarczyk. "The last thing we want is to let McCain get elected and subject working men and women to four more years...This is why so many of us are actively involved in everything from labor walks, to phone banks, and to leafleting worksites. That's why we'll be continuing to push the labor 2008 program all the way through Election Day," he added.

In Kentucky, CWAers are talking to members in the workplace about Obama's strong support for health care reform and the Employee Free Choice Act. "We keep working as hard as we can to make sure members can't say that they don't know enough about the candidates to make a decision," said Jan Garkovich from CWA Local 3372. "Union members make up 30 percent of the vote in Kentucky. We have to make sure they get out to vote," he said. The local could make a big difference in Lexington, where it represents nearly 900 members in the area.

Mobilizing for the election, members of IUE-CWA Local 84755, at left, hand bill co-workers at the DEMAX plant in Dayton, Ohio. At right, Mike Rossi from Local 13000 works a phone bank in Philadelphia.

In Ohio, IUE-CWA members are blanketing worksites. In Dayton, Local 84755 members hand billed co-workers outside DEMAX, a diesel engine manufacturing plant employing 800. In Youngstown, Local 84722 members hand billed co-workers at Ohio Lamp plant where 300 union members work. "Hand billing is important because people trust what comes from their union and the people they work with," said Local 84755 President Bob Hewitt. This week, IUE-CWA launched a union-wide phone banking center at the sector's Dayton headquarters. "There's nothing more effective than IUE members talking to IUE members," said Lauren Asplen, assistant to IUE-CWA President James Clark.

In Pennsylvania, a critical state where John McCain has recently concentrated major resources, CWAers from neighboring New York and New Jersey are continuing to bus in every weekend to help CWA members in that state. Last week, members from Locals 1034, 1103, and 1180 visited registered union members' homes in Philadelphia and its suburbs. CWAers in Pennsylvania work in tandem with the activists, driving the volunteers to neighborhoods throughout the city. Members of Local 13000 are now organizing volunteers for an across-the-state GOTV effort beginning Nov. 1.

In John McCain's home state of Arizona, CWA Local 7019 President Chris Rossie held a forum for members to discuss how the election's outcome will impact the middle class at a "Working Families for Change" event in Arizona. The local posted a video of the link here.

Dozens of photos and video links from activists are flooding into CWA each week and we are posting them on The Source, our website for union communicators. View them by navigating to our photo gallery in our Election 2008 campaign section.

Hundreds more photos and videos of CWA activists are being posted online. To post or view pictures, go to the Labor 2008 section of Flikr. To post or view videos visit this section of YouTube. Search "CWA" to locate the galleries at both sites.

Election handouts can be downloaded from the Election 2008 Campaign section on the Source, CWA's website for local union communicators, and from the AFL-CIO's Working Families Toolkit website.