Fighting for a True Pro-Worker Senate

Up to 14 Seats Could Change Hands in November Election

With pro-worker lawmakers holding the Senate by the narrowest of margins, 14 Senate races that are considered "in play" Nov. 4 could make all the difference for CWA members and the rest of America's working families.

In all, 35 Senate seats are up for election, but 21 of them — 11 held by Democrats and 10 by Republicans — are considered safe. Barring a last-minute scandal, they're not likely to change hands.

But 14 races aren't as easy to call. Seats held by Republicans, in Colorado, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia, are considered possible to likely pickups for Democrats.

In six other seats, in Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky and Maine, CWA and the rest of the labor movement are fighting hard to elect worker-friendly senators who will support the Employee Free Choice Act, health care for all, fair trade and retirement security.

Having a simple majority in the Senate isn't enough. To pass pro-worker legislation, Democrats must be able to stop a Republican filibuster. Doing so requires 60 votes. Employee Free Choice and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act are examples of bills that got more than 50 votes in the Senate but not the 60 needed to end debate. (For more on the Senate numbers, see Page 3.)

Here are some of the key races CWA is focused on:

Minnesota:
Al Franken (D) vs. Incumbent Norm Coleman (R)

Chet Nettestad,(left) president of CWA Local 7219, with Al Franken

Coleman is actively campaigning against — and misrepresenting — the Employee Free Choice Act as part of his Senate race. Franken, the comedian and former Air America talk show host, has pledged to co-sponsor the bill and fight for other working family issues, including universal health care and expanded Family and Medical Leave.

Among specific issues he's brought up is one especially important to CWA nurses: safe staffing levels for hospitals. "When the people on the front lines of health care tell us that they need reinforcements to maintain their high standards of care, we should listen," Franken said. (Click here for more information.)

Kentucky:
Bruce Lunsford (D) vs. Incumbent Mitch McConnell (R)

Kentucky supporters of Democrat Bruce Lunsford are working hard to help him unseat longtime anti-worker incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell.

It's a battle between a candidate, Lunsford, who grew up in a union family with working family values, and the Senate's Minority Leader, McConnell, one of the most extreme anti-worker voices on Capitol Hill.

Lunsford stands solidly with CWA on Employee Free Choice, health care for all, retirement security and fair trade agreements that protect workers and the environment. McConnell opposes them all. In his 23 years in the Senate, he has compiled an 89 percent lifetime "wrong" voting record from the AFL-CIO. But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce? They say he's been right 100 percent of the time. (Click here for more information.)

Louisiana:
Incumbent Mary Landrieu (D) vs. John N. Kennedy (R)

Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu talks with CWA Pres. Larry Choen.

State Treasurer John N. Kennedy used to be a Democrat. But after a failed bid for the Senate in 2004, he switched parties — and policies. He pledges to vote against the Employee Free Choice Act and supports some Social Security privatization. And despite America's health care crisis, he believes the "free market and private sector" are still the only solution.

Landrieu has a worker-friendly track record that includes support for Employee Free Choice, raising the minimum wage and voting to protect Social Security funds from being invested in private Wall Street accounts. (Click here for more information.)

Virginia:
Former Gov. Mark Warner (D) vs. Former Gov. Jim Gilmore (R)

Above, at campaign kickoff in Norfolk, Va., CWA Local 2205 Vice Pres. Matt Yeargin thanks Virginia Senate candidate and former Gov. Mark Warner (D) for supporting the Employee Free Choice Act.

Mark Warner is a pro-worker politician whose bipartisan style has even brought endorsements from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, police throughout Virginia and the two Republican chairman of the state Senate budget committee during his tenure as governor, from 2002-2006.

Warner was credited with cleaning up a fiscal disaster created during the previous administration — Gilmore's. Warner supports Employee Free Choice and is a champion for universal health care and improved care for poor children while governor. Gilmore, governor from 1998-2002, vetoed legislation to help laid-off workers and has ridiculed Warner on the campaign trail for supporting Employee Free Choice. (Click here for more information.)

North Carolina:
Kay Hagan (D) vs. Incumbent Elizabeth Dole (R)

Senate challenger Kay Hagan meets with Veterans in one of many town hall mettings she's held with active and retired service members throughout North Carolina.

Dole, rated by nonpartisan groups as one of the most partisan and least effective members of the Senate, opposes Employee Free Choice while supporting trade pacts that take away American jobs and fail to protect workers in other countries.

Hagan, a state senator, says she'll co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act, fight for fair trade agreements and other working family priorities. "Our workers deserve health coverage, secure pensions, dignity at work and a clear right to join a labor union," she said. Coming from a military family, she is also a strong advocate for veterans' education and health care; Dole voted four years in row (2004-2007) against better funding for veterans' health programs. (Click here for more information.)

Mississippi:
Former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D) vs. Incumbent Roger Wicker (R)

Senate candidate Ronnie Musgrove signs Employee Free Choice Act banner at Mississippi state AFL-CIO regional meeting.

The differences are like day and night between former Gov. Musgrove and Wicker, a former U.S. House member who was appointed last December to fill the unexpired Senate seat of Trent Lott. Where Wicker compiled the most anti-labor voting record of any lawmaker in Congress, Musgrove is a champion for working families.

He says Employee Free Choice is critical to "strengthening the middle class and keeping many families out of poverty and in good paying jobs." As the state's lieutenant governor, he helped create the State Children's Health Insurance Program; Wicker, in the House, voted against reauthorizing the program. (Click here for more information.)

Michigan:
Incumbent Carl Levin (D) vs. Jack Hoodgendyk (R)

Carl Levin, who has represented Michigan in the U.S. Senate since 1979, was a CWA "hero" in 2007 for his perfect pro-worker voting record.

Carl Levin has represented Michigan since 1979. He has been a steady and strong supporter of workers and the public trust and was a CWA "hero" in 2007, supporting CWA members and workers on every key issue that affects working families, from employee free choice to social security to budget issues. He has compiled a 91 percent "right" record on CWA's voting report, CWA Rates Congress.  

Levin was named one of America's 10 best Senators in 2006 by Time Magazine. His was the first subcommittee in Congress to take on the Enron executives and he challenged the illegal tax shelters that large accounting firms set up, leading Congress to pass laws to shut down those tax dodges for big business. (Click here for more information.)