Georgia Locals Fighting for Pro-Worker Candidate in Senate Run-Off

Georgia Democrat Jim Martin greets supporters after defeating a third party candidate to put Martin in a runoff contest against incumbent Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss.

With an important U.S. Senate seat on the line, local CWA presidents in Georgia are asking their members to work as hard as they did during the general election in order to send pro-worker candidate Jim Martin to Washington in a Dec. 2 runoff.

Martin, a Democrat and Vietnam veteran with more than 20 years experience in the Georgia legislature and state government, is trying to unseat first-term Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss. In the Nov. 4 election, Chambliss got more votes in a three-way race, but not the majority needed to avoid a run-off under Georgia law.

"Working families need Jim Martin in the U.S. Senate to help turn around America," say CWA local presidents in Georgia in a letter to their members. "In the Senate, he will work to reverse the disastrous economic policies that George Bush and Saxby Chambliss have advocated over the course of their careers."

CWA members will be making worksite contacts and members of the CWA Retired Members' Council will be making phone calls to union retirees.

"We proved what we could do with the historic election of Sen. Barack Obama and the many new pro-worker House and Senate seats we won on Nov. 4," CWA Executive Vice President Annie Hill said. "Now we have to put all our energy into electing Jim Martin on Dec. 2. His presence in the Senate will bring us one critical step closer to passing the Employee Free Choice Act and the other key issues we're fighting for on behalf of America's working families."

The letter from local presidents says that Martin opposes privatizing Social Security and "will stand up for our workers, ensuring we have the freedom to choose a union without fear of corporate intimidation."

It also notes that Martin is a strong supporter of veterans. Chambliss, in an especially ugly 2002 campaign for his Senate seat, ran ads questioning the patriotism and national security commitment of then-incumbent Max Cleland – a Vietnam veteran who lost both arms and one leg in the war.

The GOP rallying cry in their all-out effort for Chambliss, which includes campaigning by Senator John McCain, is that of preventing Senate Democrats from gaining a 60 seat "filibuster proof" majority.

The Nov. 4 election left Democrats with control of 57 Senate seats, including independents Joe Lieberman  (Conn.) and Bernie Sanders (VT.), who caucus with the party. Three seats, including Georgia's, are still in dispute. Vote counting continues in Alaska, where Democrat Mark Begich has pulled ahead of Republican incumbent and recently convicted felon Ted Stevens. A recount will soon be underway in Minnesota, where Democrat Al Franken trails Republican incumbent Norm Coleman by just 206 votes.