It's Official: Pro-Worker Candidate Wins Upset in NY

In a huge political upset, voters from New York's most conservative congressional district elected pro-worker businessman Scott Murphy to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.  Murphy was ahead by 399 votes when his Republican opponent conceded.

Murphy, who was some 25 points down in the polls when the special election campaign got underway in February, unseated long-time state assemblyman Jim Tedisco with a message of support for Employee Free Choice, health care reform, and President Obama's economic recovery plan.

The tremendous level of political activism by CWA members from Locals 1118, 1120, 1113, and 1104, made a huge difference in the race. CWAers organized more than 60 volunteer shifts, knocked on more than a thousand doors and made some 3,000 phone calls.

The Republican Party tried to make the election a referendum on the new Obama administration and Obama's support for working families.