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Labor's Efforts No Match for Big Money
Months of hard work by CWA and fellow union activists led union members to vote Democratic by more than a 2-1 margin Nov. 5, resulting in wins for some working family candidates on a day otherwise dominated by anti-worker forces.
As the newsletter went to press, Republicans had won 51 seats in the Senate and 228 in the House, to the Democrat's 47 in the Senate and 202 in the House. The news was better in state races, with Democrats now holding at least 24 and possibly 25 governor's seats, with votes still being counted in Alabama. Two House elections were still being tallied - in New York and Colorado - and two House runoffs and one Senate runoff are still to be held.
In a Hart Research election night poll of union members who voted, 93 percent said they were contacted at least once by their union. Of those, 81 percent cited union newspapers or magazines as sources of election information, 79 percent cited flyers sent to their home, 36 percent said they received one or more telephone calls, 33 percent saw a union TV ad and 30 percent got a flyer at work. The figures were even higher by a few points in states with key senate races.
The AFL-CIO said it was the largest effort ever by labor in a midterm election. Unions handed out more than 17 million leaflets at worksites, made 5 million phone calls to members, sent 15 million pieces of mail to union homes and put 4,000 political coordinators in the field.
"I'm proud of the effort CWA activists made in campaigns across the country, and I call on you to continue to advance our agenda for working people" said CWA President Morton Bahr. "It will be a harder fight now, but we'll just fight harder."
But ultimately labor and its allies couldn't match the deep pockets of special business interests, which outspent all unions and working family advocates combined 12 to 1. "President Bush's war rhetoric - and his war chest of $200 million - distracted voters and delivered the Senate, along with the House to the Republicans," Bahr said.
The Hart poll showed that voters felt neither party had a solid plan for strengthening the economy, a response AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said was a "particularly strong indictment of the Democrats."
Sweeney said union leaders will be meeting over the next several weeks to talk about labor's agenda over the next two years and what needs to be done to prepare for the 2004 election. A full report on CWA's efforts in the 2002 election will be in the upcoming issue of the CWA News.
As the newsletter went to press, Republicans had won 51 seats in the Senate and 228 in the House, to the Democrat's 47 in the Senate and 202 in the House. The news was better in state races, with Democrats now holding at least 24 and possibly 25 governor's seats, with votes still being counted in Alabama. Two House elections were still being tallied - in New York and Colorado - and two House runoffs and one Senate runoff are still to be held.
In a Hart Research election night poll of union members who voted, 93 percent said they were contacted at least once by their union. Of those, 81 percent cited union newspapers or magazines as sources of election information, 79 percent cited flyers sent to their home, 36 percent said they received one or more telephone calls, 33 percent saw a union TV ad and 30 percent got a flyer at work. The figures were even higher by a few points in states with key senate races.
The AFL-CIO said it was the largest effort ever by labor in a midterm election. Unions handed out more than 17 million leaflets at worksites, made 5 million phone calls to members, sent 15 million pieces of mail to union homes and put 4,000 political coordinators in the field.
"I'm proud of the effort CWA activists made in campaigns across the country, and I call on you to continue to advance our agenda for working people" said CWA President Morton Bahr. "It will be a harder fight now, but we'll just fight harder."
But ultimately labor and its allies couldn't match the deep pockets of special business interests, which outspent all unions and working family advocates combined 12 to 1. "President Bush's war rhetoric - and his war chest of $200 million - distracted voters and delivered the Senate, along with the House to the Republicans," Bahr said.
The Hart poll showed that voters felt neither party had a solid plan for strengthening the economy, a response AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said was a "particularly strong indictment of the Democrats."
Sweeney said union leaders will be meeting over the next several weeks to talk about labor's agenda over the next two years and what needs to be done to prepare for the 2004 election. A full report on CWA's efforts in the 2002 election will be in the upcoming issue of the CWA News.