Member to Member, Workplace to Workplace: 10,000 CWA Activists Key to Historic Turnout by Union Memb

Union members played a huge role in the election of Barack Obama as president and more than 30 new worker-friendly lawmakers in the House and Senate.

Some 10,000 CWA volunteers — local union officers, rank and filers, stewards and retired members — devoted months of their time, phone banking, knocking on doors, leafleting co-workers on the job, helping people to register and get out to vote. Labor's effort overall helped produce the highest voter turnout since the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon election.

The Obama-Biden ticket received over 68 percent of the union member vote, which is believed to be the highest level of union support ever in a presidential race. It was critical in making the difference in a number of battleground states.

Among the campaign highlights:

• More than 100 coordinators mobilized 10,000 member volunteers for Election 2008 actions.
• More than 700,000 leaflets were distributed at worksites and other locations, produced by CWA to focus on members' key issues. Some 200,000 members in battleground states, and 100,000 retired members, received a series of mailings comparing Obama and McCain on the issues.
• More than 1,500 worksites were leafleted across five CWA districts during CWA's national week of worksite action in October.
• Mailings to nearly 300,000 retired and active members comparing Senators Obama and McCain on health care, Social Security and other issues.
• Two election issues of the CWA News covered key issues affecting working families.

Hundreds of members from New York and New Jersey bused into neighboring Pennsylvania each week to help Obama-Biden capture the key delegate rich battleground state.	Al Franken, candidate for the still undecided U.S. Senate race in Minnesota, with microphone, meets with CWA members at a rally attended by 600. At left is CWA Minnesota State Council President Tim Lovassen.
Members of IUE-CWA handbill co-workers at a worksite in Dayton, Ohio, one of 1,500 worksites leafleted during CWA's national week of worksite action in October.	This member, phone banking in Pennsylvania, is one of more than 10,000 members who volunteered for election 2008 activities.
Leafleting often began before dawn or after dark. Here, CWAers are joined by activists from other Alliance unions (Steel Workers, Auto Workers, and Professional and Technical Engineers ) at U.S. Steel in Clairton, Pa.	Members visiting the homes of other members, such as these CWAers knocking on doors in Boothwyn, Pa., was key to a high election turnout by union voters.
These CWAers were among hundreds who rallied in support of Obama-Biden during a labor rally in Charleston, W.Va.	At a campaign rally in St. Louis, CWA-supported candidate for the state senate Joan Barry, signs a pledge card in support of Employee Free Choice.
Entire CWA families participated in campaign events, like these CWAers at a picnic in Annandale, Va.	The election campaign found many members multitasking such as this activist in Milwaukee who is phone banking while stuffing envelopes for a mass mailing.
CWA members in Sacramento, above, are filmed for a campaign advertisement with Rep. Charles Brown, the labor-backed candidate for the 4th Congressional seat in the House of Representatives.  The election is still too close to call.	Undaunted by rain, CWAers leaflet worksite in Niles, Ohio.
In Atlanta, CWAers man one of the many phone banks in the state where members called co-workers to get out the vote.	Volunteers sign up before a labor walk at a CWA local union office in Denver.
CWAers in Jackson, Miss., talk about key worker issues with U.S. Senate candidate Ronnie Musgrove. Musgrove was defeated in the race.