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Pro-Worker Governors Take Helm in New Jersey, Virginia
Labor Celebrates Other 2001 Victories, Prepares for 2002
Worker-friendly governors take office in Virginia and New Jersey in January, thanks in large part to hard work by CWA and other labor volunteers who knocked on doors, handed out flyers and made countless phone calls to urge union members to get out the vote.
The success of Virginia’s Mark Warner and New Jersey’s Jim McGreevey in November’s elections shows what can be accomplished for workers and their families when labor takes an active role in a campaign, CWA President Morton Bahr said.
Bahr joined District 1 Vice President Larry Mancino and District 2 Vice President Pete Catucci in praising CWA locals for taking a leading role in both of these high-profile campaigns.
“We’re very pleased with the results and are proud of our many members who worked so hard,” Bahr said. “Unfortunately, we have no time to rest on our laurels. The 2002 campaigns for federal, state and local offices are already underway and the outcome of those elections will be critical to working families.”
Campaign veterans say starting early is the key to success. In New Jersey, Local 1037 mapped out its strategy for electing McGreevey and pro-worker legislative candidates in early 2000. Hundreds of members, all state employees, worked on voter registration, staffed phone banks and distributed leaflets for weeks prior to the election, and more than 600 volunteered to work on Election Day.
“We had a message, which is “Labor Votes,” and we’ve been on message all along,” Local 1037 Executive Vice President Hetty Rosenstein said. “We had T-shirts that said Labor Votes, we had bumper stickers. Everything was directed at getting more people active in elections.”
Many other CWA locals in New Jersey and Virginia also gave it their all, as did members campaigning for local races around the country. Those included CWA District 1 Staff Representative Larry DeAngelis, running for the state legislature in New York, and Local 1180 President Art Cheliotes, running for New York City Council. Neither man won — this time — but both had strong backing from the labor community.
In Virginia, two CWA local leaders spent two months working fulltime on campaigns for Warner and other pro-worker candidates, including newly elected Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine. Local 2202 Vice President Pat Bullock coordinated AFL-CIO efforts in southeastern Virginia and Local 2222 Vice President Nancy Brady helped run the campaign in northern Virginia.
They ran voter registration programs, recruited volunteers for phone banks and precinct walks, mailed thousands of leaflets and other materials to locals and union homes and kept all the activities running smoothly.
“It was a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun,” Bullock said. “I really enjoyed it, because I enjoy the political-legislative process, and I enjoyed it from the perspective of realizing we can impact the future of labor by who we elect.”
Brady said she loved the work because it felt like “old-time organizing,” especially when she went door-to-door to union households. “People are more responsive to you, one on one,” she said. “They think, ‘Gee, you’re coming out on a Saturday, you’re spending your own time to come talk with me.”
In New Jersey, CWA volunteers from 15 locals made up roughly 10 percent of the 15,000 people campaigning for worker-friendly candidates, District 1 Legislative/ Political Coordinator Don Rice said. Local 1037 boasted 730 volunteers, Local 1034 had more than 200, Local 1082 had nearly 100 — a third of its membership — Locals 1032, 1031 and 1084 each had more than 70 and many of the others turned out 30 to 40 people.
“On Election Day alone we can account for having about 1,400 people out there,” Rice said. Their efforts not only helped elect McGreevey but also returned the state assembly to Democrats and made gains that split the Senate 20-20. “We’re as happy as we can be,” he said.
Local 1034 President Carla Katz said her members — public workers — were eager to take part in the campaign after enduring two terms of Gov. Christine Todd Whitman’s agenda. “We’d had eight years of an administration that didn’t respect the work that our members do,” she said. “So they were particularly energized and ready for a change.”
While recruiting volunteers began in the spring, the campaign’s victories were the result of years — not just months — of work, Local 1037’s Rosenstein said.
“You can’t run political campaigns from September to November,” she said. “It’s November to November. It’s a 12-month task. For us, this has been 20 years in the making — 20 years of having members recognize themselves as the central and most important part of the local, and helping them realize that the work doesn’t get done without them.”
Worker-friendly governors take office in Virginia and New Jersey in January, thanks in large part to hard work by CWA and other labor volunteers who knocked on doors, handed out flyers and made countless phone calls to urge union members to get out the vote.
The success of Virginia’s Mark Warner and New Jersey’s Jim McGreevey in November’s elections shows what can be accomplished for workers and their families when labor takes an active role in a campaign, CWA President Morton Bahr said.
Bahr joined District 1 Vice President Larry Mancino and District 2 Vice President Pete Catucci in praising CWA locals for taking a leading role in both of these high-profile campaigns.
“We’re very pleased with the results and are proud of our many members who worked so hard,” Bahr said. “Unfortunately, we have no time to rest on our laurels. The 2002 campaigns for federal, state and local offices are already underway and the outcome of those elections will be critical to working families.”
Campaign veterans say starting early is the key to success. In New Jersey, Local 1037 mapped out its strategy for electing McGreevey and pro-worker legislative candidates in early 2000. Hundreds of members, all state employees, worked on voter registration, staffed phone banks and distributed leaflets for weeks prior to the election, and more than 600 volunteered to work on Election Day.
“We had a message, which is “Labor Votes,” and we’ve been on message all along,” Local 1037 Executive Vice President Hetty Rosenstein said. “We had T-shirts that said Labor Votes, we had bumper stickers. Everything was directed at getting more people active in elections.”
Many other CWA locals in New Jersey and Virginia also gave it their all, as did members campaigning for local races around the country. Those included CWA District 1 Staff Representative Larry DeAngelis, running for the state legislature in New York, and Local 1180 President Art Cheliotes, running for New York City Council. Neither man won — this time — but both had strong backing from the labor community.
In Virginia, two CWA local leaders spent two months working fulltime on campaigns for Warner and other pro-worker candidates, including newly elected Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine. Local 2202 Vice President Pat Bullock coordinated AFL-CIO efforts in southeastern Virginia and Local 2222 Vice President Nancy Brady helped run the campaign in northern Virginia.
They ran voter registration programs, recruited volunteers for phone banks and precinct walks, mailed thousands of leaflets and other materials to locals and union homes and kept all the activities running smoothly.
“It was a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun,” Bullock said. “I really enjoyed it, because I enjoy the political-legislative process, and I enjoyed it from the perspective of realizing we can impact the future of labor by who we elect.”
Brady said she loved the work because it felt like “old-time organizing,” especially when she went door-to-door to union households. “People are more responsive to you, one on one,” she said. “They think, ‘Gee, you’re coming out on a Saturday, you’re spending your own time to come talk with me.”
In New Jersey, CWA volunteers from 15 locals made up roughly 10 percent of the 15,000 people campaigning for worker-friendly candidates, District 1 Legislative/ Political Coordinator Don Rice said. Local 1037 boasted 730 volunteers, Local 1034 had more than 200, Local 1082 had nearly 100 — a third of its membership — Locals 1032, 1031 and 1084 each had more than 70 and many of the others turned out 30 to 40 people.
“On Election Day alone we can account for having about 1,400 people out there,” Rice said. Their efforts not only helped elect McGreevey but also returned the state assembly to Democrats and made gains that split the Senate 20-20. “We’re as happy as we can be,” he said.
Local 1034 President Carla Katz said her members — public workers — were eager to take part in the campaign after enduring two terms of Gov. Christine Todd Whitman’s agenda. “We’d had eight years of an administration that didn’t respect the work that our members do,” she said. “So they were particularly energized and ready for a change.”
While recruiting volunteers began in the spring, the campaign’s victories were the result of years — not just months — of work, Local 1037’s Rosenstein said.
“You can’t run political campaigns from September to November,” she said. “It’s November to November. It’s a 12-month task. For us, this has been 20 years in the making — 20 years of having members recognize themselves as the central and most important part of the local, and helping them realize that the work doesn’t get done without them.”