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Departments & Divisions Legislative Dept.ArticlesUnion Political Action Makes Big Difference
Departments & Divisions Legislative Dept.ArticlesUnion Political Action Makes Big Difference
Union Political Action
Makes Big Difference at the Polls
(This article first appeared in the January/February 2007 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)
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APWU members from North Carolina worked actively on the Congressional campaign of Heath Shuler (D). The former NFL quarterback and political novice defeated eight-term incumbent Charles Taylor (R), who was a no-show for this event before environmental groups in Asheville. |
Thousands of union members from all sectors of the labor movement took to the streets in the weeks leading up to Election Day to join a massive get-out-the-vote effort. APWU members were right in the thick of it.
Several states were viewed to be especially crucial, with union members focused on races in Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Missouri — where it was clear that the balance of power nationwide would be decided. As the campaign season progressed, several other states became battlegrounds for attention, and the APWU helped to ramp up efforts in Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
The closer it came to Election Day, the more clear it became that this was going to be a historic election. It was also clear that organized labor was going to be key to the results. We’re pleased to confirm that APWU members across the country manned phone banks, walked door to door, attended rallies, and, above all, got working family voters to the polls. Words cannot adequately express the impact they had on the successes we saw on Nov. 7, 2006.
The post-election feedback from these workers indicates that the relationships forged with other members of the labor movement will provide the basis for a strong force to be reckoned with for many years to come.
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| In suburban Philadelphia, long-time Republican Gail R.Ganiszewski, Clerk Craft director of APWU’s Tri-County Area Local, “decided to vote for labor-endorsed candidates this year because of their stances to protect good-paying middle-class jobs. I spent nearly all of September and October phone-banking with other union volunteers in support of working-family-friendly candidates,” she said. Among the “ Keystone State” successes were the U.S. Senate race in which Democrat Bob Casey defeated incumbent Republican Rick Santorum, and the governor’s race, in which Ed Rendell (D) defeated Lynn Swann (R). | Greater CT Area Local steward Kathy Welch (left) and state APWU Legislative Director Joan Levy were on assignment for the AFL-CIO’s Labor 2006 program for the final three weeks leading up to Election Day, spending the majority of their time on ‘labor-to-labor’ walks, knocking on union-household doors to convince people how important it is to get out and vote. In two major areas of Congressional-District concentration, a 12-term incumbent and a three-term incumbent were defeated by labor-supported Democrats. |
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