by
James
Parks,
Jun
21,
2008
Polls
have
shown
that
union
members
value
the
information
they
receive
from
their
unions
about
candidates.
Getting
that
information
out
is
especially
important
in
the
2008
elections.
An
article
in
today’s
Chicago
Tribune
highlights
the
AFL-CIO’s
voter
education
program
to
tell
union
members
where
John
McCain
really
stands
on
issues
that
affect
them
such
as
trade
and
health
care.
In
the
article,
Tribune
reporter
Jill
Zuckman
writes:
The
union
federation
is
using
micro-targeting
to
determine
which
members
are
more
interested
in
learning
about
health
care
or
trade
or
the
economy
to
ensure
they
get
the
information
that
will
best
convince
them
that
McCain
does
not
represent
their
interests.
Labor
officials
are
dogging
McCain
at
his
campaign
events,
raising
questions
about
his
policies.
On
Friday,
following
McCain's
trade
speech
in
Ottawa,
Canada,
the
AFL-CIO
organized
a
conference
call
for
reporters
with
Sen.
Sherrod
Brown
(D-Ohio)
to
criticize
McCain's
pro-trade
stance.The
labor
federation
also
created
a
Web
site,
mccainrevealed.org,
to
show
where
McCain
stands
on
issues.Joe
Rugola,
president
of
the
Ohio
AFL-CIO
and
a
vice
president
of
AFSCME,
tells
Zuckman
the
message
about
McCain’s
views
is
resonating
with
union
members:
Generally
speaking,
the
senator
has
never
met
a
trade
deal
he
didn't
love
regardless
of
the
impact
on
American
workers
and
American
families.Check
out
for
yourself
where
McCain
stands
on
the
issues
important
to
working
people
here
and
read
the
entire
Tribune
article
here....
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Labor 2008 Strategy Memo |
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There are only 55 days until election day, and the future of America’s middle class may hang in the balance. Here’s a quick guide to our exclusive Working Families e-Activist Labor 2008 Strategy Memo:
To follow our progress, keep up with the news and learn more about these issues, check out our blog, and the Working Families Vote 2008 website.
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In just 55 days 100-plus million Americans will go to the polls and select our next president. The stakes for working families across America couldn’t be higher. The differences between the pro-worker policies of Barack Obama and the pro-corporate CEO policies of John McCain are overwhelming.
To protect and grow America’s middle class, the labor movement is coordinating our largest electoral program ever. We’re 100 percent committed to electing Barack Obama and Joe Biden and at least 60 senators who share our pro-worker legislative priorities.
With so much at stake, we’re going to need everyone to pitch in. Over the next 55 days, we’re going to ask you to participate in labor walks and phone banks, write letters to the editor, call talk radio shows and of course—vote. First, we wanted to lay out how important this election is, what our actual plan is and why your help is so critical to our success in the following strategy memo.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve presented this information to labor leaders across the country, and today we’re sharing it with our most important constituency—you. Thanks for everything you have done and will continue to do to make America a better country for all of America’s workers.
In Solidarity,
Tom Chamberlain
Oregon AFL-CIO President
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Labor 2008 Strategy Memo
Electoral Landscape
President Bush’s approval rating has reached a record low, and a record number of Americans think the country is on the wrong track. From the debilitating economic situation to the ongoing disaster in Iraq, it is clear that not only are the policies of the Bush administration a failure, they are deeply unpopular.
Even so, John McCain and Republicans in the U.S. Senate have chosen to run on the Bush policies, which has created an extremely favorable landscape for pro-labor candidates at both the presidential and senatorial level.
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Our Challenge
With such a favorable electoral landscape, it would seem victory would be easily in our grasp. John McCain, however, is well aware of America’s distaste for President Bush’s policies. McCain knows he can’t run on his own record or on Bush's, so he's hoping to make this election a referendum on Obama.
Put simply, McCain's plan is to scare voters away from Obama by painting him as “Other.” To combat that effort, we have aggressively moved to provide accurate biographical information about Barack Obama to our members and stop these smears on his character.
At the Senate level, our challenge is even greater. During this past congressional session, every legislative priority of working families has been stymied or stopped by the minority in the Senate. To break this stranglehold on our priorities, we need to elect 60 senators who share our pro-worker agenda. As an example, there are currently 51 senators—a majority—who support the Employee Free Choice Act. Thus, to provide workers a free choice to join a union and bargain for a better life, we need to not only win the presidency, but we need to win nine more Senate seats. This is an almost unprecedented number of new Senate seats to win in one year, but we’ve identified 11 races that we believe we can win, and we’re going to do everything we can to make that happen.
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Our Plan—Labor 2008
At the core of our Labor 2008 program is an intensive member-to-member communication program focused on our target universe of 3 million swing union voters. Through intensive polling, focus group work and message testing, we are able to identify and microtarget swing union voters in critical states with messages matched to their individual concerns.
We will communicate our core messages with these 3 million swing union voters in a multi-layered fashion, including direct mail, phone calls, worksite leafleting, e-mails and home visits. People like you are what make these communications streams so powerful and effective. Union members and union leaders have significant credibility on the issues, particularly those which affect America’s workers.
To give you a sense of the scale of our member-to-member communications stream, in the coming 55 days, the AFL-CIO will activate a network of over 250,000 volunteers in 24 targeted states to educate our members on the issues. As a part of this effort, we will:
- Knock on 10 million doors.
- Send 25 million pieces of mail.
- Make 70 million phone calls.
- Drop 20 million leaflets.
- Activate our 4 million-person e-mail network.
None of this could happen without your commitment to our cause. As we have learned so painfully during elections in the past, every vote really does matter. By participating in Labor 2008, you can be certain that you will be speaking directly with critical voters about the issues they care about.
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Our Messaging
With the steady erosion of the American middle class, our core message this election cycle involves drawing clear comparisons between the policies and positions of Barack Obama and John McCain on the economy. Obama is committed to building an economy that works for all, protecting workers’ rights and fighting for health care for all.
In 2007, Obama voted with working families 100 percent of the time in the Senate, whereas McCain voted with George Bush 95 percent of the time. The distinction couldn’t be clearer, and we can’t afford another four years of Bush-style governance.
In addition to educating union voters about Obama and McCain’s positions on economic issues, we are aggressively countering the smear campaign against Obama designed to paint him as somehow being “different” from the rest of us. We already have sent mail to hundreds of thousands of union members presenting the facts on Obama’s religious beliefs, his upbringing and more.
We will continue to fight these smears as necessary, but at its core, our messaging will aggressively make the case that Obama will provide a voice for all Americans.
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Down-Ballot Races—510 additional races
Winning the presidency is not enough for working families. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are committed to helping America’s workers, but we know that we need more pro-worker politicians in every level of the government. Most critical is ensuring that we have 60 pro-worker votes in the U.S. Senate. Beyond that, we are focused on several hundred state-level races, including governor races and highly targeted legislative races where control of the state legislature hangs in the balance.
In total, we’re investing resources in 510 races this cycle, in addition to the presidential race. Broken down, this means we’re getting directly involved in 11 Senate races, 61 House races, 4 governor races and 434 state legislature races. Each of these races has been carefully selected and vetted to ensure that the candidates are committed to pro-worker policies and where the investment of our scarce time and resources will be most effective.
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Protecting the Vote
Just as important as educating union members on the issues, we need to ensure that everyone who makes the effort to vote has their vote counted. We have all heard the stories of voter suppression over the years, and we have a multi-pronged effort under way to protect voters’ rights.
The key to protecting our vote is to start early and build relationships with boards of elections. From there, we work to ensure there are adequate voting machines in every location and that there are accessible early-vote locations in states that allow early voting.
Finally, we are helping boards of elections find and train more poll workers—and, yes, we are building a network of lawyers who will be available by phone to address any issues if they arise prior to, or even during, election day.
Back to top
Labor 2008—13 Million Strong—We Have the Power to Make the Difference
Thank you for taking the time to read our Labor 2008 strategy memo and more importantly for the time you have spent working to make a difference. None of this would be possible without your commitment. Together, we truly have a wonderful opportunity to make America a better place for all working families.
Karen Ackerman
AFL-CIO National Political Director
Paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Political Contributions Committee, www.aflcio.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. |
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Member Newsletter
The Moose is Loose
Earlier this year, Wyeth
Pharmaceuticals and Big
Pharma were reminded that
there is a human (and moose)
face to the health care
crisis when Working America
protesters,
including a costume moose
representing affordable
Canadian prescriptions,
demonstrated outside Wyeth’s
annual shareholders meeting
in New Jersey. The moose
pointed the way to Canada
where many Americans are
forced to go for affordable
prescriptions due to the
greed of Big Pharma.
Coffee, Cake, and Democracy
This past October, Working
America’s Kentucky Women’s
Coffee Hour gathered dozens
of women together over
coffee and dessert to fill
out postcards to women in
their own community and
encourage them to vote in
the upcoming Kentucky
elections. Between these
coffees and other efforts,
more than 5,000 postcards
were sent.
Who Can It Be Knockin’ at My
Door?
 Every
day, Working America’s
friendly, knowledgeable team
is out knocking on doors
across the country. We’re
talking to people about what
really matters to them, and
what’s going on in their
communities. Join in the
conversation with our new
“Word on the Street” blog at
www.workingamerica.org/blog.
Find out what people are
saying about issues that are
important to you—like good
jobs, affordable health care
and retirement security—and
post your own comments.
Kids Want the Darndest
Things:
Like Health Care
 It
is all too easy for
hard-working people and
their children to slip
through the cracks of our
broken health care system.
Working America has been
working hard for children’s
health by encouraging
members to urge their
members of Congress to renew
SCHIP, the State Children’s
Health Insurance Program.
Working America members have
generated 10,300 handwritten
letters to their
representatives in favor of
SCHIP. The future funding
and renewal of the program
was still pending at the
time of this printing. For
more information about SCHIP
and Working America’s
efforts to win renewal of
this important program,
visit
www.unionvoice.org/campaign/saveschip.
While SCHIP’s future is
being decided in Congress,
the AFL-CIO has launched its
new health care campaign.
Check out this website for
more information and ways to
take action:
www.aflcio.org/issues/healthcare.
Working America: Helping to
Fend off Cutbacks in Family
and Medical Leave Act
For years, the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce and other
business groups have urged
the Department of Labor to
weaken the rules that allow
workers to take unpaid leave
for
 serious
medical illnesses or for the
birth or adoption of new
children. So when the
department asked the public
for comments on the Family
and Medical Leave Act,
Working America sprang into
action to make sure the law
was not weakened. More than
1,600 Working America
members participated in an
online survey about their
experiences under the Family
and Medical Leave Act, and
the results were included in
comments submitted to the
Department of Labor by the
AFL-CIO. And you made a
difference: In June, the
department issued a report
acknowledging the importance
of the law to working
families—and it did not
propose any changes to its
rules.
What is Working America?
Working America is a
community-based organization
for working people that
fights for good jobs and a
just economy. With 2 million
members, we hold elected
leaders accountable on
issues that matter most to
working people. As the
community affiliate of the
AFL-CIO, which represents 10
million working men and
women, Working America is
dedicated to making a
difference for working
families across the country
and in your community. For
more information, visit
www.workingamerica.org.
Check Out These Benefits
Membership in Working
America brings access to
valuable benefits. Through
our partnership with the
AFL-CIO Union Plus program,
you’re eligible for:
Legal Services—Free
consultations of up to 30
minutes with a lawyer, free
simple document review and a
30 percent discount on other
legal services through more
than 2,000 law offices
nationwide.
Discounted Pharmacy—Discounts
on prescriptions, as well as
discounts on vision care,
hearing care and diabetic
supplies for only $14.95 per
year.
Credit Card—Opportunity
to apply for a Working
America MasterCard® with
competitive rates, no annual
fee and skip-payment
privileges. Find out more at
www.workingamerica.org
or by calling
1-866-874-6760.
Know Your Rights
WORKING AMERICA
 wants
you to understand your
workplace rights. The “Ask a
Lawyer” section of our
website gives you 24/7
access to reliable
information from real
experts. You’ll find answers
to questions on topics like
overtime, sick leave,
discrimination, workers’
comp, privacy, harassment,
health and safety,
termination and
whistle-blowing. See all the
questions, or even submit
your own, at
www.workingamerica.org/askalawyer.
This newsletter is supported
by the Working America
Education Fund—a 501(c)(3)
organization to educate the
public about issues of
importance to working
families, including good
jobs, health care,
retirement security,
education and the impact of
the global economy.
To millions of
Americans, debt may be
the most offensive four
letter word. Whether it
is credit card charges,
student loans or the
housing bubble bursting,
everyone is feeling the
squeeze! Never before in
U.S. history has the
level of personal debt
been higher. As personal
debt mounts, many
Americans are struggling
to find a way out. Visit
www.workingamerica.org
to take actions to help
stop the debt crisis
today.
Help Us Put First
Things First to
Build a Better
Future
Every six
months,Working
America members
choose the
priorities to guide
our work.
Vote now to
select our issues
for the first half
of 2008. The list of
needed improvements
is long: health
care, good jobs,
retirement security
and education affect
us all. Let us know
what tops your list
of concerns and
where we should
focus our efforts.
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Contributions
urgently needed
for many AFT
members across
Southern
California.
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AFT
Oregon Recent News: |
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In a victory for
America's children, the U.S. Senate
resoundingly joined the House on
Aug. 2 in voting to expand the State
Children's Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP).
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A National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB) decision Oct.
3 stretches the definition of
"supervisor," opening the door for
employers to strip nurses and other
workers of their right to union
protections.
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There are powerful
interests at work in America today
that aim to destroy every shred of
economic, political and social
decency won by working Americans
over many decades, AFT president
Edward J. McElroy warned in his
keynote address to convention
delegates on July 20. These attacks
can only be stopped, he said, if
each and every union member is
willing to stand up and be counted.
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Policymakers should
take care that testing and
standards-based reform don't turn
into a "Johnny-One-Note" approach to
school improvement, a New York-based
polling group Public Agenda reported
in the latest installment of its
"Reality Check" series, a regular
survey on public attitudes toward
education.
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Intense pressure from
members of Congress—aided by
behind-the-scenes work of the
AFT—has prompted the Bush
administration to back off a new
policy that would penalize
contractors who offer traditional
defined-benefit pensions and
healthcare plans.
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The claim that a
union contract and seniority rights
prevent high-poverty schools from
getting and keeping qualified
teachers "is, literally, an urban
legend," says AFT researcher Howard
Nelson
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  Experienced
mixer adds ‘salt’ to nonunion bakery
How a union organizer got a job at a nonunion bakery, was
discovered, fired, and reinstated in an
out-of-court settlement.
[Left, Bakers union organizer Georgene
Barragan holds a copy of a legal settlement
that wins her the right to return to
Breadsong Bakery in Lake Oswego.]
Film crew documents postal security breaches
by Beaverton contract carrier
Union leaders warned management this
would happen. If the U.S. Postal Service
contracted out mail delivery in places like
Beaverton, Oregon, there would be
accountability problems and breaches of mail
security, said the National Association of
Letter Carriers. And that’s a hidden camera
crew found in June when they followed a
Beaverton postal service contractor for
several days.
Big choices ahead devising health care plan
to cover all Oregonians
A complicated proposal to require health insurance for all
Oregonians is nearing the next phase. Six
citizen committees that have worked on
different parts of the plan since last
winter are finalizing their recommendations
to the governor-appointed Oregon Health Fund
Board.
Bargaining
continues for first contract at Vancouver
Hilton
Portland-based UNITE HERE Local 9 may be
near to obtaining a first union contract for
about 150 workers at the Hilton Vancouver
Washington hotel.
Carpenters strike Robinson Construction
The Carpenters Union launched an unfair labor practice strike
in Oregon June 2 against general contractor
Robinson Construction. The contractor sent
letters to its unionized workforce saying
they had until May 23 to resign from the
union.
Oregon Newsfeed
Below, you'll
find a combined
newsfeed from dozens
of Oregon news
sources. Enjoy!
Sens. Chris Dodd
, D-Conn., and Kent
Conrad , D-N.D.,
have been taking
heat for getting
special mortgage
deals from
Countrywide
Financial, and
Politico decided to
ask every senator,
who's your mortgage
lender and did you
get any special
deals? It's hard to
imagine any senator
saying, "Well, yes,
I did get special
terms after whipping
out my Senate ID."
At any rate, no
response yet from
...
blog.oregonlive.com
- 8:57 a.m.
statesmanjournal.com
- 3:17 a.m.
Feel free to take
a deep breath, all
of you asthmatics,
small children,
joggers, fast
walkers, and, well,
anyone else who
enjoys clean air.
For now, at least.
You also might want
to thank the Olympic
hopefuls who will be
competing in the
Olympic Trials from
June 27 to July 6 at
University of
Oregon, [...]...
wweek.com - Fri 4:57
p.m.
Ryan Deckert, the
former legislator
who now heads the
Oregon Business
Association, talks
in his group's
latest newsletter
about the Oregon
Legislature's new
youth movement.
There will likely be
at least 10 members
under 40 next
session, and as many
as six more,
depending on how the
elections go. "The
next legislature
will undoubtedly be
the youngest
assembly in Oregon
history," writes
Decker...
blog.oregonlive.com
- Fri 3:47 p.m.
So there’s a
mini-tempest over
what Lars Larson
said in this video
during a blah-blah
last night over
Michelle Obama on
MSNBC: Sounds to me
like “Baloney” not
“Blow Me.” And for
the record, Larson
said he said
“Baloney.” ...
wweek.com - Fri 3:27
p.m.
So far, much of
the criticism of the
proposed $4.2
billion Columbia
River Crossing
Project has come
from the Oregon side
of the river: some
dissident Metro
councillors and a
coalition of enviros
called
SmarterBridge. But
as CRC sponsors
collect public
comment in response
to an Environmental
Impact Statement
published May 2, one
of the [...]...
wweek.com - Fri 1:37
p.m.
FLORENCE, Ore. --
Fireworks sales
begin Monday in
Oregon at stands in
parking lots and
along roads....
hosted.ap.org - Fri
1:27 p.m.
Measure 49's
clamp upon rural
development in
Oregon is becoming
hard and clear.
Instead of having
potentially more
than 100,000 new
houses built in the
countryside,
Oregonians will see
13,000, according to
state projections.
...
oregonlive.com - Fri
1:27 p.m.
Starting with the
class of 2012, high
school graduates in
Oregon will have to
either pass a
national test, state
subject exams or
complete a local
alternative in order
to get their
diploma....
hosted.ap.org - Fri
1:27 p.m.
Once again, the
Democrats are
accusing Sen. Gordon
Smith, R-Ore., of
being wealthy. The
Democratic
Senatorial Campaign
Committee has put
out a new web video
making fun of
Smith's oft-reported
purchase of four
rare golf clubs in
1994 that set him
back $1.25 million.
This kind of stuff
has been flung at
Smith, who owns a
frozen-food
business, before.
When he first ran
for the state Senate
...
blog.oregonlive.com
- Fri 9:57 a.m.
Maybe it's
gasoline above $4 a
gallon or
considerations about
the environment.
Maybe it's concerns
about personal
health and a desire
for exercise.
Whatever the reason,
a bike-commuting
boom is being felt
across the Portland
area: bike sales are
up, lines at the
office shower are
longer....
oregonlive.com - Fri
8:47 a.m.
Hikes in gasoline
prices are hitting
everybody,
everywhere, in the
pocketbook, forcing
people – especially
those on fixed
incomes – into
decisions they would
rather not make. As
businesses and
households struggle
to make ends meet
amid climbing fuel
and product costs,
few are feeling the
drain so much as the
Oregon Food Bank....
portlandtribune.com
- Fri 8:47 a.m.
The Columbian has
consistently
supported the
extension of
Portland’s MAX
light-rail system
into Clark County,
and it was
encouraging to see
that 62 percent of
Clark County
residents recently
polled feel the same
way. But again, not
surprising. There's
enough evidence for
residents on both
sides of the river
to start focusing on
solutions....
columbian.com - Fri
8:47 a.m.
Sen. Ron Wyden,
D-Ore., Thursday
advanced an outline
of legislation aimed
at permanently
protecting
old-growth trees
while also promoting
sustainable logging.
That combination has
long been an elusive
Holy Grail of
public-land forestry
in the Northwest....
oregonlive.com - Fri
8:47 a.m.
Instead of seeing
more than 100,000
new houses built in
the countryside,
Oregonians will see
about 13,000,
according to state
projections. Most
landowners are
pursuing modest
developments of one
to three homes under
Measure 49 instead
of subdivisions
allowed under the
law it replaced,
Measure 37....
blog.oregonlive.com
- Fri 8:47 a.m.
Members of
Oregon’s
congressional
delegation
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