Labor's Election Ground War--And How The Media Is Missing It

[Earth Bound Misfit]

http://workinglife.org/blogs/view_post.php?content_id=9186

by Jonathan Tasini
Monday 25 of August, 2008
Posted to Front Page Posts

So, friends, here in Denver, I've finally gotten strapped to my chair after a very busy morning (okay, it was a groggy one given the...eh...number of margaritas that I was forced to consume last night--only in the service of talking to people to bring you the best info).

Yesterday, I attended two briefings held by labor leaders that gave very concrete outlines to labor's battle plan for the 2008 elections: where resources will be deployed and how much money will be spent. Both briefings were sparsely attended by the traditional media--and, while the traditional media is, again, obsessed by polling snapshots, it is missing an important component to the election battle ahead that polls don't catch--but which will count for millions of mobilized voters. I think this will be the difference in the election. Here's why.

The first briefing was conducted by the Service Employees International Union in a meeting space in the Opera House in Denver's Performing Arts Center. Andy Stern, president of SEIU; Anna Burger, the secretary-treasurer of SEIU and the chair of the Change To Win federation; and Pauline Beck, an SEIU member, spoke.

Beck was the SEIU homecare worker from California with whom Barack Obama spent a day following around as Beck did her daily job. It was part of a program, called "Walk A Day In My Shoes", SEIU put in place to encourage--maybe even force--candidates who were seeking the union's endorsement to take part in. Beck talked about Obama's day with her (he apparently held up his end). You can see that video here.&t=OEgsToPDskJaoROswH01jH-eySRKesnf&use_get_video_info=1&load_modules=1

SEIU is committing $85 million do the 2008 cycle. A slice of that money has already been spent, a ton will be spent in the next two months and, fair warning to the Democratic Party, a piece will be spent AFTER the election to hold elected officials accountable; $10 million will be reserved for "hard money" for candidates who potentially would be funded for primary challengers to elected officials who stray from their commitments to the union's agenda.

John Youngdahl, the union's political director, said that 1,463 SEIU members will take time off from their jobs in 25 states to work full-time for the campaign; two-thirds of the efforts will be messages targeted to the general public.

Right after the SEIU briefing, AFL-CIO Political Director Karen Ackerman gave a very detailed presentation on the federation's plans at the nearby Convention Center. Ackerman believes the election will very close and the AFL-CIO is launching the "broadest, biggest efforts in its history": 250,000 volunteers in 24 priority states will be deployed. Just this week, the AFL-CIO has sent a mailing to 1 million union households in just five states to make the case for Obama.

Ackerman focused a lot on Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Her view is that without Ohio, Obama's chances of winning are 24 percent (no one asked how that specific number was arrived at). Without Michigan and Ohio, Obama's chances are 0.07 percent...

--snip--

The AFL-CIO's expenditure this cycle will be $53.4 million; if you add to that the money individual unions will spend, the total will be somewhere between $200-$250 million (just to clarify, individual unions are part of the umbrella of the AFL-CIO Federation; they each pay a certain amount of money per member into the federation's overall political program, and, then, spend their own dollars on top of that).

--snip--

So, the bottom line: just between the AFL-CIO, its individual unions and SEIU, you are looking at an expenditure of up to $300 million. And an army of people deployed in precincts around the country.

Last thought: so, we've heard this before. Why is this different? I do sense an even more heightened sense of urgency within labor. This is an overused cliche but the labor movement really believes this election is a matter of life and death. If it can't get a president that will not have a huge boot stomping on the neck of unions every single day, it may pass the point of no return in the next four years or eight years if a Republican president is re-elected in 2012.

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[billyoc]

1. A good Union man, Jonathan Tasini. I campaigned for him in the NY Senate primary in '06.

We got 18% of the Primary vote.

See you in '12...

[eric2806]

2. hi

Hello Jonathan Tasini
Thanks for sharing this with us,.

Eric Johnson.

Vermont Drug Addiction