http://www.politico.com/static/PPM153_ackerman.htmlo Since Labor Day, we have doubled the margin of support for our Senate candidates among union members.
Senate Math
o For example, in Pennsylvania on Labor Day, Sestak had a slim 45% to 39% lead among union members. Since then, Sestak’s lead has ballooned to 29 points (55% to 26%), a major reason Sestak trails Toomey by a single point in the most recent polls.
o And Pennsylvania is not the exception. Over the last month we have seen similar margins reached for Senators Reid, Boxer, Murray, Feingold and for Giannoulias’s campaign.
o Union members in West Virginia know who is on their side, giving Governor Manchin a whopping 40 point margin.
HOW OUR GRASSROOTS PROGRAM GOT US TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY
o Union volunteers have given out 17.5 million leaflets, while talking to workers one-on-one, at over 4,000 worksites.
Direct Member to Member Contact
o We have made over 23.6 million phone calls.
o We have knocked on over 1.3 million doors.
o All of these “traditional” voter contact methods have been supplemented through our new media tools including national and state emails, national and state websites and blogs, Facebook and Twitter and text messages.
o We have over 2,000 release staff from affiliated unions across the country, working with over 3,000 local union coordinators, to support the tens of thousands of union volunteers each day who are undertaking this grassroots work.
o On just this past Saturday we knocked on 183,000 doors.
o We have been testing and refining our direct mail program for many cycles and found that mail is much more effective among union members than among general public voters. The reason is they see it as a communication from a trusted source, their union, which they want to read. Our testing shows union members spend much more time reading the pieces, and retain more information from them, than the general public does. ** NOTE ** - We are finding that
Direct Mail
Republicans are most vulnerable on outsourcing and social security and the threat they pose to workers’ rights.
o This week alone we are sending 4.1 million pieces of mail.
o Overall, we have sent 18.6 pieces of mail so far.
o Between now and the election there will be additional flights of GOTV mai