At a massive doorknock organized out of the St. Paul Labor Centre and at numerous other events across Minnesota, unions dispatched volunteers to knock on doors and sway the last few uncommitted voters who may be left in this battleground state.
"We\'re going to take back this country," Al Franken, labor-endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate, told volunteers gathered in St. Paul. Franken hopes to take back the seat once held by his friend, Wellstone, by defeating incumbent Republican Norm Coleman.
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| Union volunteers lined up for information before going out to knock on doors Saturday in support of labor-endorsed candidates. |
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Two national union leaders fired up the group with speeches that underscored the importance of electing Democrat Barack Obama and labor-endorsed candidates at every level.
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| AFT President Randi Weingarten addressed a short rally before Saturday\'s doorknock. |
Contrasting the GOP record with the party\'s proposals on teacher compensation, Weingarten said, "Let them get merit pay. Let them get performance pay." She predicted Americans would judge the Republican officials\' performance by voting them out.
Jimmy Williams, president of the 140,000-member International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, said union members are fired up all over the United States.
"This (mobilizing) is happening in every union hall across the country," he told the St. Paul volunteers. "There are no excuses to have one union member not vote in this election."
Nationally, the figures on labor\'s involvement in the election are staggering. A recent AFL-CIO report indicates the nation\'s largest labor federation has more than 250,000 volunteers making 70 million phone calls, distributing 27 million worksite fliers and knocking on 10 million doors.
The Change to Win labor federation reports its volunteers made more than 20 million phone calls and are knocking on hundreds of thousands of doors nationwide.
At the St. Paul Labor Centre, photos of Wellstone and quotes from the two-term senator adorn giant banners in the hall where volunteers assemble materials and sign up for the doorknock. Wellstone; his wife, Sheila; daughter, Marcia; three campaign workers and two pilots were killed when their small plane crashed while trying to land in Eveleth, Minn., Oct. 25, 2002.
"What you saw here today is what Paul Wellstone was all about," said Bree Halverson, political organizer for the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation.
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At a massive doorknock organized out of the St. Paul Labor Centre and at numerous other events across Minnesota, unions dispatched volunteers to knock on doors and sway the last few uncommitted voters who may be left in this battleground state.
"We\’re going to take back this country," Al Franken, labor-endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate, told volunteers gathered in St. Paul. Franken hopes to take back the seat once held by his friend, Wellstone, by defeating incumbent Republican Norm Coleman.
|
| Union volunteers lined up for information before going out to knock on doors Saturday in support of labor-endorsed candidates. |
|
Two national union leaders fired up the group with speeches that underscored the importance of electing Democrat Barack Obama and labor-endorsed candidates at every level.
|
| AFT President Randi Weingarten addressed a short rally before Saturday\’s doorknock. |
"The Republican Party has nothing to offer," said Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.4-million-member American Federation of Teachers. "They\’ve run this world to the ground."
Contrasting the GOP record with the party\’s proposals on teacher compensation, Weingarten said, "Let them get merit pay. Let them get performance pay." She predicted Americans would judge the Republican officials\’ performance by voting them out.
Jimmy Williams, president of the 140,000-member International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, said union members are fired up all over the United States.
"This (mobilizing) is happening in every union hall across the country," he told the St. Paul volunteers. "There are no excuses to have one union member not vote in this election."
Nationally, the figures on labor\’s involvement in the election are staggering. A recent AFL-CIO report indicates the nation\’s largest labor federation has more than 250,000 volunteers making 70 million phone calls, distributing 27 million worksite fliers and knocking on 10 million doors.
The Change to Win labor federation reports its volunteers made more than 20 million phone calls and are knocking on hundreds of thousands of doors nationwide.
At the St. Paul Labor Centre, photos of Wellstone and quotes from the two-term senator adorn giant banners in the hall where volunteers assemble materials and sign up for the doorknock. Wellstone; his wife, Sheila; daughter, Marcia; three campaign workers and two pilots were killed when their small plane crashed while trying to land in Eveleth, Minn., Oct. 25, 2002.
"What you saw here today is what Paul Wellstone was all about," said Bree Halverson, political organizer for the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation.