For Obama to claim victory, the pundits say, he will have to keep pace with John McCain among blue-collar voters. If Obama accomplishes that feat in critical swing states like Minnesota, he\'ll have Working America, in part, to thank.
The community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, Working America has spent the past four years reaching out to workers without a union on the job and signing them up as members.
Now, as the election approaches, Working America is mobilizing its 2.5 million members in support of pro-worker candidates like Obama. That makes it a key part of the AFL-CIO\'s overall effort to make the 2008 election a referendum on the economy.
"Make no mistake, this election hinges on economic concerns," Working America Executive Director Karen Nussbaum said. "Working America is reaching 100,000 people each week by appealing to their economic interests rather than their fears. Every day, we\'re making sure our members in key battleground states know exactly what the stakes are."
Who are the members of Working America? According to the group, many of its members are the so-called "Reagan Democrats" in states like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota, which have been ravaged by the loss of traditional, family-supporting, manufacturing jobs.
More than three-fourths of Working America\'s active members are white, 84 percent earn less than $60,000, 63 percent do not have a college degree and 62 percent say they do not have a strong party affiliation.
These are the people, according to David Wehde, director of Working America in Minnesota, left behind by free-trade agreements that have created an exodus of employers fleeing to cheaper, less-regulated locales.
These are the people who need to hear a new economic message, Wehde said, "but if it weren\'t for Working America, since they don\'t belong to a union where there\'s education and workplace fliering, they wouldn\'t necessarily be getting that message. They might only be getting distraction messages, when what really matters to them is how they\'re going to make ends meet."
Like a traditional union get-out-the-vote campaign, Working America\'s effort relies heavily on person-to-person contact via home visits and phone calls. Canvassers and phone callers inform members on candidates\' positions on core economic issues like good jobs, health care and retirement security.
"These are the folks that we\'ve seen in past elections are more susceptible to messages that take them off of those core economic concerns," Wehde said. That is why the Working America program is so important. When these people are educated on the economic issues and where the candidates stand on those issues, they vote like union members."
In Minnesota, Working America will ramp up its outreach efforts during the final 14 days of the campaign, Wehde said.
In the last 10 days of October, the statewide operation – Working America has offices in the Twin Cities, St. Cloud and Rochester – will send out 54 canvassers each day to knock on more than 35,000 doors total, reaching out to 56,000 members and their households.
In the final four days of the campaign, Working America will dispatch 108 canvassers each day to knock on more than 30,000 doors total.
So far, Working America\'s economic message has been well received. "People are overwhelmingly telling us the economy is their No. 1 concern," Wehde said.
That\'s good news for Barack Obama.
Michael Moore edits The Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation. Visit the RLF\'s website, http://mnaflcio.org/stpaulunions
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For Obama to claim victory, the pundits say, he will have to keep pace with John McCain among blue-collar voters. If Obama accomplishes that feat in critical swing states like Minnesota, he\’ll have Working America, in part, to thank.
The community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, Working America has spent the past four years reaching out to workers without a union on the job and signing them up as members.
Now, as the election approaches, Working America is mobilizing its 2.5 million members in support of pro-worker candidates like Obama. That makes it a key part of the AFL-CIO\’s overall effort to make the 2008 election a referendum on the economy.
"Make no mistake, this election hinges on economic concerns," Working America Executive Director Karen Nussbaum said. "Working America is reaching 100,000 people each week by appealing to their economic interests rather than their fears. Every day, we\’re making sure our members in key battleground states know exactly what the stakes are."
Who are the members of Working America? According to the group, many of its members are the so-called "Reagan Democrats" in states like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota, which have been ravaged by the loss of traditional, family-supporting, manufacturing jobs.
More than three-fourths of Working America\’s active members are white, 84 percent earn less than $60,000, 63 percent do not have a college degree and 62 percent say they do not have a strong party affiliation.
These are the people, according to David Wehde, director of Working America in Minnesota, left behind by free-trade agreements that have created an exodus of employers fleeing to cheaper, less-regulated locales.
These are the people who need to hear a new economic message, Wehde said, "but if it weren\’t for Working America, since they don\’t belong to a union where there\’s education and workplace fliering, they wouldn\’t necessarily be getting that message. They might only be getting distraction messages, when what really matters to them is how they\’re going to make ends meet."
Like a traditional union get-out-the-vote campaign, Working America\’s effort relies heavily on person-to-person contact via home visits and phone calls. Canvassers and phone callers inform members on candidates\’ positions on core economic issues like good jobs, health care and retirement security.
"These are the folks that we\’ve seen in past elections are more susceptible to messages that take them off of those core economic concerns," Wehde said. That is why the Working America program is so important. When these people are educated on the economic issues and where the candidates stand on those issues, they vote like union members."
In Minnesota, Working America will ramp up its outreach efforts during the final 14 days of the campaign, Wehde said.
In the last 10 days of October, the statewide operation – Working America has offices in the Twin Cities, St. Cloud and Rochester – will send out 54 canvassers each day to knock on more than 35,000 doors total, reaching out to 56,000 members and their households.
In the final four days of the campaign, Working America will dispatch 108 canvassers each day to knock on more than 30,000 doors total.
So far, Working America\’s economic message has been well received. "People are overwhelmingly telling us the economy is their No. 1 concern," Wehde said.
That\’s good news for Barack Obama.
Michael Moore edits The Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation. Visit the RLF\’s website, http://mnaflcio.org/stpaulunions