Posted by Seth Michaels to AFL-CIO NOW
Yes, Virginia (and Ohio and Colorado…), it’s true: The battle for the White House isn’t the only election this fall. Every U.S. House seat and 33 Senate seats are up for election, and ensuring a pro-working family Congress will require a strong national effort.
Many candidates around the country understand the importance of passing legislation that levels the playing field for workers seeking to form unions. Kay Barnes (D-Mo.) and Rep. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) are both candidates endorsed by the AFL-CIO who believe strongly in the freedom to form unions and pledge to support pro-worker legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act. These candidates (see videos) understand that the Employee Free Choice Act will help restore economic fairness by allowing workers to form unions and bargain.
They know the AFL-CIO will carry out an unprecedented mobilization to support pro-working family candidates. Union member-to-member contact is crucial to winning elections and creating a strong pro-worker majority. The Employee Free Choice Act, health care reform and economic relief for millions of working families are only possible when working men and women get involved.
In Michigan, state Sen. Mark Schauer is running for the House in the state’s 7th District, while former state Sen. Gary Peters is running for the 9th District House seat. In Missouri, Barnes, the mayor of Kansas City, is running for House in the 6th District. Endorsed candidates in New Mexico include Udall, running for Senate, and Ben Ray Lujan, running to succeed Udall in the 3rd District House seat. And in Virginia, former Gov. Mark Warner is running for the open Senate seat.
Here’s what Peters had to say about the Employee Free Choice Act:
This election coming up in November is really about the middle class. Our incomes are stagnant while prices continue to go up…one of the main reasons you see the decline of the middle class in this country is that the labor movement itself has been under attack. It’s very difficult for labor unions to get new members, because laws are in place that make it difficult for workers to get together and organize. We need to change that. That why I support the Employee Free Choice Act.
Warner credits the union movement with electing him governor of Virginia in 2001 and says the energy and enthusiasm of union volunteers and voters will create great opportunities to pass legislation that will help working families.
We are going to do great things come January 2009, in terms of getting this country back on the right path and making sure that working families have the right to organize in a way that’s free and fair.
All of these states are important battlegrounds in the fight for a pro-working family Congress and president this fall. Through union member-to-member contact, the AFL-CIO and our union affiliates will mobilize millions of workers, retirees and their families to get to the polls and elect candidates who will help turn around America.
To learn more about the 2008 elections, visit Working Families Vote 2008.