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Dear Ohio Labor Leaders,
Recently, we’ve seen a lot of financial disasters in the news – like the Dow dropping 477 points yesterday. Every week or so our government seems to be working on a new, enormously expensive corporate bailout, and the stream of bad economic news shows no signs of slowing down. This reminds us of why we’re working so hard – John McCain helped fight for the deregulation that’s landed us in the mess we’re in today. He promises that as President, he would keep it up, laying the foundations for crisis after crisis in the coming years. That’s why we have to fight against his lies and elect Barack Obama President, because we can trust him to steward our country and our economy responsibly.
With less than fifty days to go before Election Day, we are really ramping up our Labor 2008 efforts across the state! Today, we’re excited to roll out the schedule of the GOTV leadership meetings that will help union leaders prepare to make sure union members have a strong presence at the polls.
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| Richard Trumka at the Ohio AFL-CIO Convention |
We’re also proud to highlight Babe Erdos, a UMWA leader who is mobilizing union members in southeast Ohio and around the state. Our local union spotlight is CWA 4320 (President Jack Huber), the members of which have been exceptionally active in this election. We’re also featuring Bill Crooks, President of the Tri-County CLC, a USW member and labor leader in the Akron area.
Check out our Ohio Labor 2008 blog at http://labor2008.typepad.com/oh -- you can find video of AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Rich Trumka speaking at the Ohio AFL-CIO Convention last week, along with videos of the profiled leaders and activists in today’s update.
In solidarity,
Ben Waxman, AFL-CIO Labor 2008 Ohio Director
Jeanette Mauk, Ohio AFL-CIO Field Director
1. Program Report Card
2. Upcoming: GOTV Leadership Meetings
3. Labor Leader of the Week: Babe Erdos, UMWA
4. Local Union Spotlight: CWA 4320, Pres. Jack Huber
5. CLC Leader Profile: Bill Crooks, USW, Tri-County CLC
6. News from Around the Buckeye State: ALF Updates
7. Working America Update, from Dan Heck
8. Union Jobs
9. News Clips
1. Program Report Card
100,000 Conversations
CWA 4320 members made calls from the Columbus Labor 2008 headquarters last week, and zone leader Glen Skeen is organizing regular phone banks most nights every week.
This week, AFGE 1148 made calls on Tuesday, organized by AFGE 1148 political coordinator George Parks. Wednesday, GMP 244 members will be using the dialer in Newark, organized by political coordinator Jeremy Saling. On Thursday, GMP 244 members in Newark hold their second dialer night, and USW and NALC share a phone bank night in Columbus. The dialer will be in Lordstown at UAW 1714 (organized by Dave Green).
Contact Sarah Smith (614-441-6162) or Jason Perlman (614-302-4542) to learn about scheduling the phone bank in your area!
Union members also made thousands of calls from phone banks organized without the predictive dialer. Phone banks were held daily in each zone.
Worksite Flyers
The following unions ordered 248,338 customized worksite flyers in the last week:
AFT, AFSCME, APWU, ATU, BAC, BCTD, CWA, IATSE, IBB, IBEW, IRON, IUE-CWA, IUPAT, LIUNA, NALC, OAPSE, OPEIU, SMWIA, TWU, UA, UAW, UMWA, USW, UWUA
This brings us to 1,806,642 worksite flyers ordered this year!
Walks
Union members walked around the state daily. You can see a schedule of central zone locations for daily walks here: http://labor2008.typepad.com/oh/Phone-Walk-Schedule-OH-Sept-18.doc
2. Upcoming: GOTV Leadership Meetings
In the coming weeks, union leaders and activists will gather at pre-GOTV meetings around the state to plan the last stage of the campaign and get energized for the work that lies ahead. Labor leaders and representatives of Sen. Obama’s campaign will address the meetings.
“The GOTV efforts in this election are going to be critical. This election is going to be close enough that organized labor can absolutely make the difference. What we do to get out the union vote is going to be as vital as it has ever been, and these pre-GOTV meetings just underline the importance of those efforts. It’s a fantastic idea and I support it wholeheartedly,” said Dave Caldwell, Assistant Director of USW District 1.
Click on this link to see the list of meeting times and locations, beginning September 23: http://labor2008.typepad.com/oh/PRE_GOTV_MEETINGS_FLYER.doc
3. Labor Leader of the Week: Babe Erdos, UMWA
Babe Erdos is a third generation mine worker and an International Representative for the United Mine Workers Association (UMWA). He says mineworkers are prioritizing energy issues, health care, and the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act in this election.
UMWA staff visit bathhouses, where mineworkers prepare to go into the mines, to talk one-on-one with members and let them know about opportunities to get involved, like participating in labor walks, phone banks, and worksite flyer handouts. They also collect Employee Free Choice Act petition cards. “Recently we’ve been doing walks. We’re in the process of setting up phone banks with all of our members,” he says.
“We’re always looking at improving safety for members. What we’ve seen under the Bush administration is a decline of the enforcement [of mine safety regulations].” The Mine Safety and Health Administration, which oversees mine safety in the same way that OSHA oversees safety in other industries, is governed by presidential appointees, so it’s important to mineworkers to elect a president who believes they deserve a voice in that body. “Sen. Obama has said publicly that there should be a representative of the workers at the top of MSHA,” says Erdos.
Erdos served in the United States Army from 1966-1969. He began his career as a union member with the International Chemical Workers Union and was President of his local in the Cleveland area. In 1975 he returned to southeast Ohio in 1975 and began working in the coal mines there, eventually coming on the international staff as an organizer and political program coordinator, and worked his way up as a union leader.
Check out the video of this interview at http://labor2008.typepad.com/oh/2008/09/babe-erdos-umwa.html
4. Local Union Spotlight: CWA 4320, Pres. Jack Huber
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| CWA 4320 members LaWanda Martin, Diana Bridges, Ebony Martin, Shon Newbern, Nakia Thrweatt, and Kirk Pennington. Click here for video of the phone bank and the interview with Pres. Huber! |
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| CWA 4320 President Jack Huber. Click here to see the video! |
About 2,300 public and private sector workers around Ohio are members of CWA Local 4320, and about 250 workers at a call center in Boardman, Ohio, recently organized with the local. Members have been very active in Labor 2008, and one member, Glen Skeen, is working full time as a zone leader for the program. They’ve also surpassed their target of percent of members that have signed the Employee Free Choice Act petitions, and have ordered more cards.
Members of CWA Local 4320 in Columbus regularly come out to phone banks held most weekdays at the headquarters of the Ohio Labor 2008 program in the Ohio AFL-CIO building. Last Monday, September 8, seven members attended a phone bank for several hours in the evening. They talked to fellow CWA members about supporting Barack Obama in the Presidential race, and pro-worker candidates like Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15) in Congressional races.
Ebony Martin, a steward in the local, said, “Sometimes I just really want to go home, but there’s something inside of me saying, ‘You’ve got to fight for change’ – so that’s why I come here.” Ebony often participates in CWA phone banks and labor walks.
CWA 4320 President Jack Huber is working hard to make sure that CWA members in Ohio have lots of opportunities to get involved. “I’m proud of the work CWA is doing. We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,” he says.
Check out a video of Monday’s phone bank, and clips of an interview with Pres. Huber, at http://labor2008.typepad.com/oh/2008/09/cwa-4320-member.html.
5. CLC Leader Profile: Bill Crooks, President, Tri-County CLC
The Tri-County CLC is based in Akron, Ohio. Bill Crooks, Vice President of his USW local (Local 7), is President of the CLC. He began working in the rubber industry like his father.
Crooks says improving health care is the number one issue for many union members in this election. “It’s a challenge when you go to the [negotiating] table and the first thing you hear is, ‘Health care costs are up, you need to contribute more,’” he says. “That’s not the way it should be. Health care is something everybody in this country should have.”
Union members have lots of opportunities to get involved in the political process through the labor council. It hosts phone banks, labor walks every Saturday, and helps local unions get out worksite flyers.
6. News from Around the Buckeye State: ALF Updates
Northeast ALF
Pres. Deborha Bindas
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| OAPSE members on strike. |
Union members demonstrated at the McCain-Palin event in Youngstown Tuesday. Members of IUE-CWA 717, 734, 722, 727, and 4300 are planning a walk this Saturday out of the Ditmer USW hall at 1265 N. Main St. in Niles, Ohio, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. OAPSE members at PARTA went out on strike Monday, August 25 (last week we incorrectly wrote that the strikers were Kent State employees; we apologize for the error). John Wagner (Secretary Treasurer, Tri-County CLC) and Randy Feemster (President, USW 1123) spoke to strikers. Call Nanette Folsom for more information (330-933-8651); their union invites allies to picket with striking members. Activists are also continuing to collect Employee Free Choice Act petition cards.
North Coast ALF
Pres. Pat Gallagher
Union members are walking in Cleveland every Saturday. LIUNA 310 held a phone bank Tuesday, and CWA locals are planning a phone bank night for September 23. AFSCME 1746 members will be phonebanking September 25. ATU 268 and BAC 5 sent local union letters last week. In Lake County walks are scheduled on October 4 and 11 (contact Darlene Tinsley, 216-299-8975). In the Ashtabula CLC in North Kingsville, they are scheduled on September 13, 20, and 27; contact Ray Gruber (440-812-1762). IUPAT members walk in Cleveland every Tuesday. Release staff in Cleveland are walking on a regular basis to get the word out about Barack Obama. LIUNA 310 is organizing weekend walks for members. In the Ashtabula area, Ray Gruber (President, Ashtabula County CLC) is working on several resolutions supporting the Employee Free Choice Act.
Southwest ALF
Pres. Wesley Wells
Release staff are continuing to walk daily in southwest Ohio, and walks for union members are staged out of the Dayton-Miami Valley CLC Monday through Thursday and Saturday every week. IUE-CWA 755 retirees met to talk about getting involved in the election process. We welcome Joe Lewis, a new release staff member from NALC, to our operations in Dayton. IBEW 82 plans to begin running its new phone bank lines this week. CWA 4322 sent local union mail last week. Eight union release staff members are walking daily in Hamilton and Butler counties, and AFSCME Council 8, APWU 164, and IBEW 212 are hosting phone banks in the Cincinnati area. ATU 627 is working on distributing worksite flyers, and IBEW 212 hosted walks last Saturday. AFSCME Council 8 is mailing local union mail this week.
Central ALF
Pres. Billy Boyce
Eight CWA 4320 members phone banked on Thursday. IUPAT has identified the top fifteen BCT job sites in Columbus to prioritize for worksite flyer distribution. IUPAT members are also walking regularly. CWA 4310 had eight phone bank volunteers at the Ohio AFL-CIO headquarters last Thursday. SMWIA 24 distributed worksite flyers last week. CWA 4371 is distributing worksite flyers this week. Saturday walks continue every week out of the Central Ohio CLC office at 1545 Alum Creek Drive, the Council 8 Columbus office at 6800 N. High St., the TWU 208 office at 2800 S. High, and the NALC 78 office at 1029 Harrisburg Pike (all in Columbus). Labor walks are scheduled out of the Marion CLC (President Ivan Stithem) on the 20th and 27th of September. Right now, the priorities in central Ohio are planning phonebanks Monday through Thursday every week and walks weekly. This week, union members will phone bank at the Ohio AFL-CIO headquarters Monday and Thursday.
Southeast ALF
Pres. Bill Sams
The UMWA District Office in Bridgeport is hosting phone banks, and Tim Bowman at the NALC 63 in Zanesville is helping organize walks and phone banks for union members in the area. Walks continue with OAPSE release staff in Athens. A special meeting of the SE ALF/CLC will be held on Thursday, October 9 at the AFSCME Ohio Council 8 office located at 36 S Plains Rd., The Plains, OH. We want to get together as a group one more time before the election. Walks continue in SE Ohio. There was a walk last Saturday in Marietta out of the Plumbers & Pipefitters Hall led by Troy Ferrell, SE CLC President. There were 10 volunteers that showed up and quite a bit of ground was covered. Walks also continue in Athens and surrounding areas with the help of release staffers Cindy Weible and Deaner Baer from OAPSE. Cindy and Deaner are also meeting one-on-one with various OAPSE locals attempting to recruit volunteers and educating them about the Labor 2008 program. Phone banks will begin soon out of IBEW 972 Hall in Reno.
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| UAW Lima CAP Council kickoff |
Northwest ALF
Pres. George Tucker
On Saturday, IUPAT, NALC, and USW members walked in Lima. This week, IBEW 32 (Political Coordinator Doug Beining) and NALC 143 (Pres. Jeff Kranz) are mailing their local union newsletters with letters from the President and Business Manager about why they are supporting Barack Obama. The UAW Lima CAP Council held it's political kickoff last Thursday. Members volunteered for political activities in collaboration with Labor 2008. Activists also signed Employee Free Choice Act petition cards. We are proud to welcome Bob Warner, a Business Agent with IUPAT 788, who will be working on the Labor 2008 program as a release staff member one day a week. Walks and phonebanks are scheduled daily from throughout the week of September 22 (next week) out of the Laborers 1216 Hall at 821 Park Ave. West in Mansfield. Contact Lynda at 419-217-7013 with questions. IBEW 976 mailed its second local union letter, and IBEW 976 Business Agent Fred Sabol is working on political content for Its newsletter as well as helping organize labor walks in Norwalk.
7. Working America Update, from Dan Heck
Working America canvassers have now knocked on over 75,000 doors since the start of September, having real conversations with union and Working America members. We have focused most strongly on undecided members, with a goal of connecting with them personally about our own individual experiences with the issues, and sharing good information with them.
As usual, jobs and health care are the top issues among union and Working America members across the state, with the Iraq war often coming in third. Many of the undecided members we are talking to are undecided simply because they don’t feel like they have enough good information to figure out who to support. While we always talk to members about the issues that most concern them, we also focus on bringing up Social Security, and McCain’s support for privatization, among older members last week. A lot of them were surprised to learn about his stance on the issue, and were glad to have some truth from a source they trust.
We can win this election easily if the truth gets out about where McCain really stands. Right now, that truth hasn’t made it out to a lot of our members. We are pushing hard to make sure they get the facts from people they trust, instead of being sucked in to the nonsense of the media circus.
8. Union Jobs
Working America is hiring canvass organizers – go to http://www.workingamerica.org/about/jobs.cfm for more information or to apply.
CNA/NNOC is hiring a staff person – go to http://www.unionjobs.com/staff/cna/cna101_multi.html for more information. Posted August 1, 2008.
9. News Clips
McCain Protests
33 News – WYTV ABC
"For him to bring his economic policies here and talk to people as to why they should vote for him is a slap in the face. We've seen how the country has done under eight years of George Bush's economic policies and we don't want another even four years of that under Senator McCain," said Bill Padisak, Mahoning-Trumbull AFL-CIO.
http://www.wytv.com/news/crawl/28471624.html
Dems, union protesters to appear at McCain-Palin rally today
Youngstown Vindicator
“Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are painting themselves as reformers when they’re going to continue what [President] George Bush has done for the past eight years,” said Mike Gillis, political director for the Ohio AFL-CIO. “Middle-class working people can’t take it anymore. The middle class has suffered during the past eight years” under Bush.
http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/sep/16/dems-union-protesters-to-appear-at-mccain-palin/
Postal Workers Protest DHL Move from Ohio
AFL-CIO NOW Blog
More than 50 Postal Workers (APWU), community activists and other members of the “Save the Jobs, Save the Community” coalition from Wilmington, Ohio—where DHL is threatening to shut down its air delivery hub and eliminate more than 8,000 jobs—protested at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., yesterday.
http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/09/17/postal-workers-protest-dhl-move-from-ohio
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