Union Power -- More Than Meets The Eye

Organized labor is in the mail, on the airwaves and on the streets for Obama and other Democratic candidates. And there's even more union activity underneath the surface. Besides their own ads and massive get-out-the-vote campaigns, which we detail below, unions are bankrolling the attack ads of several other advocacy organizations.

Here are some new disclosures:

The Riskier Of Two Risks

It's starting to feel like the presidential election has come down to this: Which candidate is riskier?

The McCain campaign calls Barack Obama "too risky for America," and that phrase is being echoed by independent groups like the National Republican Trust.

But the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees calls John McCain "risky on Social Security."

And here comes the AFL-CIO with this pronouncement: "John McCain's Plan Puts Retirees at Risk." That's from a mailer sent to 500,000 retirees in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado, Indiana, Minnesota, North Carolina and Florida. It labels McCain as a "disaster" for retirees; not too long ago, another AFL-CIO mailer dubbed him a "disaster" for the middle class.

Click on the image to view the latest mailing:

The labor federation's ranks are also continuing phone calls and personal visits to undecided voters. They're clearly not taking any risks.

-- Will Evans

7:36 PM ET | 10-20-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Unions Out To Scare Seniors; NRA, To Scare Gun Owners

Unions are working overtime to put Barack Obama over the top in battleground states.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is airing a TV ad accusing John McCain of being "Risky on Social Security." The ad says McCain wants to privatize Social Security, subjecting it to stock-market volatility. One senior says, "We earned that money, now he wants to give it to Wall Street. No way."

Obama's been using this same argument, and Factcheck.org calls it a whopper. According to Factcheck, the plan McCain supports wouldn't affect current retirees, since no one born before 1950 would be allowed to put Social Security taxes in private accounts. AFSCME, however, contends that the plan would hurt the entire Social Security system and so would affect all seniors.

This is AFSCME's first return to TV since the Democratic primaries, when it supported Hillary Clinton against Obama. The ad will run in Wisconsin until close to Election Day, with more than $1 million worth of air time, according to the union.

On another front in the issues war, the AFL-CIO, which includes AFSCME, this week dropped a mailer featuring a union member who says Obama will "protect my gun rights." The mailer went to 80,000 gun-loyal swing voters in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Click on the image to read the mailer:

The union mailer is evidently trying to counteract the National Rifle Assocation's message that Obama wants to take away gun rights. The NRA's new ads after the jump...

Continue reading "Unions Out To Scare Seniors; NRA, To Scare Gun Owners" »

4:06 PM ET | 10-18-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Another Wave Of Union Power

The Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO labor federation are spearheading another massive wave of anti-McCain -- er, officially pro-Obama -- outreach in battleground states.

SEIU says it has sent 75 percent of its staff to key states for a final push on undecided voters before the election. Busloads of volunteers are distributing flyers comparing Obama's health care plan (favorably) to McCain's, with more in the mail. And the union sent DVDs about the health care plans to 225,000 seniors, with follow-up phone calls "making sure they're actually watching the DVD," according to SEIU political director Jon Youngdahl. The DVDs went to Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa.

"Wer'e trying to reach further and go deeper than we ever had before," said SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger.

SEIU says it's just bought $1 million of air time in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin for an ad featuring two women in a grocery store chatting about health care bills. "And get this," one of them says. "McCain wants to start taxing our benefits."
Says the other, "Maybe you should send him your bills."

More on the AFL-CIO after the jump...

Continue reading "Another Wave Of Union Power" »

6:39 PM ET | 10- 6-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Unions Mobilize Against McCain-Palin

Organized labor is on the move for Obama.

The same day that the food and commercial workers union launched an anti-McCain ad, one day after a nurses union's attack, and two days after the AFL-CIO said it would blanket members with political mail, the National Education Association announced a "blitz" of 500,000 mailers lambasting McCain's health care plan in battleground states. Seperately, the union-backed Alliance for Retired Americans is running a TV ad critical of McCain's stance on Social Security.

The NEA's mailer, to be followed by phone calls and personal visits to undecided members, says that McCain will tax Americans on their health care benefits. An accompanying Web site lets you calculate the tax. (The mailer doesn't mention that McCain's plan includes a $5,000 tax credit for families to buy health insurance.)

Click on the image to view the mailer:

Even before this, the NEA blasted out 4.2 million mailers and made 2.1 million calls in its 2008 voter drive.

The Alliance for Retired Americans, meanwhile, will run a TV ad in Ohio and Colorado on local cable channels popular with older viewers. The ad includes a clip of McCain calling the Social Security system a "disgrace." It will be similar to this Alliance ad, which ran in Pennsylvania earlier this year:

The alliance was created by the AFL-CIO in 2001 as an advocacy organization for retired union members. Find out more after the jump...

Continue reading "Unions Mobilize Against McCain-Palin" »

8:42 PM ET | 10- 2-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Unions Unleash The Troops For Obama

The nation's most powerful labor unions are ratcheting up their efforts to elect Barack Obama with massive voter outreach campaigns.

The AFL-CIO labor federation announced a new assault on John McCain today, saying it will blanket battleground states with mail, phone calls and personal visits to sway swing voters in the Democratic direction.

A mailer (below) hammering McCain on his health care plan is going out to union voters in Colorado, Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Florida. The slogan on the back of the mailer says, "John McCain Isn't For Us."

Another million flyers will be distributed at workplaces. Volunteers aim to make more than 150,000 phone calls and visit homes throughout the Midwest.

Separately, the Service Employees International Union reported spending $500,000 on Sunday to canvass voters in support of Obama. Both SEIU and the AFL-CIO have said this year's efforts will be their largest voter mobilization campaigns ever.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports today on union payments in recent years to political firms and nonprofits with personal connections to the union's leadership. We tracked SEIU's current web of political influence and money here.

-- Will Evans

4:05 PM ET | 09-30-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Union Mailer Landing In Key States

Hoping to swing voters where the swing matters most, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO is dropping 270,000 anti-McCain mailers into Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan.

To get the sense of the demographic it's targeting, just read the mailer:

"I voted for George W. Bush because he promised to change Washington. I'm not falling for the same old line from John McCain." -- Gary Lanahan, School Bus Driver, Vietnam Veteran, U.S. Marine Corps, Purple Heart

The brochure ends with a bold-lettered mantra: "No third term. No McCain." It's put out by Working America, an AFL-CIO organization for non-union members. AFL-CIO rank and file have already got some other mailers.

-- Will Evans

6:27 PM ET | 09-18-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Union Federation Puts Out Radio Ads, One Million Mailers

One million pro-Obama pamphlets are scheduled to arrive in union households in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin today, courtesy of the AFL-CIO.

The labor federation's mailer introduces voters to Obama's life story, explaining that he was "raised by a single mother," "worked hard to succeed" in college and as a community organizer, and "stayed true to his values" in public office.

The AFL-CIO also released radio ads this past week criticizing Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) and praising Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Federation spokesman Steve Smith said that some of Sununu's votes have been "really a detriment to the cause of the middle class and the working class in this country." The AFL-CIO spent a total of $95,000 for both of the ads. Smith, on the phone from the Democratic National Convention in Denver, said, "We spend very, very little money on advertising compared to what we spend on member education and mobilization."

-- Will Evans

6:16 PM ET | 08-28-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Film Company Coordinates With AFL-CIO On Anti-McCain Message

A new, would-be-viral Web video slamming McCain for his many upscale houses is a result of some joint brainstorming by the AFL-CIO and an activist film production company called Brave New Films.

The liberal film company released the video, called "McCain's Mansions," to the YouTube masses yesterday (below). It portrays McCain as the "The Real Elitist," citing his multiple houses, fancy shoes and estimated net worth -- all of which were also highlighted in an AFL-CIO mailer sent out last week.

"Working with the AFL-CIO, we coordinated with them on what the message was behind the video. We timed it deliberately to come out around their mail piece," said Brave New Films communications director Leighton Woodhouse. "We're in agreement with them that this is the right message to drive at this particular time in our effort to sort of define the candidate. Someone who's that affluent...is out of touch with struggles that ordinary Americans are going through."

Brave New Films is working with both the AFL-CIO and Service Employees International Union to blast the video to union members.

Continue reading "Film Company Coordinates With AFL-CIO On Anti-McCain Message" »

11:16 AM ET | 08-19-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

AFL-CIO Mailer Hits McCain On Wealth, Fancy Shoes

The AFL-CIO sent out its latest of several election-related mailers to 50,000 union households last week, targeting McCain on Social Security. The mailer, which cites McCain's net worth, multiple houses and alleged $520 shoes, went to union retirees in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan, according to a union federation spokesperson. The AFL-CIO expects to continue sending it out to even larger numbers of voters.

Next page of the mailer after the jump...

Continue reading "AFL-CIO Mailer Hits McCain On Wealth, Fancy Shoes" »

3:54 PM ET | 08-18-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

AFL-CIO Runs Anti-McCain Ad

The AFL-CIO has been running this TV ad in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia. Featuring a veteran, the ad criticizes McCain's positions on the war in Iraq and veteran's benefits.

-- Will Evans

8:45 PM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail