For Immediate Release
Friday, October 22, 2004
AFSCME Set to Barnstorm Battleground States
"It's all about the ground war now," says AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee
Washington, DC —American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) President Gerald W. McEntee is set to barnstorm five swing states in the next week to turn out the labor vote on behalf of Senator John Kerry.
President McEntee's swing through the battleground states caps AFSCME's unprecedented $48 million voter mobilization campaign - a program that will result in AFSCME members in battleground states being contacted at least eight times through a combination of telephone calls, mail, and visits to homes and workplaces. Key elements of the program include:
- 7 million leaflets and pieces of direct mail dropped in targeted districts.
- 8 million persuasion and get-out-the-vote telephone calls made to targeted districts.
- 15,000 AFSCME members working 1.7 million hours in 16 battleground states on AFSCME, AFL-CIO
Labor 2004 and nonpartisan GOTV operations.
In the next 10 days, President McEntee will visit Wisconsin, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The rally in Wisconsin will feature civil rights activist Al Sharpton and urge African-American voters to turn out in record numbers.
"It's all about the ground war now. I've been traveling the country and have never seen members so engaged or committed," said AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee. "AFSCME members and Americans in general want a President who will put the interests of working families first."
AFSCME has 1.4 million members nationwide. In 2000, 68% of AFSCME members voted for Al Gore compared to 62% of union members in general.
For more on AFSCME's 2004 political program, see AFSCME TAKE BACK AMERICA 2004.
