Labor's Great Effort
From Gerald W. McEntee, President
0n Oct. 25, there seemed to be no appropriate words to express the sadness and shock felt by AFSCME, the house of labor, the U.S. Congress and the nation when U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) his wife, Sheila, and their daughter, Marcia, lost their lives in an airplane crash.
On issues from education and affordable prescription drug coverage, to safe workplaces and protecting Social Security, America's hard-working men and women had no greater ally than Wellstone. His commitment to us was unwavering. In return, our union gave Wellstone our full support in a tough fight to keep his Senate seat during the 2002 elections. In fact, he was featured on the cover of the last issue of this magazine.
As it turned out, Norm Coleman won the election against former Vice Pres. Walter Mondale, who was selected to run in Wellstone's place. Today, Minnesota's working families are looking toward the future with a senator whose record as mayor of St. Paul in the 1990s shows that he will not vote in their interests once he arrives in Washington.
Working-family candidates absorbed other losses on Nov. 5, and today both houses of Congress — along with the White House and the Supreme Court — are controlled by the Republican Party.
Between the 2000 and the 2002 elections, we sustained repeated attacks from the Bush administration: the dismantling of years of progress made for working families; the tossing aside of workplace-safety regulations; the refusal to protect the rights of workers employed in units deemed central to the national security; and other affronts. We are certain to receive more of the same now.
IMPORTANT WINS, TOO. Still, working families — and AFSCME members in particular — can claim victories. All told, worker-friendly candidates picked up governor's seats in Arizona, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
AFSCME-backed candidates also won in New Mexico, where Gov.-elect Bill Richardson, a longtime champion of working men and women, has committed to restore collective bargaining to public employees. With AFSCME's support, Kenny Guinn, who has promised to sign collective bargaining legislation for public employees, won his bid to remain governor of Nevada. And in Illinois, Council 31 held rallies, made phone calls and went door to door to help Democrats take over the state House and win the governor's race.
Our losses were directly related to business outspending labor by a ratio of 12 to 1. In fact, this was the most expensive midterm election ever, with "special business interests" spending $710 million compared to $62 million spent by unions, Clearly, working people are fighting harder and harder to stay in the political arena, while the ticket price keeps getting higher and higher.
KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON. But their money couldn't outdo our energy. The house of labor dispatched more than 15 million pieces of mail, made 5 million phone calls, printed almost 17 million leaflets and sent forth 225,000 volunteers on Nov. 5. In the weeks and days preceding the election, thousands of AFSCME members and staff fanned out across the country to help get out the vote for working-family candidates.
With Tom DeLay — one of the Republican Party's most right-wing members — as house majority leader, and Trent Lott replaced as Senate majority leader by the equally conservative Bill Frist, we must use the same energy we displayed this November to stay in the battle for working families.
No matter how the representation of political parties across the country may have changed, our mission remains the same. And as we prepare for the fight over the presidency in 2004, we must heed the words of Paul Wellstone: "Stand Up. Keep Fighting!"
