Yes We Did!

President Barack Obama

Photo Credit: Craig Lassig

America voted for change in an historic election that will help reshape our nation.

By Gonzalo Baeza

“Americans have voted for a President and a Congress that will rebuild government in the public interest and make it a force for creating opportunity and prosperity, supporting and protecting our families, and strengthening our communities,” said Pres. Gerald W. McEntee the day after the historic 2008 Presidential election. In response to an administration that has told Americans “You’re on your own” for the last eight years, voters said “No we’re not. We’re in this together.”

This victory for working families could not have been possible without AFSCME members —40,000 volunteers — who worked day and night to make history. And union members made the difference. According to an election night survey by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, we voted for President Barack Obama by an impressive 67 to 30 percent. In contrast, non-union people voted for Obama, 51 to 47 percent. The difference provided the edge in battleground states where union voters supported Obama by 69 to 28 percent.

Americans responded in unprecedented numbers to Obama’s message of change. The President won 53 percent of the popular vote to his opponent’s 46 percent. Obama’s raw popular vote margin of victory was the highest for a Democratic Presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Victories Across the Nation

Working families won more than the White House. We also increased worker-friendly majorities in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and influenced key state and local races and ballot initiatives across the country.

At press time, Democrats had picked up seven U.S. Senate seats, leading to a total of 58 (including two Democratic-leaning Independents). Meanwhile, the race in Minnesota — where Democrat Al Franken won by a 225-vote margin — is still in the balance pending the resolution of a lawsuit filed by Republican candidate Norm Coleman. In the U.S. House of Representatives, where all 435 seats were up for election, Democrats increased their numbers by 24 seats, consolidating a solid majority of 257 seats.

The party also netted one new governor — Jay Nixon in Missouri — paving the way for the restoration of collective bargaining rights rescinded by the previous Republican governor in 2005. There are now 29 Democratic governors across the country.

Likewise, Democrats now control 60 of the nation’s 99 state legislative chambers, having won new majorities in the Delaware House, the Nevada and New York Senates, the Ohio House and the Wisconsin Assembly.

As McEntee said, “Throughout his extraordinary campaign, Barack Obama challenged us to believe that we have the power to change America, and to change the world. On Election Day, America responded to his challenge with a resounding ‘Yes We Can!’”

The Road to Victory

Securing a win of this magnitude was not an easy task. It demanded the most aggressive political effort in our union’s — and labor’s — history.

More than 4.3 million calls were made to AFSCME members during the Presidential campaign, along with 700,000 calls for targeted down-ballot races. In addition, more than 1.25 million pieces of mail were sent to members in battleground states along with multiple mailings in 22 key Senate and House races.

Last year’s political campaign was also the largest ever conducted by the AFL-CIO, reaching out to more than 13 million union voters in 24 battleground states. Over the course of the campaign, more than 250,000 AFL-CIO volunteers made 76 million phone calls, knocked on 14 million doors and distributed 29 million flyers at worksites.

Upward and Onward

Now, it’s time to build the grassroots support needed to enact the bold programs that are necessary to address the national crisis of today. With Barack Obama in the White House and a new Congress in place, working families can take back our country. As President McEntee has said, “Barack Obama offers our generation of Americans bold leadership and new solutions to address the crisis we currently face.”