Labor to Outspend Business in Push for Democrats

Unions are betting heavily they can help Democrats to a big win in November, increasing the odds of legislative victories next year.

By Martha Lynn Craver, Associate Editor, The Kiplinger Letter

April 14, 2008

Organized labor will empty its huge war chest in the coming months in a bid to elect pro-worker candidates to the White House, Congress and state and local offices. The AFL-CIO has approved a record political budget of $53 million, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has budgeted $70 million.

The unions are mobilizing earlier than ever, too, using sophisticated voter outreach efforts. They'll focus on 23 battleground states where unions have a substantial presence. Special priority will go to getting out the vote in five swing states: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota, where union voters make up over 25% of the vote.

The two big labor federations, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, which includes the SEIU, will closely coordinate their efforts to make sure they don't end up "knocking on the same doors." Besides home canvassing, they'll reach out to voters at the workplace, by phone, online and through direct mail.

Business groups are also gearing up for the fall elections, but they'll spend less than half of what labor spends. Their tactics, though, will be similar, focusing on grassroots education and mobilization efforts. Short of endorsing any candidate outright, businesses can make the case to their employees, such as on politics and policy pages on company intranets, providing registration forms and making absentee ballots simple to get, even providing van rides to polling places. The Business-Industry Political Action Committee, www.bipac.org, customizes company Web sites. A similar effort is being managed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at www.voteforbusiness.com.

The top legislative priority for unions next year is to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which would require employers to recognize a union after a majority of workers sign pro-union cards. Union organizers stress that putting a Democrat in the White House and increasing the clout of Democrats on Capitol Hill would vastly improve the bill's chances. Passage of the bill would greatly boost unions' organizing efforts, helping to replenish their ranks.

Other legislation on labor's agenda includes paid family leave and a reworking of job definitions to make more positions eligible for union membership. "Then there's also the issues involving economic security…health care, pensions, job outsourcing," says Karen Ackerman with the AFL-CIO.

Unions remain divided over which Democrat to endorse for president. While Change to Win has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, the AFL-CIO has held off. That's because, of the 56 unions in the AFL-CIO, 12 are for Sen. Hillary Clinton, five are for Obama, but the remaining 39 are undecided. There needs to be agreement among two-thirds of members before an endorsement can be made. Once a nominee is chosen, however, the unions are likely to coalesce behind the Democratic candidate.

Labor already is lambasting Sen. John McCain's record. "We want to make sure workers know he's in lockstep with the failed economic policies of the Bush administration," says Stephanie Mueller, a spokesperson for SEIU. The AFL-CIO has a Web site, www.mccainrevealed.org, on McCain's record on major votes of interest to labor.

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