COLUMBUS, Ohio — After being outhustled by Republicans in voter turnout drives in recent years, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. plans to spend $40 million nationwide on voter education and turnout, emphasizing swing states like Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania.þþIn addition, just as conservatives used referendums on same-sex marriage to mobilize voters in 2004, labor has helped put measures to raise the state minimum wage on the ballot in Ohio and three other states, an effort that union officials hope will draw low-income voters.þþUnions may not feel the economic wind at their back, but they feel good about this year’s campaign as they tap into worker discontent over stagnant wages, shuttered factories, shrinking pensions and the soaring trade deficit.þþ“What we’re seeing is dozens of races that are so close that they’re really going to be decided on the ground,” said the president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., John J. Sweeney, “and I think that’s where we’re going to make the difference.”þþWith Democrats trying to win control of the House, unions are focusing on 56 House races, including five in Ohio. Labor is also working hard on the Senate race here, backing Representative Sherrod Brown, a critic of free-trade pacts, in his bid to unseat Mike DeWine, a Republican.þþDespite labor’s stepped-up efforts, Republicans voice confidence about Nov. 7.þþ“In 2004, Ken Mehlman and the George Bush turnout operation showed they are better than labor, and they’ve only improved things since then,” said Carl Forti, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.þþYet, Republicans acknowledge that unions are a formidable force.þþ“Democrats outsource a lot of their turnout efforts to labor,” said Mike DuHaime, political director of the Republican National Committee. “For a long time, labor did a better job than we did. But for the last two or three election cycles, we’ve been able to compete with them and do a better job.”þþNot long ago, Republicans began borrowing many a page from labor, but now unions are borrowing from the Republicans’ playbook.þþTraditionally strongest in urban areas, unions are devoting more energy than ever to workers in suburbs and even exurbs. Labor is focusing on the “drop-off voter,” making sure that union members who vote in presidential elections but not in midterm elections go to the polls.þþIn another initiative, unions are campaigning among a group that has largely been off limits to them under federal law, nonunion workers. The federation has figured out a way to reach those workers, sending canvassers door to door to sign up 1.5 million nonunion workers, including 700,000 Ohioans, to join a new A.F.L. affiliate, Working America, with an eye to having them vote for labor-endorsed candidates. þþ“There are more than 1.5 million labor voters in Ohio,” said Karen Ackerman, political director of the federation, pointing to union members, union retirees, members of union households and members of Working America. “Organized labor is single-handedly the largest voting bloc in Ohio.”þþMs. Ackerman predicted that these labor voters would represent 35 percent of Ohio voters this year, though just 15 percent of Ohio workers belong to unions.þþThanks to the explosive growth of Working America here, some Democrats say their party will receive a bigger boost from labor in Ohio than in any other state.þþMabel Sorrell, a $6-an-hour supermarket worker in Columbus, joined Working America — it is free — saying it helped her learn about issues like the minimum wage. When Jesse Kloth, one of labor’s many foot soldiers here, knocked on her door, Ms. Sorrell initially voiced support for Representative Deborah Pryce, a Republican facing her toughest re-election race in a decade. By the time Mr. Kloth finished his five-minute visit, Ms. Sorrell seemed to be leaning against Ms. Pryce. þþ“I now mainly see political commercials that don’t tell you much,” Ms. Sorrell, a widowed mother of four, said. “It’s good to have people explain things to you in person.”þþLabor is focusing on Ohio, union leaders say, because it has many union members, because factory closings have unsettled workers and because Ohio could hold the key to the 2008 presidential election, just as it did in 2004. Adding to labor’s confidence is a corruption scandal that has rocked Republicans in state government. “I think the majority of people are ready for a change,” John Russo, president of a steelworkers local in Canton, said. “They’re fed up. They see the way the economy is going. They see too many manufacturing jobs being lost.”þþ
Source: NY Times
