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ATU Action Weekly Update - 11/13/06
Election Day a Win for Working Families Working families won back the U.S. Congress on Nov. 7, exceeding the 15-seat margin needed to return the U.S. House of Representatives to Democratic leadership and gaining the six seats needed for a majority in the Senate. Union households voted 74 percent to 26 percent for Democratic candidates. In key battleground states, union members voted 76 percent to 24 percent for Democrats. Union households accounted for 1 out of every 4 voters and were responsible for 4/5 of the Democratic victory margin. Without question, the Democratic victory would not have happened without the labor movement's aggresive political program. For several months before election day, union staff and volunteers across the country worked to educate union members about the candidates and issues in the election and to mobilize them to vote on election day. They did this through the distribution of political information at their work sites, through the mail, by phone and at their doors - all as part of the Labor 2006 program. In the end, the Labor 2006 program reached out to 13.4 million voters in 32 battleground states. It reached union members, members of union households, retirees and members of Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate for workers who don’t have a union. More than 205,000 union members, including hundreds of ATU members, volunteered for Labor 2006 activities this year - knocking on more than 8.25 million doors, making more than 30 million phone calls, and passing out more than 14 million leaflets at workplaces and in neighborhoods. In addition, the AFL-CIO sent out more than 20 million pieces of mail to union households. The ATU was a large part of this victory. Look for more on the ATU's political program and the efforts of individual locals and members in the November/December edition of the In Transit and on the ATU website.
Thank You to All ATU Activists Hundreds of ATU Activists across the country volunteered considerable time and energy to making election day a victorious day for union members. These dedicated members made phone calls, assisted with mailings, distributed leaflets, knocked on doors, attended rallies, prepared walk packets, recruited volunteers and helped with numerous other tasks as part of the Labor 2006 program. The ATU International would like to thank all of you who made a contribution to this effort. It is members like you who make this movement so great. If you are an ATU Activist or know of an ATU Activist who helped deliver a victory for working families on election day, please email atuaction@atu.org and let us know. We will be profiling several ATU Activists in the November/December issue of In Transit and on the ATU website.
AFL-CIO Delivers a Message to New Congress A worker-friendly majority in Congress promises great gains for labor's agenda and the AFL-CIO is wasting no time. Even though the 109th Congress is still finishing up its lame duck session, the AFL-CIO has turned its attention to the 110th Congress, releasing an agenda for the first days of the new Congress. The AFL-CIO agenda for the First Days of the 110th Congress includes:
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