February 02, 2012 02:44 PM UTC

Don't Underestimate Unions

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• by: Konola

Last Saturday I attended a meeting hosted by the Colorado AFL-CIO. In addition to union leaders, the Pipefitter’s Hall in North Denver was filled with Democratic legislators and candidates interested in learning about the issues important to unions.

Presentations were given by the Colorado Building and Construction Trades Council, public sector unions representing both state and federal government workers, private sector unions, and allied organizations.

The allied organizations were the most interesting to me. There is the Colorado Alliance for Retired Americans, made up of retired union workers.  There is Working America, an organization working to reach out to all working families, regardless of union membership. And there is a Young Worker Project. How about FRESC, working on a “formula for a new energy economy in Colorado?” Finally, there is the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, working on organizing Latino workers.

Working America is working to organize the 99%. They are “the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO.” In their eight years of existence, they have recruited 3-million members by reaching out to working-class moderates and conservatives who don’t have a union on the job. Their membership is not the traditional union membership:

70% are moderate or conservative.

33% own guns.

33% are weekly churchgoers.

82% are active voters.

500,000 are young.

500,000 are unemployed.

Working America recognizes that good jobs will be on the mind of most voters in 2012. Their issues during this election cycle include extending unemployment insurance, creating green jobs and investing in infrastructure, protecting quality public services and public jobs, preserving Medicare and Medicaid, holding Wall Street accountable to Main Street, and getting corporate money out of elections, while protecting voting rights.

Working America canvassed neighborhoods in nine states during the 2010 election. They cite wins in Minnesota and Colorado. In Minnesota, they had 50,000 in-person conversations with voters, helping to elect Mark Dayton.  In Colorado’s seventh district they contacted more than 40,000 voters to help elect Michael Bennet.

I plan to write more about what I learned about unions over the next few days, so stay tuned.

Homework

www.workingamerica.org