Report from the Field: Pennsylvania

Bernard Pollack, AFL-CIO political field coordinator in Pennsylvania, reports on the action there, where Bob Casey Jr. is the working family candidate for Senate, along with Gov. Ed Rendell for governor and lots of great candidates for U.S. Congress.

Congrats goes to all our union volunteers for a great Saturday turnout, with 690 union volunteers across the state plugging into the Labor 2006 program. This week, 17 AFL-CIO central labor council presidents led our walks across the state and with the help of union volunteers, next week’s headline will say: “150 local union presidents lead walks across Pennsylvania.” 

Already, Senate candidate Bob Casey Jr. is scheduled to join labor-to-labor walkers in Johnstown on Oct. 28. United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard will be walking in Mercer. Throughout the week, we plan to announce some more very special guests across the state.

Union volunteers across the Pennsylvania have made an incredible get-out-the-vote effort this election. 

• Union members have distributed 2.3 million leaflets at worksites across the state since June 1.
• An average of 600 union volunteers have walked every week since Sept. 1, with walks now nearing 750 volunteers.
• Some 4,100 union members, since August, have walked door to door to talk with union members about key issues affecting working families.
• More than 3,500 volunteers have phone banked since mid-August and now make 100,000 calls weekly with an average of 250 phone bankers daily in 30 phone locations.

In addition, Working America, the AFL-CIO community affiliate, has signed up 300,000 new members in key congressional districts since March.

Right now, our No. 1 priority is filling our phone banks. Union volunteers have cranked 30,000 volunteer dials a day—and we’re shooting for 150,000 volunteer dials this week.

Our base is energized—and folks are starting to smell, taste and feel a winner.

When it comes to field in the state of Pennsylvania, the labor program is the only place to be.

“It’s Our Time.”

Find out more about what’s going on in Pennsylvania and other states at the AFL-CIO Political Action Center at http://www.votenov7.org/, where you can register to vote, learn about working family issues and download candidate comparison fliers.

If you’re not a union member, join Working America, the AFL-CIO community affiliate, and join the fight for good jobs, affordable health care, quality education and secure retirements.

This portion of this website is paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Political Contributions Committee, 815 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006, with voluntary contributions from union members and their families, and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. 

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