UAW members are among union members making GOTV work in Kentucky.

Mo Davison, UAW Region 3 director and UAW member since 1968, describes why he and other UAW members have taken part in labor’s get-out-the-vote (GOTV) outreach in Kentucky.

The UAW took a leadership role in the Kentucky Labor 2007 program because we knew we had to. When Gov. Ernie Fletcher signed away, by Executive Order, the collective bargaining rights of Kentucky’s state employees, we knew that we had an enemy of working people on our hands. With Fletcher’s threat to implement “right to work” for less laws that would erase our freedom to form unions and his challenge to prevailing wage laws, we knew this was our fight as well.

When state employees reached out to us and other unions wanting to regain their voice at the workplace, we joined them in one of the largest labor mobilization efforts Kentucky has ever seen. And with a candidate—former Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear—who would both restore those rights to state employees and stand up for all working people by supporting organizing rights, wage laws, affordable health care, good-paying jobs and a retirement with dignity—we knew those efforts would pay off.

UAW released dedicated, full-time staff to Lousiville to oversee all aspects of labor’s get-out-the-vote program, from phone banks and walks to worksite leaflets and mailings. Danny Ernstes organized the Bluegrass Express, a 10-day bus tour throughout Kentucky, hitting dozens of worksites throughout the state. While it’s hard to reach everybody in any campaign, this tour allowed us to go directly to our members. And when members receive a leaflet from a trusted, elected leader of their union, it makes all the difference in the world.

Mary Briscoe coordinated a 40-person daily phone bank at the UAW Local 862 union hall in Lousiville. Paula Selby has kept track of all local union activity across the state. And UAW Local 2370 President Tim Smith oversaw an entire Kentucky zone, encompassing Bowling Green and Owensboro, organizing tremendously successful walks, GOTV phone banks and leaflettings.

What allowed UAW’s commitment to the program to reach its fullest potential was coordination. The AFL-CIO’s staff brought labor together in the state in an unprecedented way, ensuring that efforts weren’t duplicated and were used to maximum effect. Leaders and workers from different unions and trades worked together in an extraordinary way, proving that solidarity is the key to protecting our rights, our families, and our livelihoods.

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Paid for by AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Treasury Fund.

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