In Virginia, It’s Our Time, It’s Our Day

ATU members in Northern Virginia get out the vote.

Eileen Toback, AFL-CIO political organizer in the Voice@Work campaign, is joining working families in today’s final get-out-the-vote push. On Saturday, Virginia AFL-CIO President Jim Leaman thanked union members for their dedication and member-to-member outreach across Virginia this campaign season (see video).  

Northern Virginia woke up to cold rain and wind this morning, but the sky now has cleared and it looks like we’ll have a beautiful fall day to get out the vote and change the direction of the state in favor of working families. 

There’s a lot at stake in elections today, as state Senate races are expected to be decided by just a few hundred votes—whoever wins the Senate will determine the commonwealth’s next redistricting plan. Whatever the results, we in the union movement can take pride in our efforts over the past few weeks—hundreds of union members have participated in get-out-the-vote walks and phone banks, with turnout last Saturday the best ever: More than 225 volunteers came out across the state to knock on more than 2,300 union household doors!   

Not only have we put ourselves in a strong position to shape Virginia’s 2007 election, we have built a solid foundation for an exciting U.S. Senate race next year. In 2004, we ushered in Gov. Tim Kaine (D), and in 2006, we elected Sen. Jim Webb (D). Next year, we will work to elect former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner to the U.S. Senate. 

Thanks to all the unions that brought volunteers out on Saturday: 

AFA-CWA, AFGE, AFSCME, AFT, ATU, BCTGM, CWA, GCC/IBT, IAFF, IAM, IBB, IBEW, Iron Workers, IUEC, IUOE, IUPA, IUPAT, LIUNA, NALC, OPEIU, SEIU, SIU, SMWIA, Steamfitters, TNG-CWA, UA, UAW, UFCW, UMWA and USW.

Among those welcoming the volunteers who came to the Northern Virginia Central Labor Council:  Former Virginia AFL-CIO president and current senior adviser to Kaine for Workforce, Daniel LeBlanc; CWA Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling; Virginia AFL-CIO President Jim Leaman; Virginia AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Doris Crouse-Mays; Northern Virginia Central Labor Council President Dan Duncan; and AFL-CIO Political Director Karen Ackerman. 

LeBlanc is an important reminder of why labor must be involved in politics. House Republicans rejected Kaine and working families when they blocked LeBlanc’s appointment as Virginia’s secretary of the commonwealth. The Republicans denied his nomination solely because LeBlanc carried a union card.  In response, Kaine put LeBlanc right back into the cabinet as the senior adviser to the governor for Workforce. He now manage more than half a billion dollars of the commonwealth’s training funds to help working families.  

Virginia polls are open today until 7 p.m. Click here to find out polling place locations.

There’s still time to get out the vote in Virginia! Click here to find out how.

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Paid for by AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Treasury Fund. Not authorized by a candidate.

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