Pennsylvania Union Movement Kicks off Political Grassroots Mobilization

Lenny Sapozhnikov, AFL-CIO deputy state director for Pennsylvania, describes the first of two Labor 2008 political mobilization kickoffs in that state. 

You could feel the enthusiasm in the air as more than 80 union leaders and political directors from throughout the eastern Pennsylvania region gathered this weekend in Fort Washington to kick off the union movement’s political program for the 2008 political season. The meeting was attended by representatives of AFSCME, APWU, ARA, BCTGM, CWA, IAM, IBB, IBT-BLET, IUEC, IBEW, IUOE, SEIU, SMWIA, TWU, UA, UAW, UFCW, UNITE HERE, USW, UWUA and Working America.  

The mood of the training was charged with excitement as union leaders prepared to take on Republican nominee-in-waiting Sen. John McCain and win the state for pro-worker candidates this election.  

Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Bill George opened the meeting by emphasizing the united power of the Pennsylvania labor movement. He observed that with an ability to communicate about politics with nearly 1.8 million people, the Pennsylvania labor movement runs the most technologically advanced, grassroots-focused political mobilization in the state.  

Special guest Rep. Joe Sestak (D) thanked those gathered for the significant boost that his campaign in Pennsylvania’s 7th District received from the labor movement’s political program. Said Sestak:  

I really am proud to be up here. I won because of you. I will always remember that AFL-CIO endorsement that I got. It was the turning point in the election. When I got that endorsement, you have no idea how much that energized my campaign. You have no idea! I’m not going to forget it and I will say it right out front that I owe you one.  

Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rick Bloomingdale outlined the AFL-CIO endorsement process and the targeted primary races on the state level. AFL-CIO Labor 2008 State Director Frank Snyder reviewed the accomplishments from the labor movement’s political program and the tasks ahead. The gathering also included presentations from Working America, the Pennsylvania Alliance of Retired Americans and the AFL-CIO Voting Rights Protection Program. Operating Engineers Local 542 Business Manager Robert Heenan hosted the meeting.

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Paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Political Contributions Committee, www.aflcio.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

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