Here’s How You Can Join the Fight for 60 in the Senate

by Seth Michaels, Oct 24, 2008

Around the country, there are closely contested U.S. Senate races that will have a big impact in ending the economic crisis and making the economy work for everyone. We have a chance of making real change for real people this fall if we win 60 pro-worker votes in the Senate.

Union volunteers aren’t the only ones who know how important these Senate races are. Big Business and outside groups are dumping millions into Senate races in a desperate attempt to prevent more pro-working family candidates from joining the Senate.

Getting to a 60 pro-worker “super majority” in the Senate is important because, unlike in the U.S. House, legislation can be blocked if it does not have the support of 60 senators. For instance, when the Employee Free Choice Act was considered in the Senate in 2006, it could not come up for a vote because a minority of senators blocked it. Unless a bill has the support of 60 Senate members, a minority in the Senate can “filibuster” it—that is, prevent it from being voted on.

The ability of a minority in the Senate to block change has obstructed key legislation to improve the lives of working families. Through filibusters, a minority of senators has prevented the passage of:

• The Employee Free Choice Act, to help workers form unions and bargain for a better life.

• The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, to ensure women get equal pay for equal work.

• Economic recovery measures for working families, including extended unemployment insurance.

• Collective bargaining rights for firefighters, police officers and public safety workers.

• Prescription drug price negotiation in Medicare, to protect seniors.

• D.C. voting rights.

And that’s just in the past two years of the Bush administration. The next president will need to pass strong new legislation to restore the economy, expand access to affordable, high-quality health care and create jobs by investing in a stronger infrastructure and new sources of energy. Gaining votes in the Senate to pass these important priorities is critical for working families.

Through a partnership with ActBlue, an online fundraising resource for progressive candidates, the AFL-CIO is helping Senate candidates in key races raise the funds they need to get out every vote and beat back big-money corporate smear campaigns and their vicious attacks. In the final days before the election, these candidates will need the resources to get out their message about the change working families need. You can contribute here to pro-worker candidates in the closest Senate races.  

Here are some of the great candidates who are fighting hard to get to the Senate and help turn around America:

• Mark Begich, Alaska

• Rep. Mark Udall, Colorado

• Jim Martin, Georgia

• Bruce Lunsford, Kentucky

• Rep. Tom Allen, Maine

• Al Franken, Minnesota

• Ronnie Musgrove, Mississippi

• Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire

• Kay Hagan, North Carolina

• Jeff Merkley, Oregon

All of these candidates will be senators working families can count on. But none of them can get to the Senate without our hard work and support. You can be a part of this effort by contributing to help us get to 60 pro-worker senators.

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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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