Labor Mattered in Election, AFL-CIO Official Contends

George W. Bush may have won the 2000 election, but organized labor made its voice heard, securing victories for Vice President Al Gore in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Washington, providing the margin of victory for labor-backed senatorial candidates in at least four states and beating back anti-union referendums in Oregon and Colorado.

“Labor in 2000 mattered,” said Edward Wytkind, executive director of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, who spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 12.

Besides helping to add 2.3 million new voters to the rolls in 2000, the labor federation blanketed union households with information about issues and candidates, generating “the highest level of contact in the history of the labor movement,” Wytkind said.

The effort paid off in Colorado, in particular, where a “right-to-work” referendum was shot down despite the fact that Republicans outnumbered Democrats in eight out of 10 voting districts. Union members voted overwhelming against the measure, which would have barred union-only workplaces.

For the full story, see the Jan. 22 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.