Labor Union Blog

IUPAT members visit a Wisconsin worksite to get out the vote.

Members of the Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) union are launching a national political mobilization tour, kicking off this weekend, to help energize union members and send Sen. Barack Obama to the White House.

The “Army of Black and Gold,” including IUPAT President James Williams, will set off on a bus tour of key states through the election. At every stop, IUPAT members will take part in rallies, door-to-door walks and worksite visits. Williams says IUPAT members are committed to getting out every vote.

This election is the most critical since the Great Depression to the future of working Americans. The IUPAT has always been one of the most politically active unions in this country, so we’re hitting the road to visit with working families to get them excited about this election and show them how important their vote is this year.

The U.S. Supreme Court today vacated a temporary restraining order sought by Ohio Republicans that would have required Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to update the state’s voter registration database before Election Day. The decision means thousands of voters who might support worker-friendly candidates will be allowed to vote without being challenged on Election Day. Had the politically motivated lawsuit, which included the restraining order, been allowed to proceed, some 200,000 eligible Ohio voters could have been forced to use provisional ballots.

The Ohio Republican Party filed suit against Brunner, claiming she should be required under federal law to match new voter registrations against certain state databases. After a federal circuit court ruled in the Republicans’ favor, Brunner appealed to the high court, saying simple errors such as data entry mistakes and unnecessary software codes could lead to erroneous mismatches and deny eligible voters the right to vote.

John Lawson from USW Local 261, reports on a successful event in Bangor, Maine, in which union members and community allies turned out to protest a visit by vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

As the parking lot started to fill with protesters, we knew we had done our job getting the word out to people to join us in protesting a visit to Maine by Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Union members included were those from the Communications Workers of America (CWA), United Steelworkers (USW) and SEIU, while allied partners represented the Maine Fair Trade Campaign and students from the College of the Atlantic. USW members from several unions took part: Locals 4-00009, 4-00080, 4-00261 and 4-01188 as well as family members.

Between 175 and 200 people marched to the crossroads at the Bangor International Airport to let the McCain/Palin vice presidential nominee know we are not going to stand for four more years of the same failed policies and lousy trade deals that have cost the workers in Maine more than 24,000 manufacturing jobs.