Largest Nationwide Union Movement Mobilization Ever

Thousands of Rank-and-File Members Expected for Neighborhood Walks in June

In what will be the largest and earliest mobilization of working Americans in multiple states in history, thousands of union members are expected to walk to tens of thousands of doors in 16 states in June to talk to fellow union members about the issues of good jobs and affordable, quality health care in the 2004 election.

As part of the AFL-CIO’s Labor ’04 program, the union volunteers will knock on doors, and talk to members of unions and their families about where the presidential candidates stand on jobs and health care. They will pass out literature which reads “Good Jobs and Affordable Health Care: Who’s Fighting for Working Families?” and which lays out the specific positions of Senator John Kerry and President George Bush on these issues. 

“Working people are fed up with seeing good jobs sent overseas and facing soaring health care costs. Never before have working people been so energized so early about an election,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “We’ve been overwhelmed by union members who are eager to volunteer to help bring about a change in our nation’s leadership.”

So far, thousands of union members have signed up for more than a hundred walks in 72 cities. They include teachers, plumbers, hotel workers, fire fighters, painters, phone operators, garment workers, engineers, nurses and workers from a broad range of other professions.

The walks will generally take place on a weekend day, and will last four to six hours. Walkers will be given a group orientation session and will then be assigned detailed maps which show exactly where to find union members’ houses on each street in their assigned area. They will walk in pairs. Some members may bring their children.

The union members are volunteering their time with the AFL-CIO program through their local union and their local labor movement. Some members have signed up online through the AFL-CIO’s new online political system. In addition, union members can print out leaflets from the AFL-CIO website for distribution in their workplaces.

Union household members are expected to represent one out of four voters in November, as they did in the 2000 presidential election.

The June walks are part of the AFL-CIO's continuing outreach program to inform and mobilize America's working families around issues central to their lives and future in the 2004 election. The AFL-CIO is the umbrella organization for America's unions and represents 13 million working men and women.

Contact: Lane Windham, Sarah Massey, Suzanne Ffolkes 202-637-5018