1 November, 2012Trade unions, including IndustriALL Global Union’s American affiliates, have turned out an estimated 400,000 volunteers to knock on doors and talk to voters in all 50 states for the 6 November poll in the US.
Millions of Americans will vote on 6 November in the prominent presidential election between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger, Mitt Romney. With an already Republican-controlled House of Representatives, the vote will also decide the control of the U.S. Senate, which Democrats currently hold with a 51 to 47 seat majority.
While the general consensus among affiliates is that President Obama has done enough to deserve a second term in office, it is clear that the Republican Party candidate Mitt Romney is a threat to workers in America and a threat to their unions.
United Steelworkers (USW)’s “Election 2012” campaign includes a viral video on how Bain Capital, the private equity firm once owned by Romney, bought out and then sold out Sensata workers in Illinois, illustrating how Romney profits from workers’ losses.
The United Autoworkers (UAW) lodged a complaint on 1 November with the US Office of Government Ethics against Romney, urging an investigation into his non-disclosure of the at least $15 million and as much as $115 million he made off his investment in the hedge fund that controlled auto-parts company Delphi after its bankruptcy in 2009.
Voter turnout will be a key factor in the election and the trade unions are working hard to get working people out to vote, as well as raising funds for the Obama campaign. The International Association of Machinists (IAM)’s most recent campaign video interviews an Ohio IAM member working with AFL-CIO getting out the vote.
The Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) has endorsed Obama, citing Obama's efforts to fix the economy and his success at saving the American auto industry and his commitment to the middle class.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) joined other maritime trade unions to express its full support to endorsing Obama arguing that, “Weakening existing labor laws … will only serve to deny American workers the wages and benefits they deserve”.
The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers’ (IBB) points to Obama’s strong record on trade union issues documenting positive gains in a video produced together with the building trades unions.
Throughout the campaign the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) has regularly reported on the dangers of Mitt Romney and his anti-union and anti-worker policies.
And MSNBC’s interviews the President of Communications Workers’ of America Larry Cohen and Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President focusing on the election in the battleground state of Ohio.