How Working People Defined the Midterm Election
There was plenty of punditry plastered across cable news last week. But, as the dust settles, there is one story that has come to define this election: working people standing together to make a difference. The labor movement unleashed an unprecedented political program this year. Across the country, union members made the difference, fighting for our issues, for union candidates and for our proven allies.
Over the last few months, we knocked on more than 2.3 million doors and distributed 5 million fliers at more than 4,600 worksites. That represents millions of conversations between fellow union members, talking earnestly about the opportunity we embraced in this election—a chance to stand up and demand the fairer economy and more just society that we deserve.
That issue-focused, member-to-member communication extended to every part of our organizing operation, from a 12-million-piece direct mail program to the largest digital ad campaign in our history.
At the heart of every effort we made, there was a powerful advantage unique to the labor movement: working people trust our unions. In fact, persuadable voters trust unions more than any other source of political information, including friends and family. We earned that trust and built on it, mobilizing our members to the polls.
The result was game changing. We’re filling the halls of power with our own. More than 900 union members were elected to office last week, including a U.S. Senator, two governors and at least 18 U.S. House members.