From city halls and state legislatures to Congress and the White House, IBEW activists are making a final push this week to urge their brothers and sisters to vote for candidates who will always put workers first — and to do it now.
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| IBEW locals are putting lots of energy into critical city and county races around the country, working to elect worker-friendly candidates who support building trades issues such as prevailing wage and project labor agreements. In Minnesota, pictured above, Saint Paul Local 110 campaigns for former state legislator Mark Wiens in his bid to be a commissioner in suburban Washington County.
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| IBEW members head toward the Ellipse on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for Kamala Harris’ speech Oct. 29, where she cited her “To Do” list — a policy agenda that includes tax cuts for working Americans and other major economic relief for home buyers, health care, elder care and more, such as investments in building trades apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships. A strong proponent of union training programs, Harris has toured numerous JATCs around the country and has said repeatedly that she’s “on a mission to visit every IBEW local.”
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Early in-person voting is available virtually everywhere in the United States, along with same-day registration in 23 states and the District of Columbia. The last day to vote is Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Check your registration status and details about locations and hours for early voting and Election Day precincts using online tools such as Vote.org.
“Don’t take any chances when it comes to casting your ballot. You never know what might come up if you wait,” International President Kenneth W. Cooper said. “Everything we’ve gained and everything we’re still fighting for is on the line.
“That’s true whether we’re talking about electing a town council that supports prevailing wage, legislators who will block union-busting right-to-work laws, or a president who cast the tie-breaking vote in Congress to save our pensions and has proven again and again to be our champion,” Cooper said, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris.
As IBEW members knock on doors, make phone calls and visit worksites, they are stressing the importance of races up and down the ballot — ensuring that smaller races don’t get lost amid the enormous energy that is critical to winning the White House and worker-friendly majorities in Congress.
“Some days we have so many people here, and you can’t be at everything,” said Detroit Local 58 registrar and Recording Secretary Jeannette Bradshaw, citing the many visits to swing-state Michigan by Harris; her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz; and the many political VIPs campaigning for them.
“We know how important it is all the way down the ballot,” Bradshaw said. “It really is about having the right school board and the right county officials and township supervisor and retaining the elected officials who have proven they support us, the building trades and Michigan’s working families.”
In York, Pa., Local 229 has been hosting busloads of weekend canvassers at its hall and training center, in addition to its own members and other IBEW brothers and sisters hitting the streets.
“We were approached by the Harris-Walz campaign and the Pennsylvania Democrats,” Business Manager Tom Henchey said. “The first weekend, we had 492 people from all over the place, and it’s kept growing from there.”
It’s not only the campaigns that benefit. Noting a thank-you email he received from a woman who arrived on a charter bus, Henchey said it’s also good public relations for the IBEW and its apprenticeship programs.
“She said how welcome they felt here and what a good impression we made,” he said. “A lot of people don’t know anything about unions, so we’re happy to have any opportunity to bring people in and show them what we do.”
IBEW and union allies across Ohio are fighting hard to reelect Sen. Sherrod Brown, one of the strongest pro-union, pro-worker members of Congress in modern history. Despite that, he is in the fight of his political life against a billionaire-backed car dealer so hostile to workers’ rights that he’s been sued by employees for wage theft.
That’s one of the messages Kevan Brown, business manager of Steubenville, Ohio, Local 246, drives home when he talks about the race. He says the choice couldn’t be clearer, stressing the unwavering leadership of Sen. Brown — no relation — on jobs, pensions and other issues vital to working people.
“He’s a guy who’s stood by workers like us every step of the way, every single day,” Brown said a news conference Oct. 24. “Because of Sherrod Brown, we’re seeing real progress. We’re seeing waterlines, sewer systems and bridges like the Market Street Bridge being rebuilt by Ohio workers with American-made products.”
From municipal to state levels, ballot measures are a key part of many IBEW campaigns across the country. Ohio unions are part of a broad coalition of supporters fighting to end partisan gerrymandering in their state, known as the “Yes on Issue 1” campaign. In San Diego, Local 569 and its allies are also pushing hard for Measure G, a half-cent sales tax for regional transportation and infrastructure projects.
While traditional phone banks and door-to-door canvassing at union homes remain a critical part of labor’s get-out-the-vote campaigns, a newer method is reaching hundreds of thousands of members at lightning speed: peer-to-peer texting, an effort that has proven effective in campaigns over the past couple of years.
East Windsor, N.J., Local 827 members have been among 15 to 20 volunteers helping the state AFL-CIO send texts three days a week to build support and turn out voters for labor-endorsed candidates.
Volunteers have sent nearly 1 million messages over the past few weeks, said Tom Kelly, Local 827 business agent and president of the Passaic County Central Labor Council, explaining that it starts with a Zoom call with instructions and encouragement from federation leaders.
“Once you’re ready to send texts, there’s a pre-loaded message and you’re loaded with 300 union members’ numbers,” Kelly said. “As fast as you can hit enter or the space bar you can send a text. After you complete your 300, if anyone responds, you respond with any of 6 preloaded answers and then get another 300. I've sent over 8,000 in an hour, and others have sent over 10,000.”
Cooper thanked the thousands of IBEW volunteers across the country, while asking all members and their families to do their part between now and Election Day.
“We couldn’t be prouder or more appreciative of everyone who has put in the legwork, hours on the phones or taken part in any of the countless activities this fall to elect people who will put workers first,” he said. “But we also understand that not everyone has the time to be directly involved.
“But there is one thing we all can do and must do: Get to the polls, whether early voting or your precinct on Election Day, and make your voice heard.”
CLICK HERE for a gallery of IBEW get-out-the-vote photos from around the country.