[ This dispatch forwarded to me by Leslie Miller of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, who’s on the ground getting out the vote in New Hampshire — Jason ]
Never before have so many union workers engaged in a presidential campaign here in New Hampshire.
Change to Win volunteers and lost-timers have knocked on tens of thousands of doors to persuade voters to support Barack Obama.
They’ll drive workers to the polls, make phone calls and visit worksites - as they’ve been doing for weeks in this formerly red state.
New Hampshire Congressman Paul Hodes came to Concord on Wednesday to give more than 50 Change To Win lost-timers a pep talk before the final Get Out The Vote push.
“There has never been this kind of organization, this kind of vectored effort with everyone working toward the same goals,” Hodes said. “We will change the course of this country.”
Teamsters visited more than 300 worksites from Berlin way up north to the Seacoast, knocked on 28,000 doors and sent 7,000 mailers to members and retirees. SEIU knocked on more than 20,000 doors. UFCW canvassed every single one of its 1,000 members in the state. UNITE HERE workers made dozens of walks and worksite visits in Manchester, Salem and Laconia.
One of labor’s best friends in Congress, Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, joined Hodes and the lost-timers in Concord. He did it, he said, because, he’s “so sick and tired of George Bush.”
“Remember where you are in New Hampshire at this moment because this is history,” McGovern said.
Hundreds of New Hampshire union members are joined by Change To Win lost-timers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, California, Virginia and New Jersey.
Kris Schultz, Change To Win’s state director, warned against complacency in a state famous for its voters who make up their minds at the last minute.
“Al Gore lost New Hampshire by less than one percent of the vote,” Schulz told the lost-timers on Wednesday. “If Al Gore had won New Hampshire, he would have been president.”
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