Nearly half the members of some building trade unions in Colorado are out of work.
Politicos predict dramatic Republican sweeps of major offices across the land.
And Colorado Democrats are wary of bold union stances as they seek to win over skeptical independent voters.
It would seem a tough time to be a union door-knocker for liberal political causes. Still, a new wave of canvassing by union members started this past weekend.
“They’re doing what they always try to do, and obviously they’re a big part of the Democratic turnout effort,” said Dick Wadhams, state Republican Party chairman.
Many analysts say Democrats’ only hope on Nov. 2 is to boost their turnout closer to the enthusiastic levels prompted by Barack Obama’s surge in 2008.
The Colorado AFL-CIO has 90,000 members, union households totaling 300,000 people, and 189,000 “frequent voters,” said political director Phil Hayes. That could be 10 percent of the Colorado turnout.
By Election Day, volunteers and staff plan to hand out 200,000 fliers with messages highlighting Republican Senate candidate Ken Buck’s opposition to unemployment benefits, the dangers to labor of government-reduction Amendments 60 and 61, and GOP opposition to state employee unions.
Tens of thousands more Republicans voting in the August primaries than Democrats are proof that Colorado is responding to the GOP’s platform of smaller government and lower taxes, Wadhams said.
Unions can still deliver powerful messages to large groups, but they can’t necessarily deliver those voters straight to Democrats, said Fordham University professor Christina Greer, who assesses the political muscle of union movements.
Democrats still pass union-friendly legislation, Greer said, but many union members might blame their unemployment on their local Democrat.
Although Democrats haven’t delivered on key labor goals, such as the Employee Free Choice Act, union leaders say the party has earned their loyalty with less-visible advances.
At the federal level, union leadership points to little-known gains they value, including Congress passing a stimulus bill that not only saved construction and government jobs but also required higher prevailing wages on building projects.
Arvada letter carrier Cindy Kirby, on leave to help organize AFL-CIO election efforts, said members want jobs to rebound.
“But we also need a safety net in the meantime, while new jobs are being created,” she said. “Social Security, unemployment benefits, those are huge to our members.”
Union get-out-the-vote efforts will bolster other largely pro-Democratic programs, including Obama’s Organizing for America and the America Votes project.
Republicans will counter with get-out-the-vote plans run from the state GOP offices. American Crossroads, which along with Crossroads GPS buys conservative TV ads, has said it will spend $10 million on canvassing in eight states, including Colorado.
Michael Booth: 303-954-1686 or mbooth@denverpost.com
