CONTACT: Wayne Ranick (412) 562-2444
PITTSBURGH, -- USW Grassroots Campaign Delivers for Obama, others United Steelworkers (USW) members nationwide celebrated last night's polling victories, particularly in key battleground states where the USW mounted unprecedented outreach efforts to educate voters on key issues. There is great anticipation that the Obama victory will help American working families and get the country as a whole back on track.
"We always knew that economics would define the voting and our members were motivated like never before," said USW International president Leo W. Gerard. "When you feel the brunt of the downturn in the economy and wake up wondering if your job is being shipped overseas or whether you can still afford health care, you work like hell for change.
"For us, the results in states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia did not surprise. Our folks on the ground in these places had long been talking to both young and older Americans, male and female, black, white and brown about real concerns affecting working families. If color was an issue, it was green: money and jobs."
The USW political campaign had more than 500 people working full-time in 31 states, mobilizing members and working families. More than 11,000 Steelworkers volunteered their time to ensure Barack Obama's victory. The strategy included calling and speaking to more than 100,000 union members in key battlegrounds states between Labor Day and the Election. Nearly 5 million pieces of persuasive literature was mailed from USW international, district and local union offices.
"We congratulate Senators Obama and Biden on their monumental victory and thank them for giving us a reason to hope that the future will deliver a prosperous economy that provides good jobs, health care and retirement security for working Americans," said Gerard. "These issues motivated all of us to fight together in this election and will continue to do so in the future.
"It is essential that the new President and Congress work together to restore the American dream for all of our citizens and for us, once again, to establish our society as a shiny beacon to the rest of the world."
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