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Volunteer for Wisconsin GOTV phone banks this week

UPDATE (May 29) — Many local union members have volunteered for Seattle-area phone banks today through Thursday from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at the IAM 751 and UFCW 21 halls, but MORE VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED! If you can’t make it to those sites but have access to a computer and a phone, you can work shifts online by RSVPing and getting a username and password to log in to the system. Sign up to help by calling Max Brown at 206-441-8510 or Lori Province at 206-351-2956.


On June 5, the people of Wisconsin will vote on whether to retain Republican Gov. Scott Walker in what many consider a referendum on whether the collective bargaining rights of public employees can be taken away with impunity. Walker admits his strategy is to “divide and conquer” labor and ultimately to make Wisconsin a so-called “right to work” state.

The Republican National Committee, right-wing billionaires like the Koch brothers, and corporate-funded “bill mills” like the American Legislative Exchange Council are spending millions — outspending adversaries 25-to-1 — on TV ads urging voters to retain Walker, who led the infamous attack on Wisconsin employees’ union rights.

They have the money, but we have the people. Organized labor has mounted a massive grassroots get-out-the-vote effort in support of Democratic challenger Tom Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee. Now, the Wisconsin AFL-CIO and the national AFL-CIO are asking for the help of union activists here in Washington state to get the job done.

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED to work phone-banking shifts from 3:30 to 6 p.m. on May 29-31 to call fellow union members in Wisconsin and urge them to vote on June 5. Phone banks will be set up in Seattle at UFCW Local 21, 5030 1st Ave. South, and at the Machinists 751 Hall, 9125 15th Pl. South. Volunteers with access to a computer and a phone who can’t make it to those sites can work shifts online, by RSVPing and getting a username and password to log in to the system.

Sign up to help, or adopt phone-bank seats for your union local to fill, by calling Max Brown at 206-441-8510 or Lori Province at 206-351-2956.

Washington state union members are joining the Chicago Labor Federation, the Ohio AFL-CIO, the D.C. teachers and others to conduct these phone banks on behalf of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO. Let’s make sure all hands are on deck on May 29-31, the dates Washington has been assigned to do our part.

If you have any questions, contact Brown or Province at the above-listed numbers.

CHECK OUT THE UNION DIFFERENCE in Washington: higher wages, affordable health and dental care, job and retirement security.

FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN TOGETHER with your co-workers to negotiate for better wages, benefits, and a voice at work. Or go ahead and contact a union organizer today!