Battleground Bulletin - Wisconsin

FIGHTING FOR WHAT’S RIGHT – WISCONSIN

Less than a week and counting! It’s time for another issue of Battleground Bulletin!   

As District 4 members made their final push on behalf of Labor-endorsed candidates, CWA wants to remind you that you will make the difference in the Battleground States of Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. You can depend on each new Battleground Bulletin! to keep you up to date from now to Election Day.

AFL-CIO Executive Director Karen Ackerman put it best last week on ABC’s “Top Line” when she said Labor’s get-out-the vote operations will save the day for endangered Democrats and overcome the so-called “enthusiasm gap” that belongs to anti-worker Republican candidates.

“Many of these races are going to be very close,” Ackerman predicted. “The difference will be and can be the labor vote.”

We know that about half of the 75 House seats that are in play are in high union density districts. We also know that in many states, Democratic candidates are running well in early voting results.

District 4 members played a key role in the election of President Barack Obama and a worker-friendly Congress in 2008. It’s up to us again.

We can win. We will win.

WHERE THE ACTION IS

The new president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, Phil Neuenfeldt, said it best while speaking to Eau Claire activists:

“Our goal is simple. We are fighting to elect candidates who will support working families. Tom Barrett will protect workers’ rights and stop Wisconsin jobs from being outsourced. He has a plan which will create 180,000 new jobs during his first term by investing in job training and green technologies, as well as cutting through red tape on new construction. That is the kind of leadership that we need to jumpstart our economy.

“The fact is, there’s a lot more of us than there is of them, and if we go and vote, we’re going to win, and that’s what we’re here for.”

Speaking of winning, the latest poll released last week shows that U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold has virtually wiped out his opponent's one-time lead. Feingold said he's still waiting for his opponent, a free-spending millionaire with strong ties to Wall Street and the Tea Party’s anti-worker rhetoric, to tell us he hopes to create jobs.

This continues to be a very winnable race – but not without our help.

Another priority for Labor is keeping U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen in his 8th District congressional seat. Kagen’s opponent has said Social Security was created to buy votes and is not a legitimate program. This fall, working people will tell Kagen’s opponent to keep his hands off our safety net!

TOUGH TIMES FOR WORKING FAMILIES

As the result of the disastrous Bush-era economic policies, more than 1 in 8 Americans are now on food stamps.

Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that 32 states have adopted rules making it easier to qualify for food stamps since 2007. In all, 38 states have loosened eligibility standards.

Eligibility for food stamps varies from state to state, with the 11 most generous states allowing families to apply if their gross income is less than double the federal poverty line of $22,050 for a family of four.

"We've seen a huge increase in participation due to the economic downturn," said Jean Daniel, a spokeswoman for the USDA. “That's the way this program was designed."

Incredibly, food stamps have been blasted by some Republicans in this midterm election season as just another federal entitlement program.

These guys never stop. Outsource our jobs, and then take away our safety net. No wonder American families are angry!

BIG MONEY GONE WILD

The New York Times reports that Prudential Financial sent in a $2 million donation last year as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce kicked off a national advertising campaign to weaken efforts to police Wall Street bandits.

Dow Chemical delivered $1.7 million to the chamber last year as the group took a leading role in aggressively fighting proposed rules that would impose tighter security requirements on chemical facilities.

Health insurance providers funneled at least $10 million to the chamber last year, all of it anonymously, to oppose President Obama’s health care legislation.

And Goldman Sachs, Chevron Texaco, and Aegon -- a multinational insurance company based in the Netherlands -- donated more than $8 million in recent years to a chamber foundation that has been critical of President Obama’s policies.

None of these large donations were publicly disclosed by the chamber, a pro-corporation tax-exempt group that keeps its donors secret. But they show how Big Money interests have become an influential player in this fall’s Congressional elections.

These deep-pocketed donors don’t care about working Americans. In fact, most of the policies they’re peddling work against our best interests.

Remember, voting is the great equalizer. With hard work, we can send a message to the moneyed interests that are trying to buy our government.