Labor Rolls Out Election Sprint
The AFL-CIO on Wednesday unveiled a major mobilization effort for Labor Day weekend, including a national TV and radio ad buy.
The labor organization is spending about half a million dollars on running the ads on national network and cable, according to a source in the organization. The ads will run during baseball and NCAA football games, as well as NASCAR races.
"This is a defining Labor Day for working people and the kick-off to the final round of a defining set of elections," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will say at a press conference announcing the ads, according to prepared remarks provided to Hotline On Call.
The AFL-CIO is also leading a grassroots mobilization effort in 26 states this weekend. Already, the labor organization has distributed 2M fliers at more than 300 work sites and is estimating that its effort in the run up to Election Day will be several times larger.
The effort, and the ad, demonstrate that labor is the left's best hope at countering conservative groups that are vowing to spend millions on airing ads this year. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce alone has pledged to spend $75M, and other groups, like American Crossroads, are already becoming a significant presence on the airwaves.
Trumka will also call for "economic patriotism." "Patriotism has traditionally been defined by foreign affairs," he will say. "But patriotism should begin in our own backyard in our own communities."
The economic policies of the GOP will also be a target of Trumka's remarks. In particular, he'll target House Min. Leader John Boehner for an economic policy speech the GOP leader gave last week.
Boehner "outlined a plan that would move us right back to the Bush-era corporate agenda that created the economic morass we are still trying to escape," Trumka will say. In particular, Trumka will attack the GOP for calls to privatize Social Security and cutting taxes for wealthy Americans.
Update, 12:10 p.m.: At the press conference a couple more details emerged. First, the scope of the AFL-CIO's planned program. The organization plans to get involved in 26 states, including Senate, House, governor and state legislature races. It will work in 70 House races and, when the state legislature races are taken into account, anticipates involvement in more than 400 races this cycle.
Second, the ad for this weekend is now live. Check it out here.