New York State has one of the strongest and most established labor union forces in the United States. The 20th District’s special election between Tedisco and Murphy has been described as rural but it includes an enclave of labor in the resort town of Saratoga Springs; as well as the affluent–civil service– suburb of Albany: Clifton Park.
Organized labor has made it a goal of helping Scott Murphy by being the vanguard of Murphy’s get-out-the-vote mobilization in the 20th district.
An email by the Capital District Area Labor Federation 2 days ago was even written by Scott Murphy.
I am writing to ask you for one final request — please take a few hours out of your day to volunteer tomorrow, on Election Day. To sign up for a volunteer shift, please email nicki.weiner@gmail.com.
I also wanted to let you know of one final event that the Capital District Area Labor Federation will be hosting. Tomorrow, at 5pm at the Park and Ride, Clifton Park (Exit 8 off the I-87 Northway) we invite you to join former Congressman Mike McNulty, Capital District Area Labor Federation President Joe Fox, PEF President Ken Brynien, and CSEA President Danny Donohue, along with my father and many other local labor leaders for a GOTV Rally to thank everyone for what you have done and what you will continue to do…
Thank you for your continued support:
Scott Murphy
The New York Times (Hat tip to the Times Union Lydia Kulbida’s Blog) City Room reports that organized labor is going so far as passing out a flier that doesn’t even mention Scott Murphy but rather correlates electing Murphy to giving Obama a hand!
The low turn-out reported may be a good thing for Murphy as Labor has really given Murphy a helping hand.
If Murphy wins, New York will sustain a friendly labor Democrat for Upstate New York. Furthermore, Obama’s plans will get a clear mandate and Obama will once again have labor to help credit for his political strengths.
This will increase the Obama Administration’s stake in passing the Employee Free Choice Act.
If Tedisco wins, however, it sends an even louder statement to both labor/Obama and even the Employee Free Choice Act. This is because the mainstream media will most likley reconsider Obama’s mandate and popularity. This race really has that much riding on it.
