Wednesday, September 27, 2000

Tipper urges unions to 'carry the message'

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Mrs. Gore speaks at AFL-CIO convention

By Howard Wilkinson
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        A cell phone that rang in the middle of Tipper Gore's speech to about 1,000 Ohio AFL-CIO delegates at the Cincinnati Convention Center on Tuesday helped make her point about getting out the union vote.

        “Tell that person on the phone to go the polls and vote,” the wife of the Democratic presidential nominee told the cheering crowd.

Tipper Gore makes a campaign appearance at the Albert B. Sabin Center Tuesday. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        The Democratic ticket of Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman will need every vote it can get in what may be the closest election in 40 years, particularly in key battleground states such as Ohio, which has 21 electoral votes to offer the Nov. 7 winner.

        Organized labor makes up one branch of a trinity of voter groups — the other two being African-Americans and women — who delivered Ohio for Bill Clinton in the last two elec tions. The Gore-Lieberman ticket needs labor to deliver the bulk of its nearly 1 million votes in Ohio this year.

        Firing up the leaders of the unions that make up the state's largest labor organization was the point of Mrs. Gore's ap pearance before a meeting of the biennial Ohio AFL—CIO convention.

        “We really need you to talk to people in the places where you work and where you live about how important this election is,” Mrs. Gore said. “This may be one of the tightest, closest elections ever, and every vote will count.

        “Many people may not believe that what happens in the White House or in the statehouse matters in their house,” Mrs. Gore said. “But union people do. You have to carry the message.”

        The AFL-CIO endorsed Mr. Gore early in his primary contest with former Sen. Bill Bradley. In Ohio, the rank-and-file labor union members are apparently supporting the Democratic nominee. A recent Ohio Poll conducted by the University of Cincinnati showed Mr. Gore with 62 percent of the vote in union households, while Mr. Bush had 29 percent.

        The AFL-CIO is trying to drive up Mr. Gore's numbers in key states such as Ohio with a $1-million-a-week TV ad campaign that started in mid-September in Ohio, Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania — all key battleground states. The 30-second TV spot criticizes Mr. Bush for his treatment of a teachers' retirement fund in Texas, where he is governor.

        On Nov. 1-2, AFL—CIO President John Sweeney and the heads of several international unions will make a bus tour of Ohio, with rallies in several cities aimed at getting union voters to the polls on Nov. 7, said AFL-CIO spokeswoman Deborah Dion.

        Tuesday, at the Ohio AFL-CIO convention, Mrs. Gore told the union members they have to work on convincing others besides traditional Democrats to vote for the Gore-Lieberman ticket.

        “Let's reach out to independent and independent-minded Republicans who want to see this economic growth keep going,” Mrs. Gore said.

        Candy Witte, an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers member from Cincinnati, said Mrs. Gore's message was “fantastic.”

        “We're getting people worked up,” Ms. Witte said. “I don't think we're going to have too much trouble getting people to go to the polls. People understand that we have to keep the good times going.”
       

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