Polling for the AFL-CIO by Hart Research showed that 68 percent of union members voted for the Obama-Biden ticket  -- believed to be the highest level of union support ever in a presidential race and critical in helping make the difference in key battleground states.

Thanks to the increased number of labor-backed candidates who won election, the new Congress increases the number of allies CWA and other unions will need to press for the passage of Employee Free Choice and other key measures. At press time, the composition of the new Senate showed 57 Democrats (including two independents who caucus with Democrats) and 40 Republicans, with the outcome in three races still undecided. The line-up in the House so far is 254 Democrats and 173 Republicans, with eight races still undecided.

"CWA members are proud to have played a big part in this historic election," said CWA President Larry Cohen. "It's a huge victory for working and middle income Americans, who soon will have in the White House and Congress real advocates for the critical changes our country and economy needs – a laser focus on creating quality jobs here in the U.S., real health care reform and real bargaining rights through the Employee Free Choice Act that will enable working people to secure a better future," he said.

Labor's effort overall helped produce a voter turnout that could, when finally tallied, equal the nearly 64 percent turnout in the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon election. In fact, voter participation in many battleground states – nearing 80-90 percent of registered voters – hasn't been seen since the 1920 election when women first exercised their right to vote.

Anti-Employee Free Choice Campaign – An Election Non-Issue

Despite $20 million spent in nine battleground states by big business interests to attack support for the Employee Free Choice Act by Democratic Senate candidates, voters ignored the misleading attacks and overwhelmingly favored candidates who support working families.

That's the finding of a survey by Hart Research commissioned by American Rights at Work.  ARAW Chair David Bonior, in releasing the results today, noted:  "Not only did the opponents of Employee Free Choice fail to affect these races, often those candidates supporting the bill rose in the polls despite massive advertising on the issue."

The misleading ads, mainly bankrolled by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are based on a complete lie -- the claim that Employee Free Choice would "eliminate secret ballot elections" in union campaigns.  Most of the candidates targeted by the attacks won their elections, and even in other races the issue wasn't a serious factor.  Less than one percent of citizens who voted for the anti-Employee Free Choice candidate voiced any unfavorable mention of unions or the bill itself as a factor in their voting choice, the survey found. 

In fact, voters in these battleground states "are more than twice as likely to say big corporations having too much power (50 percent) creates a bigger problem for people like them than big labor unions having too much power (23 percent)," according to Hart.

"We have only seen the beginning of the fight to restore workers' rights in this country and we can expect more sound and fury from opponents of this bill," said Bonior.  "But voters have clearly spoken.  In our current economic climate, the American public is hungry for measures to strengthen the middle class, and our new Congress should heed this call and make it a priority to pass the Employee Free Choice Act."