Public Employee Press

Four More Years!
DC 37 helps Obama win big in NY

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

The DC37 Green Machine helped President Barack Obama win a second term Nov. 6 as hundreds of union activists leafleted New York City residents at transit hubs and business districts as the city was still recovering from Hurricane Sandy that struck the week before.

"I support President Obama, that's why I volunteered," said Luis Lacordet, a Lifeguard in Local 461. "Obama stands for the poor and is asking the rich to pay their fair share. If one man could change the world, it's Obama. It's up to us to vote and give him a chance to make things better."

Turnout was steady and strong across storm-ravaged New York City where voters were undeterred by power outages, limited mass transit, gas shortages, or storm recovery efforts.

In some neighborhoods, anxious voters endured two- to three-hour waits in lines that snaked around the block outside public schools and polling places designated for voting.

Obama's position on the economy and health care motivated many voters and volunteers to give Number 44 four more.

"I work with seniors processing their Medicare applications," said Eligibility Specialist Ramona LeCen, a Local 1549 member. "I see seniors who have to choose between medication and food. Under Obamacare, these clients get food stamps, Medicare and other support services because they have fixed incomes. Romney and Ryan's voucher system would deny them coverage and leave them out."

"I always volunteer to support my union," said Dorothy Crawley, a Clerical Associate in Local 1549 who works at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn. "There is a lot of voter suppression in this election so it's urgent that we get out the vote."

New Yorkers supported the full Democratic ticket with women, African Americans, Hispanics and younger voters overwhelmingly turning out for President Obama, while the city's white vote was evenly split between Obama and Romney, according to exit polls.

"I hope Obama wins because we need funding for education and senior citizen programs," said volunteer Miriam B. Walker, a Local 372 retiree. "If Romney wins, no one would know where they stand."

With a push from AFSCME, DC37's national union, President Obama prevailed in the key battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. He carried all the swing states he won in his historic 2008 election except two, North Carolina and Indiana.

As DC37 volunteers fanned out across the boroughs here to send Hakim Jeffries to Congress, union volunteers helped labor-friendly Democrats Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts and Christopher S. Murphy in Connecticut win; they will join DC37-endorsed Kristen Gillibrand in the United States Senate.

No doubt influencing voters' decision to support Obama also was the president's speedy response to Hurricane Sandy and the frontline of first responders who are unionized municipal employees. Their role in saving lives and restoring normalcy to the tens of thousands of East Coast residents affected by October's super storm magnified the important part government plays in delivering vital services, especially in life-threatening emergencies.