AFL-CIO Drops 2M Negative Mail Pieces

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National Journal:

AFL-CIO Drops 2M Negative Mail Pieces
September 13, 2010 11:19 AM
By Jeremy P. Jacobs

The AFL-CIO launched an ambitious grassroots campaign to energize its members on Monday, sending out 2M direct mail pieces around the country to union members. The pieces focus on governor, Senate and House races.

The mail pieces are entirely negative, targeting the Republican in each race.

The mail place is significant because union spending is the Democrats' best hope for countering the millions of dollars that conservative groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are funneling into the election. Democrats are counting on the AFL-CIO to motivate its members to turn out to the polls this fall.

The AFL-CIO says it is focusing on mail because it has found through research that union members are more responsive to direct mail than the general public. The organization is combining the mail pieces with calls and flyers before and after they hit mailboxes, so it anticipates making 4M calls this week.

This is the second major effort from the AFL-CIO. Over Labor Day weekend, the AFL-CIO aired a nationwide ad. The AFL-CIO has vowed to get involved in races across 26 states this year, including 70 House races.

In Senate races, the AFL-CIO is targeting 6 states. The mail pieces attack Sharron Angle ® in NV, Rep. Roy Blunt ® in MO, Ron Johnson ® in WI, Rep. Mark Kirk in IL, Marco Rubio in FL and Pat Toomey in PA.