ELECTION 2008 :

To close ranks around Obama, labor hits streets

Steve Marcus

Debbie Castrejon, a cashier at the Excalibur and a 24-year Culinary Union member, is part of an army of volunteers who are knocking on colleagues’ doors to lock in support for Sen. Barack Obama.

By Michael Mishak

Thu, Oct 9, 2008 (2 a.m.)

With a month before Election Day, the mood in the Culinary Union’s large second-story hall is urgent.

Pilar Weiss, the union’s steely, hard-charging political director, is rallying her 95 foot soldiers for another day of campaigning for Sen. Barack Obama.

The army of organizers, working six days a week, has knocked on nearly 90,000 doors of union members over the past few months. Many union households have been hit several times and some members are getting angry over the intrusions.

No matter, Weiss says Tuesday. She implores the organizers to go back.

Sure people told you they’ll vote for Obama, she says. But we’ve got to stay on them.

If there’s no wanting for passion or conviction, no wonder. For Weiss and the Culinary — the state’s largest and most politically active union — this campaign is a shot at redemption.

The Culinary, widely seen as a political kingmaker, endorsed Obama in the run-up to Nevada’s presidential caucus, only to be embarrassed when its members openly rebelled against leadership, favoring the candidate’s main rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, at seven of nine at-large caucus sites on the Las Vegas Strip. Although Obama won more delegates, Clinton won the popular vote by 6 percentage points.

In the aftermath, the union faced a divided membership and perceptions of lost clout. Culinary officials, who blamed the loss largely on a late endorsement, say the wounds have been healed and most of its members are now supporting Obama.

Before setting out Tuesday, the organizers met in small groups to offer testimonials. Jack Thill, a showroom attendant at Treasure Island, reported to others that Hispanics are now getting behind Obama. (In the caucus, Hispanics favored Clinton by a 2-to-1 margin.) Hispanics compose about 40 percent of the union’s membership, and, he noted, “They told me where to go when I came back to them” during the caucus.

The stakes are higher this time around. In Nevada, the Culinary is overseeing the effort to knock on union members’ doors for the Change to Win labor federation, which claims 100,000 members statewide. The federation includes Culinary parent Unite Here and the Service Employees International Union, in addition to five other unions.

Lead organizer Carmen Carrera imparted some tips to workers Tuesday.

Reconfirm that you know the member by using his name, she said. Sample script: “Gary, you’re still with Obama, right?” If members get angry, Carrera said, tell them you’re just offering a reminder about early voting, which begins Oct. 18. And always remember to ask about family members and how they’re planning to vote, she said.

Among the ground troops is Debbie Castrejon, a cashier at the Excalibur and a Culinary member for the past 24 years. She said she was devastated by the caucus loss, having gone door to door in the final days with the flu, and has redoubled her efforts for the general election, working 10-hour days, six days a week.

Knocking on union members’ doors has been sobering, Castrejon said, driving to her first neighborhood of the day, near Spring Mountain Road and Torrey Pines Drive. She says many union members in Las Vegas have lost their jobs, recounting a recent visit to a Culinary member who, having been fired, was in the process of moving out because her home had been foreclosed on.

Organizing is hard work. Castrejon hit 28 doors in two hours Tuesday, speaking with 13 people and leaving Obama fliers for members who aren’t home. In each case, she yells, “Culinary Union!” Some are more accommodating than others.

At her fourth house, a man behind a steel-bar door asks, “You’re not here about Obama are you?” Castrejon says she is. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he barks, slamming the door. Castrejon moves on. On a scale of one to five, one being Obama and five being Sen. John McCain, the man was marked “1” on her list, she says. She figures he just didn’t want to be bothered.

“We never get discouraged,” she says. “We keep on going.”

Four doors later, she encounters a Culinary member who just finished the graveyard shift. “I’m dead beat,” the man says, peering out from a crack in the door.

“Are you still on Obama’s team?” Castrejon says.

“Yes.”

“Stephanie too?”

“Yes,” the man says, sounding irritated. “We’re still on Obama’s team.”

“Thank you,” Castrejon says. “God bless you, honey.”

When union members aren’t home, she asks family members when she can come back, making notes in a red plastic binder. She passes a handful of vacant homes along her way, most bearing telltale signs of foreclosure. Brown lawns, lock boxes and “No Trespassing” stickers. “You see this all the time,” she says.

Castrejon makes the most of her route, apparently converting two Sparkletts water salesmen during a visit to a member’s house. “They’re not on the list, but I’ll take ’em,” she says in a thick New Jersey accent.

She struggles through a conversation with Alejandro Manriquez, a Culinary member who works at the Bellagio. He’s not a U.S. citizen and Spanish is his primary language. The two share a moment though when Manriquez points to McCain’s visage on the union flier. “Same as Bush,” he says. Three family members are working at the moment, he says, but will be home later. She marks down the times and writes “Spanish” in her binder.

Her last door is a challenge.

Norma Bactol is a porter at Harrah’s who emigrated from the Philippines 12 years ago. She’s 64 and works a second job as a housekeeper at Trump to make ends meet. Bactol says she likes Obama’s plan for the economy but her support is lukewarm. After all, she supported Clinton in the caucus and had her picture taken with President Clinton at the Rio caucus site. But there’s another reason.

“He’s black,” she says, noting she’s been mistreated by black co-workers.

“We need to look past color,” Castrejon says. “There’s good and bad in everybody.”

She then tries another approach: “It’s like a union contract. When we stick together, we win.”

Bactol commits to Obama, and with that, Castrejon is off to lunch.

Of the doors organizers have knocked on thus far, 35,813 members or their relatives support Obama, 7,111 support McCain and 5,482 are undecided, based on the Culinary’s figures.

“We feel very good right now, but we’re not being naive,” Weiss said. “We realize we have to move people in a lot of directions.”

Discussion: 6 comments so far…

By homer

10/9/08 at 8:19 a.m.

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All to soon now some right wing neo con organization will have the feds looking into this organizing tactic and trying to stop it. No one has stolen elections better than Bush and James Baker with the help of the nit wit Rove.
By neiman1

10/9/08 at 8:23 a.m.

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We are not in danger. History does not repeat itself. Watch Glen Beck's theory of our future if Obama wins

The ONE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l46t_nryS...
By Future2012

10/9/08 at 9:01 a.m.

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Because of the Union storm troopers most GOP supporter can not publicly support a Republican. Signs are being ripped out of the front yards.

Intimidations of other candidates including 24/7 (Anthony Pellicano like) video and electronic surveillance of the opposition (Lynette Boggs) is the norm.

Who want Union picketers out side their businesses.

In Nevada Labor Union worker also are citizen legislators and local officials in charge of their own salary negotiations.

In Las Vegas the Unions and the elected government leaders are co-dependent on their prospects. Steve Ross is head of the Building and Construction Trades Council and is a Las Vegas City Councilmen.

Labor Unions are one of the largest special interest lobbyist groups in the US. Clearly big supporters of Obama along with hedge fund managers (like Philip Falcone and John Paulson) and trial lawyers (like Mel Weiss and Noel Gage).

The AFL-CIO, sent in May, 2008, more than 6,000 of its people to more than 22 states during the next two weekends to talk to more than 200,000 union voters about McCain.

"Senator McCain's economic path would lead to disaster for America's working families," said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor organization.

Unions ensure that only the politically correct politicians get elected.

The reason that Las Vegas is in a major recession while the rest of the U.S. is in a downturn is the result of the price pressure that Unions have put on the Las Vegas hospitality industry.

Labor Unions have done very little to communicate what their purpose is in today's society.

We know that membership is on decline because most of the old line employers that they have locked up are going bankrupted or are losing market share. Look at their attempt now to kill Boeing.

The new employers that Labor Unions are infiltrating are services that are not as subject to being lost to competition such as Teachers, Nurses, State and City employees, Police and Fire, Hospitality, and local commercial construction.

Education and Healthcare costs are increasing at twice to three times the national inflation rate.
By redferret

10/9/08 at 9:42 a.m.

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What have you been smoking?
First unions aren't marching around town destroying signs.
Second, unions don't picket outside of businesses for political reasons like an election, besides that's probably really illegal as well as dumb for their cause (i.e. where's your proof of that assertion?).
Third, unions are a necessity in a lot of industries, notably teachers, auto, and hospitality. It guarantees that they get a living wage with benefits. So how are auto companies (as an example) in industrialized countries losing money if almost all auto industries have unions (same with hospitality). The way corporations trim those costs is that they ship those jobs overseas where there aren't unions..., and the workers work in horrible conditions and are paid pennies per hour.
Fourth, unions are an organization, so they can talk politics. But they don't force members to vote a certain way. Unlike Wal-mart which is anti-union, ships all it's non store work overseas, and keeps wages/benefits so low that many workers need state help..., and they tell their workers how to vote. Yeah, that's really great for business.
In sum, demonizing unions is stupid. This is a great American working tradition. Republican attacks against it only serve to alienate unions from the republican base and ensure their loyalty to democrats. Try actually seeing their point of view sometime instead of spouting off about how they only drain the economy or inhibit the free market. In actuality unions were developed to fight against the depredations of the free market.
By jfnance32

10/9/08 at 10:14 a.m.

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Obama is against a basic tenet of a democracy and that is the secret ballot.

He wants to do away with secret ballots in union votes.

So if you work at a place and a big guy wants up to you to sign a union ballot then God forbid if you stupid not to sign it.

If you do not sign it then your job and physical body will be at risk.

I was involved in a place that had a union vote.

It was tough enough with secret ballots. Once pro-Union workers find out that a worker was against the union then that worker's tires and car would be damage. They would have food thrown at them. They would get no help in doing their job. Most of them just quit.

Obama is against secert ballots which protect worker's rights.
By geriatric1943

10/9/08 at 1:02 p.m.

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As a past union member I cannot support Obama or unions anymore because they want to take away the secret vote.

Oh, and I love shopping at Wal-Mart because it saves me money that I really need.