Although voting irregularities in Florida threw doubt on the outcome of the presidential race as AFT On Campus went to press, there was no doubt about the critical role labor played in turning out the vote Nov. 7, and providing margins of victory in key races across the country.

From coast to coast, working families backed candidates who support labor interests. They rejected initiatives to privatize education and to lock them out of the political process. Labor's role on behalf of endorsed presidential candidate Al Gore also was key to Gore winning the popular vote nationwide.

Labor did all this on an underdog's budget. Observers estimate that business contributions produced a 17-to-1 spending advantage over unions. But labor's effort proved that it takes more than money to win an election. The AFL-CIO reports that some 100,000 union members volunteered their time at work sites, phone banks and in precinct walks. Political union activists registered 2.3 million new union household voters, made 8 million phone calls to union households and distributed more than 14 million leaflets at their workplaces. Exit polls reveal that one in four votes came from a union household. In Michigan and Pennsylvania, two key battleground states reporting tight presidential and congressional races well after the polls closed, 42 percent and 30 percent of the voters respectively were from union households. Union members supported the Gore-Lieberman ticket over the Bush-Cheney ticket by a margin of 63 percent to 32 percent, according to election night polling by Peter Hart Research.

Democrats gain in Senate races

Thanks to some key wins in the Nov. 7 election, U.S. Senate Democrats reached near-parity with their GOP counterparts. Strong labor and minority turnout sparked victories that all but erased last session's 51-49 GOP Senate advantage. Depending on late vote counts, the parties will be split evenly in the Senate or, at most, the GOP will hold a 51-49 advantage. The shift in power means that bipartisan support for legislation becomes even more critical: Under Senate rules, bills must enjoy the support of 60 or more lawmakers or face certain death in the legislative process.

In Missouri, Delaware, Minnesota, Florida, and Michigan, Democrats picked up seats held by the GOP in the past Congress; at press time, the race in Washington state was too close to call. One of the sweetest wins for an AFT-backed candidate came in New York, where first lady and Democratic Senate candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton rolled to victory by a 12 percent margin over U.S. Rep. Rick Lazio.

In other key races, labor made the difference in a dramatic Senate win in Michigan by Debbie Stabenow, who was trailing GOP incumbent Spencer Abraham by double-digit margins in the weeks leading up to the election. In Minnesota, the AFT-backed Mark Dayton claimed victory over incumbent Sen. Rod Grams. The Florida seat left open by retiring Sen. Connie Mack jumped into the Democratic column thanks in large measure to hard work by AFT members to get out the vote on behalf of Democratic candidate Bill Nelson, Florida's Insurance Commissioner. Finally, one of the most poignant wins for Democrats came in Missouri, where voters chose Democrat Mel Carnahan, the popular governor who was killed in a plane crash three weeks before the election but whose name remained on the ballot.

Carnahan's widow, Jean, said she would accept an appointment to the Senate if voters selected her late husband's name on the ballot over incumbent GOP Sen. John Ashcroft.

AFT-backed candidates narrow gap in the House

The Republicans continue to control the U.S. House of Representatives for the fourth consecutive term after this election, but the final split reflects a net gain of two seats for the Democrats. The work of labor helped to achieve that.

In California, AFT-backed candidates won in two House races that generated national interest. State Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat, was running in the 27th District against incumbent Rep. Jim Rogan, a conservative who, as a House manager, zealously pursued President Clinton during the impeachment proceedings. Schiff, a former U.S. attorney, adjunct college professor and AFT member, took 52.8 percent of the vote to Rogan's 43.8 percent. In the 15th District, two-term state assemblyman Mike Honda, a Democrat, was running against Republican Jim Cunneen for the seat vacated by Rep. Tom Campbell in his failed bid to reach the U.S. Senate. Honda, also an AFT member, took 54 percent of the vote to Cunneen's 42 percent.

In other House races of interest, in Connecticut, Rep. James Maloney (D-5th District), facing a rematch with his 1998 opponent Republican Mark Nielsen, won reelection by a swift nine-point margin. Illinois Democratic incumbent Lane Evans defeated challenger Republican Mark Baker by a significant 9 percent advantage, defying what observers tagged as a tight race.

In Minnesota, Democrat Betty McCollum's impressive win over Republican Linda Runbeck is a victory for AFT. And in Utah, first-time candidate Democrat Jim Matheson beat another first-timer, Republican Derek Smith, by an overwhelming 14 percent margin. Matheson, the AFT-supported candidate, won the seat of two-term Republican congressman Merrill Cook, who did not seek reelection.

Voters reject vouchers and "paycheck deception"

Closely watched ballot initiatives for school vouchers in California and Michigan failed to win voter approval Nov. 7, yet again confirming that Americans reject vouchers at the expense of public schools. The voucher initiatives, financed in California by venture capitalist Timothy Draper and in Michigan by Amway founder Richard DeVos, were decisively rejected by 2-to-1 margins. The defeat of both voucher initiatives "marks the ninth and 10th consecutive defeats for vouchers by American voters," says AFT president Sandra Feldman. "The results must serve as a mandate for improving our public schools and not for false solutions such as vouchers."

In other state initiatives, there was more good news. In Oregon, several "paycheck deception" efforts to silence unions were defeated. Measure 92 would have applied to all workers in the state and banned the use of payroll deduction for any kind of political activity without annual written permission; Measure 98 would have banned any use of payroll deduction for political activities even if an employee had given his or her written permission.

In other ballot issues, class-size reduction passed in Washington and education funding measures passed in Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and California. In Washington state, a measure to authorize charter schools was defeated 52 percent to 48 percent. The Washington initiative was largely financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who is also an investor in Edison Schools Inc.