http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/unions-budget-up-to-20-million-for-august-campaign-2009-08-01.htmlBy Alexander Bolton
Posted: 08/01/09 11:00 AM
Labor unions and liberal advocacy groups will spend between $10 million and $20 million this month to twist lawmakers’ arms over the stalled healthcare reform effort in Congress.
Much of the grassroots activity and television ads will be aimed at persuading centrist Democrats and Republicans to support the creation of a robust government-run health insurance program. Many centrists have balked at the cost of pending healthcare proposals and are reluctant to embrace government competition in the insurance markets.
The AFL-CIO and affiliated unions are planning a massive dual offensive on healthcare reform and labor law reform in August, budgeting $10 to $15 million on the effort, according to a senior labor official. The labor unions’ advocacy will consist of mass mailings, running phone banks and distributing policy fliers at worksites.
“This is expensive stuff,” said Gerald Shea, Assistant to the President for Governmental Affairs at the AFL-CIO, who provided a rough estimate of the cost of August activities. Shea said the effort would be conducted by the AFL-CIO and affiliated unions and would focus on healthcare reform and the Employee Free Choice Act.
Shea said the AFL-CIO’s activities would reach a level the same level of intensity as July of last year, when it escalated its efforts to support then-candidate Barack Obama after he clinched the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.
Shea declined to say which senators and members of the House would be targeted.
FULL story at link.
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