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For the walks, IBEW members were given maps and lists of union households supplied by the AFL-CIO Take Back Ohio campaign. Canvassers ask what issues they consider important in the upcoming election. Curley said he found people overwhelmingly concerned about the high cost of health care, with jobs, national security, education and the economy also mentioned. They asked who the residents would vote for if the election were held today. Many were flat-out Kerry supporters, some were on the fence and only a few were inclined to support Bush.

Thats where the IBEW members knowledge of political issues came in handy. When presented with Democratic challenger Kerrys record on issues, including overtime and other worker issues, the Kerry skeptics were oftentimes swayed. "The more information they got, the more they leaned toward Kerry," Curley said. The walkers were also armed with voter registration forms to sign people up on the spot.

Local 29, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania members rally for
the Kerry/Edwards ticket.

When people cited social issues like abortion, as the canvassers found in an east Toledo neighborhood dominated by older Catholics, Curley had an answer for them too. First of all, he said, John Kerry is not pro-abortion he is pro-choice. Secondly, the Republicans have controlled the Senate and the House of Representatives for 10 years, a Republican president has been in office for four, and they have not acted to outlaw abortion. "They dont talk about it on the floor of the House or the Senate," Curley said he told them. "Theyre trying to distract you."

Wood said labor activists are worried about will would happen if President Bush is reelected. She pointed out that Bushs overtime law, which is likely to cost millions of workers their overtime pay, was implemented less than three months before the election. "He put the biggest pay cut in Americas history into effect before the election," she said. "If he did this before the election, whats he going to do after?"

A similar spirit moved union members on June 26, when an AFL-CIO coordinated effort saw 27,000 union members participate in labor walks, which culminated a month of Saturday canvasses. In Pennsylvania, another hotly contested swing state, the IBEW far outnumbered other union members, said IBEW state coordinator Mike Welsh. "We were about the only union that surpassed our goal," Welsh said.

The IBEW and other unions are planning an all-out push, with walks, phone banks and get-out-the-vote activities slated through November 2. Finally, Welsh said, the importance of this election is sinking in to members who didnt necessarily see a connection, for instance, between the harsh labor stance of FirstEnergy and its CEO as one of Bushs top contributors. "First Energy knows they have people on their side in power and they are making things tough at the negotiating table," Welsh said. "Our members are starting to wake up."

Nine IBEW members from locals in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia were part of a week-long bus trip that traveled through 15 cities in those states as well as Virginia and New York. By the time the "America Can Do Better" tour pulled up to New Yorks City Hall on August 29, there were 70 people on three buses who had participated in rallies and press events along the way. Organized by the Democratic National Committee and scheduled during the week of the Republican National Convention, the tour featured "real people" who have suffered from joblessness, homelessness, lack of health care or veterans benefits during the past four years. One mother of a solider in Iraq recounted how her son and others were forced to purchase their own safety equipment.

"Well never know what our true impact has been but we know we picked up votes at every stop," said Local 968 organizer Ken Winters, who joined the tour when the bus stopped in Parkersburg, West Virginia. "We remain steadfast in our resolve that America was better, it can do better and it will be better with Kerry and Edwards in the White House."

IBEW National Political Coordinator Edwin Lopez said such activities not only help get out the vote and educate union members, they also foster friendship and solidarity. "Its great to have activities that get people together," he said, comparing the 2004 trips with the memories shared by tens of thousands of members who boarded buses to Washington for Solidarity Day in 1981. "Events like that build organizations through shared experiences."

After six hours of barnstorming through Toledos neighborhoods, the weary walkers returned to the Local 8 hall, where they were treated to fresh lake perch before the ride home. "I was concerned about the long day but nobody complained at all," Woods said. "On the way back, everybody was asking where were going next."

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