In the face of a huge corporate war chest behind GOP presidential candidate George W. Bush, labor unions are turning back to the methods of the past – person-to-person political discussions – to show unionists and their families that Bush is no friend of working Americans.

AFL-CIO Political Director Steve Rosenthal observed that the GOP has an unquestioned advantage in money for campaign ads and other means of getting the public's backing for Bush and other Republican Party candidates. As a rule, big corporations and wealthy donors tend to favor the party that favors them, and this translates into lots of corporate cash and donations from wealthier citizens.

In contrast, the Democrats, who tend to promote working Americans' issues, are usually at a severe disadvantage in contributions from their somewhat poorer supporters. This means much less money than their opponents to pay for television ads and radio spots and the big rallies that attract media attention.

So, facing this deficit in money to back Vice Pres. Gore and other worker-friendly candidates, Rosenthal wants to make sure that America's 16 million union members at least get the reasons why they should support Democrats.

"We want to make sure that by the time the Republican television ads start this summer, every union member knows that Bush is not on their side and that a vote for him is a vote against workers and against unions," Rosenthal said.

Union leaders point to major issues that would be strongly influenced by who the voters elect to the presidency Nov. 7. These issues include: Social Security privatization; an increase in the minimum wage; safety and health legislation to reverse the GOP-controlled Congress' attempts to weaken job safety requirements; and the conservative campaign to restrict unions' right to engage in the political process.

The AFL-CIO plans to be active locally in helping the Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives, and less likely, the Senate.

Rosenthal says the federation has taken surveys to determine the best way to communicate with members of its constituent unions. So far, the survey determined that a phone call from a union colleague or leader and handbill information at work are among the most effective ways to enlist support, while newsletters and direct mail are not very effective.

The AFL-CIO survey determined that, without any information from their union, union members favor Democrats by 58 percent to only 27 percent for Republicans – a difference of 31 percent. But with the right coaching from a flyer at work or a personal phone call from another union member or officer, that ratio can be increased to up to 76 percent of union workers who go to the polls and vote democratic.

The AFL-CIO will concentrate its efforts on persuading, registering, and getting out member voters and their families. In light of other surveys that show the number of voters from union families rose from 18 percent to 23 percent between 1992 and 1998, the strategy to increase participation would further help Gore and other Democratic office-seekers.

The AFL-CIO's announcement inspired major business groups to counter the union effort by using the rise in union voter percentages to drum up millions of dollars to elect those who are anti-union.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is leading an effort to devote millions to elect their candidates in 35 key House races and a dozen contests for the U.S. Senate. Another business group, the National Federation of Independent Business, plans to double its previous political fund and raise up to $8 million to elect pro-business candidates.

"The November election is shaping up as a 'David and Goliath' contest to see if energized working family participation can overcome a big GOP edge in campaign funds," said GCIU Pres. James J. Norton.