We’re all in for November.
The upcoming elections present historic opportunities for the Gulf Coast labor movement. The national climate and shifting voting patterns in our region make the Houston-area ground zero for movement forward in politics. In November we have a real opportunity to win the White House, expand a friendly majority in the U.S. House, flip the Texas House, expand power in county and municipal governments, and put in place a friendly Senate Majority Leader.
This election also presents historic challenges: Current models predict that infection rates for COVID-19 will continue to rise in Texas, making traditional canvassing impossible. Voter suppression efforts, like limiting the expansion of vote by mail, will be a primary tool used by our opponents. The Trump administration and its enablers are doubling down on the use of racism to draw workers into their alliance.
This plan was designed to overcome the unique challenges we face in the 2020 cycle and accomplish the goals for our political program laid out in the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation Constitution: to encourage workers to register and vote, to exercise their full rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and to fully participate in civic life.
Election Overview
While much has changed electorally in the last four months, what hasn’t changed is the Gulf Coast’s importance in the 2020 cycle. In November, our region will feature competitive races at the federal and state level, with several races that could decide the balance of power in Congress and the Texas Statehouse.
Although the Presidential race will take top billing, the biggest races in Texas this cycle will be targeted State House districts. After a historic wave in 2018 with 12 Democratic pickups, the Republican margin in the statehouse is currently down to a meager 8 seats out of 150.
For the first time since 2008, Democrats have a chance to win control of the Texas House, and if they do, the new House majority will unquestionably be the most pro-worker legislative majority in Texas history. This means an opportunity to pass pro-worker advances like raising the minimum wage, raising public employee pay, improving access to health care, advancing registered apprenticeships, improving rules for immigrant workers, combating sexual harassment and other behaviors that harm women in the workplace, expanding voting rights, more funding for public schools, and protection for the right of working people to speak up together.
Importantly, control of the Texas House also means a voice in redistricting. Texas Republicans have a long history of extreme partisan gerrymandering, and the science behind redistricting has only improved in the last 10 years. If left unchecked, Republicans are likely to throw all caution to the wind in their efforts to preserve their power, implementing maps that make Democratic majorities all but impossible to win even with double digit majorities, as has happened in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan.
Our plan for the fall will prioritize defending swing seats held by labor champions Rep. Jon Rosenthal (HD 135) and Rep. Gina Calanni (HD 132) and electing labor champions in competitive seats. We will also work to protect Rep. Lizzie Fletcher and the rest of our pro-worker Congressional delegation and expand their majority by winning swing seats in the Gulf Coast area, and mobilize to elect labor champions in county and municipal races across the region.
Our Program
As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we will not use door-to-door canvassing nor traditional voter registration as part of our political program this fall. Canvassing is undoubtedly the most effective tactic for reaching voters and losing it requires us to innovate.
Instead of knocking doors, our program will focus first on giving volunteers the training and tools to reach out to their personal networks, either at home or at work. Because they draw upon pre-existing relationships, these conversations are much more effective than traditional persuasion and GOTV direct voter outreach tactics, but they require significantly more organizing resources at the outset.
Our program will also include phone and textbanking to reach members and encourage them to get out to vote, as well as ongoing efforts to register members and help eligible members sign up to vote by mail. We are asking affiliates to release staff earlier than normal to help offset the costs of paid phone and textbanking and build our volunteer networks.
We will also include targeted digital and mail to members throughout the region and in targeted districts, as well as offering an expanded local union mail program to help all affiliates communicate directly with their members.
Because of the time-intensive nature of workplace and community organizing, we hope to start our program as soon as possible, with work in July, August and September to identify, train, and develop worksite and neighborhood volunteer leads, followed by intensive phonebanking and textbanking outreach in October through November 3rd.