Labor is trying to maximize its impact -- which is translating to less cash for Obama. Unions struggle to help Obama

Organized labor is playing “Moneyball” this fall, and President Barack Obama isn’t winning.

Four years ago, organized labor came out early and often for Obama, from major endorsements in the primary to multimillion-dollar ad buys later in the year.


Now, with smaller memberships, less excitement and a languishing economy, unions aren’t guaranteed to be the help they once were. It doesn’t help that Obama has at times disappointed labor on issues ranging from trade to environmental regulations to the Wisconsin gubernatorial recall vote.

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Despite the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision opening the door to direct and unlimited union (and corporate) contributions, several high-ranking union officials and Democratic operatives confirm that labor’s overall presidential race spending will likely be down from four or eight years ago. The Center for Responsive Politics found at least $206 million in political spending from unions in 2008, although that figure is incomplete because not all spending has to be disclosed.

As a result, unions are taking a Moneyball-like political approach to maximize the effect of the money and muscle they do have. That may mean money goes to a congressional race or ballot initiative rather than to Obama. It also means that instead of spending big on TV ads like the outside groups helping Republican Mitt Romney, unions are preaching old-school political fundamentals: phone banking, door-knocking, member-to-member outreach.

Some unions have even turned to contests and gimmickry to cultivate their grass-roots.

AFL-CIO’s super PAC Workers' Voice launched an incentive program called RePurpose, where volunteers earn points from phone banking, canvassing and other activities. For example, for 25,000 points, volunteers will be able to create their own “friends and neighbors” phone bank, and for 700 points, they can place online ads supporting Obama.

National Education Association members can earn T-shirts and other swag for contacting Facebook friends.

“There’s certainly less enthusiasm,” said Bret Caldwell, spokesman for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, “but working families understand the difference in policies between Obama and Romney is much greater than the difference between Obama and John McCain.”

AFL-CIO spokesman Jeff Hauser said the union has to educate members in a “nuanced way” because it’s difficult to excite them when their families still face economic troubles.

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“The need for education is to provide some context for the economy,” Hauser said. “Working people are aware that the economy is not where it needs to be. But the trajectory is progress. The alternative under John McCain would have been depression.”

But unions can’t do everything at once, Caldwell said. “There’s an endless array of priority campaigns. Everything is equal priority to close the gap in the House, keep the Senate and to reelect the president.”

The AFL-CIO spent $53 million in 2008 to help elect Obama, but is changing things up this year. It already redeployed money away from Obama earlier this year, and is trying to concentrate cash and staff in six states — Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — that it considers crucial in presidential races, have big union membership, contested down ballot races and changing demographics.

The Communication Workers of America is dividing resources among numerous races in 30 states and homing in on ballot initiatives in California and Michigan. Overall, spokesman Chuck Porcari said, it’s spending more than ever before during an election cycle — just spreading its cash far and wide.

The International Association of Fire Fighters is training its pro-Obama outreach on swing states and, often, specific cities such as Dayton, Ohio, and Roanoke, Va., where its membership base is strong, General President Harold Schaitberger said.

It plans to begin airing pro-Obama, anti-Romney TV ads starting Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and pump another $400,000 into online spots. But much of its $20 million estimated political outlay will go toward member-to-member programs with an eye on congressional races, state-level contests and ballot measures.

“We’re not the Koch brothers,” he said. “But we’re doing what we can.”

That alone is a major shift from last year, when the 300,000-member firefighters’ union briefly broke up with the Democrats, saying they were unhappy with the response to GOP anti-union legislation, including attempts to cut collective bargaining rights.

It’s difficult to put an overall dollar amount on union efforts because not all spending has to be disclosed. Most use vehicles other than political action committees and super PACs, which must report their finances, and spend on grass-roots efforts and volunteering directly with campaigns. But the spending drop seems to match the continuing decline in the number of organized workers.

Last year, about 11.8 percent of all wage and salary workers — 14.8 million in all — belonged to a union, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. In 1983, the first year the bureau collected such statistics, 20.1 percent of workers, or about 17.7 million people, reported union membership.

But union officials roundly reject the notion that a smaller overall union force translates into some kind of slide from political powerhouse to bit player.

The National Education Association boasts one of the most robust pro-Obama get-out-the-vote efforts this election, which National Political Director Karen White, while not volunteering an exact dollar figure, says is about equal in size to that of 2008.

White counts about 500,000 members who are volunteering for Obama for America. About one in 78 Americans is an NEA member, she added, meaning the union has the potential to reach tens of millions of people.

“And the more Mitt Romney talks about public education, the more enthusiastic our members get,” White said.

In June, the Service Employees International Union launched the biggest political push in its history, focusing on grass-roots efforts pushing for Obama’s reelection in states including Colorado, Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

SEIU has also hit the airwaves with Priorities USA Action, a super PAC supporting Obama and run by a pair of former Obama staffers. Through Tuesday, SEIU had spent about $9.5 million on advertisements and other mass communications promoting Obama or attacking Romney, federal records show. By this one political measure among many, it leads all unions.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has spent about $2.9 million on ads, the AFL-CIO about $1 million.

While that may seem like big money, the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future alone as spent about $48 million this cycle on ads, and the Karl Rove-linked Crossroads groups have together spent about $46 million.

Many labor unions’ traditional political action committees, which may donate limited amounts of money directly to candidates, are also off their pace from recent elections.

AFL-CIO’s PAC spent $297,560 as of Aug. 31, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. About two months away from the election, it’s on pace to spend a fraction of the $1.7 million it spent on the 2008 election and the $778,897 it spent in 2010.

The NEA’s PAC had spent about $2 million as of Aug. 31. It spent $7 million in 2010 and $5.4 million in 2008.

Even the PAC for the United Auto Workers, the group present in large numbers at the Democratic National Convention to tout Obama’s success in saving the auto industry, isn’t spending as much. Its PAC had spent $3.7 million as of June 30, on pace to fall short of the $13.1 million it spent during the 2008 cycle.

Meanwhile, the United Mine Workers of America is skipping out on Obama altogether this year after endorsing Obama in 2008. It’s instead focusing on Senate and House races in West Virginia, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

The union won’t endorse anyone in the presidential race this year.

“The current EPA has not been coal friendly, and we don’t think a pending Romney EPA will be any different,” said UMWA spokesman Phil Smith.