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Barack Obama is sharply falling out of favor with two segments he has relied heavily upon — women and union voters, according to data from the second of three NewsmaxZogby Tracking Polls for Florida. Read More...

Since 1952, only one other Republican candidate did as well among union voters -- Ronald Reagan in 1980, who also had a gap of just 7 points between overall support and union support. But Reagan wasn’t able to repeat his magic in 1984 -- his union vote trailed his national vote by 13 points. And that pattern continued until McCain in 2008, with the gap bouncing between 11 and 13 points from 1984 to 2004. So there’s some support for the notion that Republicans are doing pretty well among union voters these days.

POLITICS Updated September 13, 2012, 9:08 p.m. ET Controllers Boost Giving to Democrats By BRODY MULLINS and ANDY PASZTOR The nation's biggest and most powerful unions are usually among the most generous givers to Democrats. This year there is a newcomer among the top ranks: the low-profile association that represents air-traffic controllers. So far this election, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, with 20,000 members, has emerged as the second-largest union donor to the major pro-Democratic super PACs. It is surpassed only by the Service Employees International Union, which has 2.1 million members. NATCA has donated $1 million to a...

Seventy-plus men walked out of the ground, overalls and hardhats covered in coal dust, and onto the risers of a stage built for a Mitt Romney speech. To onlookers, mostly press and staffers, the image was stunning. To the 2,600 family members gathered in the gravel parking lot or under tents, eating hot dogs and drinking pop, it was a moment of immense pride. This is what we do, said Tim Wiles: “We make things. We provide energy for the state, food for our families, and businesses are sustained around the county because they make money from us.” The 54-year-old...

Hundreds of coal miners and their families stand in line while waiting to attend a rally at the Century Mine near Beallsville, Ohio, for Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012.

Philadelphia Speaking at the Workers Stand for America union rally in Philadelphia today, Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz wasted no time attacking newly announced Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan. Wasserman Schultz, addressing an estimated crowd of 40,000 union members, said that Ryan would "end Medicare as we know it," and made an extended attack on his budget plan. Speaking to reporters after the event, she doubled down on her comments. "I think Mitt Romney with his selection of Paul Ryan has doubled down on his interest in shredding the safety net for our seniors ... and...

Unions hit Democratic convention where it hurts: In the wallet By: Robin Bravender and Anna Palmer August 9, 2012 06:44 PM EDT The Democrats are hitting up unions — their go-to cash cows — for last-minute donations to help pay for next month’s convention in Charlotte. The response from some big unions? Tough. Union leaders insisted from the start that they wouldn’t help fill the piggy bank for this year’s Democratic National Convention after the party picked a labor-hostile location and at the same time made fundraising tougher by banning corporate contributions and capping individual donations. And with the event...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Labor unions plan to send out more than 300,000 volunteers later this month to canvass voters to support President Barack Obama’s re-election. The effort begins on Aug. 25, when activists fan out across 27 states during a national ‘‘day of action.’’ AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says a record 400,000 union-based volunteers will be knocking on doors and talking to voters in all 50 states later this year.

After giving then-Sen. Barack Obama a full-throttled endorsement in the 2008 presidential election, the United Mine Workers of America has decided not to endorse either Obama or the presumptive Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, in 2012. “As of right now, we’ve elected to stay out of this election,” said Mike Caputo, a UMWA official and a Democratic member of the West Virginia House of Delegates. “Our members right now have indicated to stay out of this race, and that’s why we’ve done that.... I don’t think quite frankly that coalfield folks are crazy about either candidate.” Both candidates are trying to...

(Re: the DNC convention) I began to hear rumors that DNC officials were asking all Event Planners, Producers, and Production Companies to use union labor. I got a copy of their RFP (Request for Proposal) and read it myself. The proposal read “we prefer that you use Union labor” for our events. I was flabbergasted. You see, North Carolina is a Right To Work state, which means in layman’s terms that you cannot make anyone use union labor. For the DNC to come to North Carolina and blatantly break our Right To Work laws is disheartening. Even though the RFP...

Hispanic lawmakers unhappy with Charlotte contractsBy ANNA PALMER | 8/3/12 1:20 PM EDT Hispanic lawmakers are peeved at the Democratic National Convention Committee for not hiring more Latino-owned businesses for next month’s convention. Upset over the lack of contracts, Hispanic lawmakers exchanged heated words Wednesday with a top DNCC official in a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill. Afterward, Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) suggested that DNCC Chief Executive Steve Kerrigan should be fired if things don’t improve. If the situation isn’t rectified, “there will be a recommendation that the person who is in charge will not be in charge,” Baca told...

Gov. Scott Walker's victory in the Wisconsin recall election this week was no surprise to anyone but Big Labor. Unions were furious when Walker and the Republican-controlled legislature cut back their right to bargain on anything beyond wages. Democratic legislators fled the state for several weeks in 2011 in order to try to prevent a final vote from taking place. Demonstrators took over the state capitol, and when that didn't work, unions and left-leaning groups gathered signatures to force a recall vote. The national Democratic Party initially saw what was happening in Wisconsin as a popular revolt against Republican excesses...

The AFL-CIO will formally endorse Obama on Tuesday, as it kicks off a campaign sending 400,00 union members door to door to encourage voters to support the president’s reelection bid. Labor leaders say their efforts are to counteract the political power of Super PACs. They also will commit $400 million to the campaign. The New York Times reports: With numerous super PACs expected to broadcast a flood of TV spots in support of the Republican nominee, the Obama campaign is looking to organized labor to play a major role in offsetting that. Labor leaders say they expect unions to spend...

Auto union will taunt Romney from the sky at Daytona 500FEBRUARY 25, 2012 The United Auto Workers will taunt Mitt Romney from the sky while he attends Daytona 500 on Sunday. Plane banner: "Mitt Romney: Let Detroit Go Bankrupt." The union says 31 of 43 cars racing tomorrow are made by one America's big three auto makers. "Had the country taken Romney's advice, turning his back on the Auto Industry and the millions who depend on it during their darkest hour, what would have become of NASCAR?"

The successful effort to roll back anti-union legislation in Ohio points to a possible future for the Occupy Wall Street movement In the wake of a significant electoral victory in Ohio Tuesday, unions and their supporters are energized and eager to flex their newly honed political muscles. But the path to greater electoral clout in 2012 could lie in a partnership with young voters and followers of the Occupy movement. It may seem like an odd pairing: Grizzled and battle-scarred union members, many of whom have voted Republican in the past and are more socially conservative, and free-spirited Millennials more...

President Obama seems to have a love-hate relationship with the nation's largest teacher's union. On Monday, the National Education Association endorsed Obama in 2012 -- long before his Republican opponent has even been selected. But the vote of confidence comes in spite of the fact that educators are less than thrilled with the president's efforts to reform education. Two days before endorsing the president, the NEA passed a resolution outlining 13 areas where the union adamantly disagrees with the policies of Obama's education secretary, Arne Duncan. The NEA letter states that educators are "appalled" by Duncan's emphasis on competitive grants,...

DNC chairman: 'We're going to play for the big win' By Michael O'Brien - 02/26/11 11:40 AM ET President Obama isn't playing for a narrow victory in his 2012 reelection effort, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tim Kaine promised Saturday. Kaine, speaking to party members in Washington at the DNC's Winter Meeting, said that the president's reelection would kick off sometime in the second quarter of 2011. That campaign wouldn't be looking, though, to eke out just enough electoral votes to put Obama over the top. "We're going to play for the big win," Kaine told DNC members, to cheers....

WASHINGTON – With a wary eye on Wisconsin, Republican leaders in several states are toning down the tough talk against public employee unions and, in some cases, abandoning anti-union measures altogether. Indiana's governor urged GOP lawmakers to give up on a "right to work" bill for fear the backlash could derail the rest of his agenda. In Ohio, senators plan to soften a bill that would have banned all collective bargaining by state workers. And in Michigan, the Republican governor says he'd rather negotiate with public employees than pick a fight.

Executives at the casino giant Harrah’s pushed company employees to vote early in an all-out effort to help the Harry Reid campaign, according to internal emails obtained by Battle ‘10. -snip- The staffer told Jones, senior vice president of communications and government relations, that the Reid campaign had “connected with Culinary” and that the problem was with mid-level supervisors. -snip- The Reid staffer then indicated that the culinary union had money available for more busses to take Harrah’s employees to the polls. The Reid staffer suggests that Harrah’s execs “put a headlock on your supervisors to get them to follow...

According to an article by Channel 13 Political Analyst Elizabeth Crum, editor of the Nevada News Bureau, executives from Harrah's Entertainment in Las Vegas have been encouraging employees to vote for Harry Reid in the 2010 election. A Reid staffer allegedly sent e-mails to Harrah's executives throughout the company in an effort to push employees to vote. A spreadsheet showing employees' names, at which property they worked, and why they had not voted was also disseminated.