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I N T E R N A T I O N A L U N I O N O FP A I N T E R S A N D A L L I E D T R A D E SMidterm MakeoverIt was yet another history-making election on November 2 in the United States as theRepublicans took control of the House of Representatives and gained ground in theSenate. Perhaps President Obama summed the results of the mid-term elections up the bestfor the Democrats when he said, “It was a shellacking.”Not surprisingly, it wasn’t longbefore pundits, politicians andreporters tied the fortunes of the labormovement to the woes of theDemocratic Party. In the final weeksbefore the election, mainstream mediaheavily reported on how the labormovement was a major source offunding for the Democratic Party'sefforts, calling the funding almostcomparable to what the Chamber ofCommerce and other conservativeg r o u p s w e r e d o i n g f o r t h eRepublicans. On election night, whenit became clear that the Democratssuffered major losses, the media concludedand then announced (not forthe first time) that labor had evidentlylost its punch in politics.It wasn't just the major media outletseither. Indiana’s The KokomoPerspective ran a headline thatannounced, “Election Results CouldMean Doom For Unions.” Doom?Obviously, they didn't listen to therallying call of the International Unionof Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT)‘It’s About Jobs!’ bus tour lastOctober.IUPAT COAST-TO-COASTThis latest IUPAT bus tour began inSeattle, Washington where IUPATGeneral Vice President Ray Sesmagave an early morning address to acrowd of union members. He immediatelymade it clear to all how thisIUPAT tour was going to operatewhen he proclaimed to the cheeringcrowd, “The only lines this bus is followingare unemployment lines; notpartisan lines.IUPAT members then announcedan endorsement for CongressmanDave Reichert, a Republican congressmanseeking re-election inWashington’s 8th CongressionalDistrict. The endorsement came onlyhours before another event to endorsepro-working family Senator PattyMurray, a Democrat seeking her ownre-election. Endorsements on bothsides of the aisle were greeted withsurprise by both the media and thosein politics, but it showed everyonehow serious the IUPAT was aboutmaking this election about JOBS andnot party politics. In the end, Jobswas the number one issue and unemployedAmericans came out to vote inan unprecedented way. Exit pollsshow that nearly 40% of all unemployedor underemployed Americans“We need to cometogether as Americansto solve our problemsand stop thinkingabout solutions in termsof Republican ideas orDemocrat ideas. I'mproud to work withIUPAT to make surethat happens.”Congressman Dave Reichert,R-Washington28 O C T O B E R - D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 • J O U R N A L