Major Campaign to Register Voters Launched in States from Pennsylvania to Colorado

Hundreds of SEIU members are taking time off their jobs and volunteering after work to boost the voter rolls in their communities to elect Barack Obama and a pro-worker majority in Congress.

Alyssa Morgan, a member of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh took time off her job as a nursing assistant in July to register new voters. She says she's never seen such a high level of excitement around an election before.

"When I visit neighborhoods, I meet entire households who have never voted,"Morgan said. "But this election is different. People tell me they want to help change our country-they want to get involved."

"In one neighborhood, people actually left their houses and chased me down to get registration forms,"she said.

Like Morgan, healthcare workers, janitors, child care providers, and other workers have been on the ground for weeks in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Colorado, and Nevada as part of a major voter registration campaign in key battleground states. By Labor Day, nearly 1,000 SEIU members will be on the ground in 20 states to ensure voters support pro-worker candidates and turn out on Election Day.

"SEIU members know that if we're going to elect leaders who will pass healthcare for all and ensure we all have a chance at the American Dream then we need to get everyone we know registered to vote,"said SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger. "And once we register everyone at our churches, outside our grocery stores, and in our neighborhoods, we're going to make sure they turn out on Election Day."

SEIU members are committing record amounts of time, money, and energy this election to educate voters about John McCain's anti-worker agenda and elect Barack Obama and a pro-worker majority in Congress. More than 100,000 SEIU members will be volunteering in the coming months and SEIU members have committed to spending $85 million on election efforts.

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