Teamster Field Operations Help Secure Victory for Pat Quinn

Gov. Quinn: ‘I Believe We Have Won’

Members of Teamsters Local 727 volunteer with the Quinn campaign in Des Plaines on Election Day, November 2, 2010.

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With a powerful base of volunteers and a resounding campaign pledge to create more jobs for the hardworking men and women of Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn declared victory November 2 in the 2010 General Election.

“The people have won, and I believe we have won,” Gov. Quinn announced to supporters late Tuesday.

More than 150 Teamsters throughout Illinois joined the governor’s campaign on Election Day to help ensure a new, full-term for the Democratic incumbent. Volunteers and union representatives coordinated field operations in key locations throughout Cook County to reach voters directly, as additional Teamsters manned phone banks, distributed literature and drove residents-in-need to the polls.

“Teamsters in Chicago and across Illinois put their boots to the ground to help elect a leader who has spent his career protecting working families and fighting for labor,” said John T. Coli, President of Teamsters Joint Council 25. “As the first union to endorse Pat Quinn, Joint Council 25 was prepared to do whatever was necessary to secure a better future for our members. In this election, we’ve shown our strength in numbers.”

With 99 percent of Illinois precincts counted, Gov. Quinn continues to hold his lead over Republican opponent Bill Brady. As of November 4, nearly 1.7 million votes had been recorded for the Democrat, giving Gov. Quinn an advantage of more than 19,000 votes.

Absentee ballots, as well as 40 precincts in Chicago and Cook County, are all that remain to be counted to resolve the governor’s race. Approximately 9,000 absentee ballots from suburban Cook County voters and 4,000 ballots in the City of Chicago are expected to be counted by November 5. The Chicago Board of Elections estimates an additional 1,400 absentee ballots may be recorded over the next two weeks.

According to the Quinn campaign on Wednesday, “The ballots left to be counted appear mostly to come from Cook County, where the governor held a large margin over Sen. Brady. We expect to hold our lead, and may increase it.”

Strong field operations and communications helped assure voters would go to the polls on Tuesday in support of Gov. Quinn. Following the governor’s victory in the February primaries, the Teamsters laid significant foundations for field operations in and around Chicago. As early as May, Teamster volunteers began housewalks for Gov. Quinn throughout northern Illinois, with groups of 15-20 members knocking on doors and educating voters each week.

Over a six-month period, Joint Council 25 coordinated canvases with the Quinn campaign to reach more than 30,000 households countywide. Teamsters from the Joint Council’s 20 affiliated local unions participated in dozens of housewalks leading up to November.

In September, Teamsters also took advantage of volunteer phone bank operations at Gov. Quinn’s campaign headquarters in Chicago. Members and union representatives joined campaign officials each week to make phone calls to Illinois residents and urge them to support the labor-friendly leader.

With consistent member participation inside the Quinn campaign, the union expanded its communication efforts in October as Teamsters Local 700 established a remote phone bank at its union offices. Four days a week throughout the month, volunteers from several Joint Council 25 affiliates helped Local 700 place tens of thousands of calls to voters in support of the governor.

“In the months and weeks prior to Election Day, the Teamsters’ political efforts only expanded. Our members and staff were volunteering regularly in their local union halls, in their communities and with the campaign to send a clear message that labor supports Pat Quinn,” said Coli.

By 5 a.m. on November 2, more than 150 Teamster volunteers kicked off Election Day activities around Cook County. Local 700 business agent Patricia Scott and steward Pat O’Driscoll worked with members in Des Plaines to canvas area townships and inform residents of their polling places. In Oak Park, Quinn campaign coordinator and Teamsters Local 727 business agent Carmen Olmetti worked with Local 700 business agent Joe Belli to coordinate Teamster efforts in the western suburbs.

In southwest Cook County, Local 700 business agent Vince Tenuto joined Phil Sherlock, a member of the Local 700 Political Committee, to work with other Teamsters and canvas neighborhoods throughout the day.

Joint Council 25 volunteers walked the streets in more than 25 Cook County townships and five Chicago wards on Election Day, and distributed handbills for Gov. Quinn at more than a dozen Metra and CTA train stations.

“The commitment of hardworking union members to build a reliable base for Pat Quinn had a critical impact on the outcome of this election,” said Coli. “The Teamsters should be extraordinarily proud of their sacrifice and assistance to the Quinn campaign. With just a few thousand votes securing victory, the role of labor truly made a difference.”

Teamsters Joint Council 25 represents more than 100,000 hardworking men and women throughout Illinois and Indiana.

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