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Organized labor played a significant role in helping to elect Barack Obama, through intense get-out-the-vote campaigns, fundraising, and publicity. Obama made his support of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act part of his platform, and now unions are more hopeful than ever that under an Obama administration, working Americans will score a better deal than under Bush. Unions are also looking forward to Democratic-controlled agencies like the National Labor Relations Board and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Additionally, under the failing economy, unions hope for better unemployment benefits and an increase in the minimum wage. Change to Win, labor coalition, recently commissioned a post-election poll, which found overwhelming anxiety about the economy among workers, and optimism for better times under Obama. The poll results were interpreted by the unions as an end of the Reaganomics era. Change to Win is a coalition of several labor unions that broke away some years ago from the AFL-CIO, led by SEIU.

GUEST: Chris Chafe, Executive Director of Change to Win

For more information, visit www.changetowin.org.