Gore calls on union members to get out the vote

Gore said George W. Bush's proposed tax cut would return the nation to deficit spending and set back efforts to expand economic prosperity.

He also sought to show his support on an array of issues dear to labor unions.

"I believe in the right to organize, and I'll make sure it's never weakened or taken away," Gore said. "I will work to pass a law banning the practice of permanent striker replacement."

The message played well. About 200 SEIU members left the rally at a downtown hotel to canvas San Francisco streets, and another 200 did the same in Los Angeles, said Bill Steck, field director for the union's state council.

As many as 4,000 members of SEIU and other unions went door-to-door throughout the state, he said.

"Bush is not a union man, he works for rich people," said Samir Bazel, an SEIU member walking precincts in San Francisco's Sunset district.

"We'd regress back to the times of (presidents) Reagan and Bush, where labor was pushed down," said Richard Leung, another canvasser.

SEIU members also were working phone banks, circulating pamphlets and "educating" co-workers, Steck said.

"I think it could make a difference in the close key races," Steck said, referring to several tight congressional contests around the state.

In his address, Gore said this year's presidential contest is as close as it was in 1960, when John Kennedy won by a margin that amounted to one vote per precinct. "One vote per precinct! One vote to determine the future of the United States," Gore said.

"In the next 17 days, I want all of you to get me one more vote in every precinct," he said before the speech was drowned out by applause. Labor unions, and in particular the SEIU, were the backbone of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis' victory in 1998, and Gore needs them to hit the pavement again this year in California, a state he must win to capture the presidency.

In April, he attended an SEIU rally in Santa Monica to show support for striking Los Angeles-area janitors.

Republicans, meanwhile, mobilized their own army of thousands to get out the vote, said Bush spokeswoman Lindsey Kozberg. There were 4,000 in Orange County alone, she said. "We have been out walking precincts since Aug. 23, and we will continue to do so through the election," she said.

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