Toledo Union Journal

IT'S ONLY THE BEGINNING!

The long hard campaign is finished and the election is over with. Much of the credit for the victory must go to the WADS, members of the auxiliaries and their families who worked so hard to make it possible.

Some of you had to make sacrifices of time to the campaign. National COPE as well as the AFL-CIO is grateful for your efforts as well as the endorsed candidates who won.

This election only demonstrates more and more the importance of the program of continual political education the year-round and the necessity to get our people registered and to the polls. The closeness of the margins in many cases shows that every single vote counts.

You did it girls, so orchids to all of you!

Now is the time to make a careful note of the things that could have been done so that you can profit by any mistakes the next time. So don't relax too much. Enjoy yourself, but remember, it's only the beginning!

Quoting from the WAD manual, here's some good advice:

"How to be a Wednesday morning quarterback. The time to begin political organization for an election is Wednesday morning, the day after the last election!

"Get the election returns precinct by precinct in your district. They are usually published in your local paper. Clip them and save them. Study these figures carefully. See whether they spelled victory or defeat."

Well, this is just partial advice. We suggest you do your clippings now before you take time out to enjoy the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. This way you'll be ready to swing back into activity with the New Year.

Congress will meet the first week in January. Your next big job is to see that the candidates you helped to win carry out their promises. The new President will take office on January 20. There are many problems facing the new Administration.

There are "must" bills to be acted upon which either got by-passed or defeated in the last session. These include minimum wage, medical care for the aged, expanded Social Security coverage and unemployment compensation, aid to depressed areas, labor reform, and a host of other things that affect working men and women.

Whether we get the things which the AFL-CIO believes are necessary to get this country moving again will depend to a large extent upon the interest which you make felt upon the members of Congress. Why not plan a program, "Know Your Congress?" In this way, you can keep track of all legislation.

Your group can subscribe for the Congressional Record and the Calendar of Legislative Activities which can be obtained from the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C., for a small fee. Have someone keep these filed. Make a scrapbook of clippings from the newspapers on current affairs. Introduce yourself to your Congressman by mailing him a postcard which says something like this:

The Census Bureau says there were 3 million more women eligible to vote this year than the men. We already know that the New York State Department reported that women outnumbered men in voter registration in that state. The total state registration showed 4,038,267 women and 3,897,038 men. New York City had 1,846,456 women and 1,776,197 men.