We can all be proud of the work each one of us put into this race, and it was not for lack of effort that we fell short of our goal. Everyone that worked on this campaign realizes the contribution of unions around the state and the country. The volunteers and release staff brought an unmatched enthusiasm to this campaign which is a testament to the real success we achieved tonight. We can improve our strategy based on this election and continue to fight for the causes important to working families.

We are going to pass the Employee Free Choice Act so that any worker in this country that wants to form a union is going to get that chance; we are going to keep jobs here in America to make sure that working parents can help their children fulfill their dreams; and we are going to bring respect and honesty back to public service and see to it that the future leaders of our country support America's workers and our middle class.

Our goals are not modest by any estimation, but then again the labor movement is never conservative when it comes to setting standards for our country. We can thank our predecessors for this tradition and we must recognize our obligation to uphold and expand upon the central principles of the labor movement.

Imagine a country where we don't need to worry about cutting our losses or pushing the blame off on somebody else; imagine a country where progress is possible and the people are the driving force. Therein lays the labor movement brothers and sisters.

In solidarity,

Richard Ray, Georgia AFL-CIO President

Charlie Key, Georgia AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer

Jimmy Hyde, Georgia AFL-CIO State Director

Election Recap

950,000 phone calls were made to our members.

100,000 doors were knocked.

300,000 pieces of local union mail were sent out.

127 worksites were leafleted plus an additional 37 non partisan worksites

We began with 100 release staff members working on the campaign and ended with 200 release staff workers.

The Georgia AFL-CIO offers its thanks and congratulations to everyone who worked their hearts out in this campaign.