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Show ORGANIZED LABOR Is in the , midst of one of the biggest i gvt-out-the-vote drives in it's his-i his-i tory. determined through posters, i increasing funds and a core of politically experienced workers to elect candidates considered pro-I pro-I labor. Officials of both the American Federation of Labor and the Congress Con-gress of Industrial Organizations j say the stakes are high and the obstacles great, but they're out for success. Labor's three - pronged political action campaign is designed to: (1) persuade as many as possible of the nation's IS million union members and their families to register, reg-ister, (2) inform them concerning major issues, (3) make sure they get to the polls on election day. "Hardly pleasing to labor and liberals," says labor of the record of the 81st Congress. They single cut the "millionaires tax bill," the effort to scuttle public housing, drive to make the Taft - Hartley labor law stricter, and a social security program which unionists feel doesn't go far enough. Unionists say their task of getting get-ting out the vote is made more difficult because it is a mid-term e'.ection and the turn-out at the polls is usually relatively liyht when the presidency is not being contested. They feel they will not be able to completely match the money, public-relations work and advertising they believe will be used in efforts to elect some candidates can-didates whom labor considers unfriendly. un-friendly. Yet, there is optimism among labor spokesmen, who claim a larger number of politically ac tive workers than ever and say labor Is setting out to elect a "nonpartisan "non-partisan slate of progressive candidates." can-didates." The Labor League's Political Direction Di-rection Committee is currently an alyzing candidates. Its Public relations re-lations Committee seeks to keep workers informed and to get them to the polls, through leaflets, laJio broadcasts, publicity, and phonograph phono-graph records describing League objectives and organization methods. meth-ods. LLPE's Finance Committer is launching nationwide appeals for "a dollar a member" to build up a political war chest and hopes to raise half a million dollars by November. A new league feature is a program designed especially to enlist the aid and get out the vote of women. But League officials say the machinery ma-chinery is really powered by the fuel of local activity, since "elections "elec-tions are won in the precinct." For the first time, the League has four area directors, whose job it is to travel across the nation sparkin,' union Interest in voting. Separate from League political activity is the stepped-up program of the CIO's Political Action Committee, Com-mittee, which is basing its campaign cam-paign on issues which it describes as broader than that of LLPE PAC is made up of local and state groups of CIO members. PAC is distributing literature aiui posters post-ers for political rallies, publishing "register and vote" reminders in its newspapers and holding institutes insti-tutes to inform CIO members how to conduct voting drives. |