WISCONSIN RECALL:

Local 1245 member Lloyd Cargo offers first-hand account

In late July, Local 1245 dispatched eight members to assist in the Wisconsin campaign to recall six legislators who voted to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees. Lloyd Cargo IV, a seven-year member of Local 1245 and a Gas Service Representative at PG&E, offers this insider view of what it felt like to work on one of the most closely-watched political campaigns in recent American history.

By Lloyd Cargo IV

I left for the airport excited and ready to get started. My business rep, Darryl Norris, picked me up at 4:30 in the morning and off we went. The first day went downhill after arriving at the airport. While checking in I was told that the flight was delayed until 8, then shortly after I overheard the manager talking to someone on a radio saying, “We don’t know what’s wrong with the plane, but it’s leaving at 8.”

Obviously very unsettling knowing that was the plane I was going to be on. The 8 o’clock was eventually changed to 11:30, then to 2:30. The staff had no problem making statements in front of passengers like, “The repair crew is being flown in at noon,” or my favorite: “The replacement part will be here at 2”–about the time we are boarding. I did notice the plane number N911DB. All I thought was, “Oh great, 911.” The delay did give me a chance to get to know my counterpart for the next three weeks, Eric Sunderland. And what better to do for nine hours waiting to board than have a couple of beers.

Before we got on the plane, we were told that we missed all connecting flights and would have to stay in Minneapolis and we would not be able to obtain our luggage, but after a couple of beers it didn’t seem to bother us. After arriving to Minneapolis we rushed to get our next day’s flight information and get to our hotel. Luckily we arrived with just enough time to get something to eat and try to get some sleep. The airport shuttle would be back at 5:30 to pick us up. I finally got to bed around midnight and was back up at 4:45 to make a quick jump in the shower and down to the shuttle.

We landed at 8:30 and were met by IBEW local 159 organizer Chris Crossen who welcomed us, gave us a few pointers, and guided us to the freeway. We checked in to the Super 8 in Wisconsin Dells then met up with the rest of our team, Graciela Nunez and Erika Barron. A quick run to Starbucks, then we headed to Baraboo for our team orientation at noon. There, we met our team lead, Ray Suelzer, and our District leads, Jon Grable and Evelyn Lynn.

After lunch, waiting for us back at the office were Local 159 Business Manager Mark Hoffmann and Government Affairs Coordinator David Boetcher. After sharing a few stories and a few laughs, they gave us a Local 159 t-shirt and it was time to start working. Eric and I were offered an opportunity to get some rest, but we already felt delayed too long from getting started. We worked some turf near Lewiston while Gracie and Erika started on the phones. We finished around 8:30 and then it was time for some much-needed sleep.

The next day Eric and I already had a route to work, so we headed there straight from the motel. It was close to Portage. We found a Clark supporter, and had them sign a commitment card, on the first address, so we had our momentum going early. There were a couple things we had to do in Portage, including meeting Kate who was organizing walking routes for volunteers, but our momentum only continued to build. We got back to the office in Baraboo around 3:30 and were able to turn in eight commitment cards, a volunteer, and a large number of Clark supporters that were previously un-assessed. Having a goal of 500 GOTV (Get Out The Vote) shifts to fill, we spent the next couple days mostly calling for volunteers.

Everything so far seemed like tools to get us used to the area and familiar with the campaign. Tuesday evening we gathered in a small rented-out space in Ripon, Wisconsin, the birth place of the Republican party and home to incumbent Senator Luther Olson. The meeting was to hash out GOTV strategy and timing. Members came from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Georgia, North Carolina, Missouri, and of course California. All were here from different locals and different unions. All were here for their own reasons. Our excitement and energy level was high, and we were ready to win.

Wednesday Eric and I were given the day off, but felt it would be better used rallying our Local 159 brothers for volunteers and support. David Boetcher let us sit in on a meeting with representatives from other unions and locals to have an opportunity to gain their support as well.

After the meeting David first took us to the capitol and gave us a great visual history of what happened in February. The energy inside was amazing. There is a daily sing along from noon to one and kids flying “Recall Walker” paper airplanes right in the middle of the building. I felt it brought new meaning to the term “hostile work environment.” We both had a new sense of pride and meaning of the election. It was one thing to read about the election before arriving, but to be there really drove it home. Our second stop was a private tour of a photo gallery that detailed some awesome pictures of the rally in February. It was so inspiring Eric and both left our contact information to purchase pictures.

The next couple days were spent making calls trying to fill GOTV shifts. Friday was extremely discouraging. We made over 400 calls and only filled one shift. Judging by the calls the voters were very oversaturated. There were at least three groups making calls and from what we learned at the labor temple in Madison, they made close to 10,000 calls a night from their office. That doesn’t count three or four pieces of mail per day, countless ads on t.v., and the canvassers knocking on a regular basis. You had to live in rural areas to avoid this full onslaught of campaigning. It seemed at this point that this wasn’t a regular campaign and nobody adjusted for it.

Saturday was the first of our two-day adventure working out of the Waupaca office. It was the very north end of Senate District 14 and was about two hours from the motel. Great news to start, we were the first District to fill all of our GOTV shifts. We knocked about 70 doors and found out quickly the citizens of Clintonville were not used to seeing people with tattoos. Apparently I was organizing our walk packet for about thirty seconds and someone called the police saying we were hanging out in front of their house, so an officer came by and ran a check on us. Despite the consistent temperatures in the upper 80s to low 90s with 70-80 percent humidity I decided to wear long sleeves the next day.

Day two we were given three packets with a little over 100 doors in rural areas. It was exhausting. They took about nine hours and with two hours to and from the office, we were thankful to be back in Baraboo the next day. Voters in the rural areas were extremely receptive to us. The few that supported Olson were very kind to us.

Back in Baraboo there was a different vibe at the office. Knowing the shifts were filled, the focus was organizing the office and streamlining the GOTV plan. Then off to knock more rural turf. We stayed in the area of Westfield for a couple days, finding for the first time an unusually large amount of Olson support. Thunderstorms popped up now and again out of nowhere, dumping a couple inches of rain then disappearing. Lightning came within about 100 feet of our car and the thunder shook our tiny Toyota Carolla and all we could say to each other was, “Gotta love Wisconsin!” while shaking our heads.

Through communications with Gracie and Erika, we found they had been utilized on the phones because of their call center experience. The canvassing they did was mostly near Baraboo with a couple of rural packets, including joining us in Waupaca on Sunday. They were assigned to focus on women voters in their areas and were successful in their efforts.

Thursday was the start of our day and a half off. Since we are so far ahead with GOTV shifts, it was decided to give us some rest before the big weekend. Eric and I didn’t hesitate to decide what to do. We made the three hour drive to Lambeau Field to take the field and Hall of Fame tour. It was an awesome experience. We had a beer and brat then back to the motel for some R&R.

We didn’t have to go in until 2, so we rode the Dell’s Army Ducks, and shot 36 holes of mini golf before heading in to further prepare the office and get a practice run in. Everyone was excited and nervous about the next four days. We verified the shifts of the expected 32 volunteers in the morning, then headed to the Labor Temple in Madison for their GOTV kick off rally.

Eric and I started immediately Saturday morning. We had our Local 159 brothers coming up for a brat bbq at the Baraboo office with special guest Jeff Skiles ( co-pilot of the Miracle on the Hudson), so we headed back around noon to help set up. We expected 32 volunteers and received 90. All of our packets were worked, plus we sent 20 volunteers to the Portage office. The bbq was a huge success. We went to Portage to help finish a couple packets then met Business Manager Mark Hoffmann and his wife Kay for dinner. It was a great start to the weekend. Being so far ahead, Eric and I reported to Wautoma to work rural turf for the next couple days. It was an hour and a half drive to start, then our usual four packets before heading back.

Election day started at 5:30 am. We drove the hour and a half to Wautoma to be there at 7:30 and worked our usual four packets. At 3:30 we were moved to Waupaca to work a packet there, then 30 minutes more to New London to help knock out 45 of the 70 doors on another packet. At 7:30 we left New London to head to the Best Western in Portage to watch returns with Fred Clark. Mark Hoffmann was there and once we realized Fred was not going to win, he gave a great speech and Mark introduced us to him. It was great to finally meet the man we were working so hard for these last three weeks. Heading back we couldn’t help but feel such a great sense of accomplishment. Win lose or draw we did our best and the experience is only going to make us better and stronger in the future.

Our final day was spent with Mark touring the capital and some of the areas surrounding. I can’t even begin to describe how hospitable and generous Local 159 was to us. I plan on staying in contact with them and keeping informed on their future efforts with the recalls.

Our flight to Minneapolis, thankfully, went good. On arrival we found out that our plane coming home was delayed. The plane that we were going to take was deemed not air worthy and when they backed it out I couldn’t help but notice the plane number N911DB, the same plane that was delayed in Sacramento. Had to be thankful we made it here to begin with. An hour and a half later we were finally on our way home.

Eric and I didn’t work with Gracie and Erika every day, but we tried to figure our totals. We estimate about 1,000 door knocks, 1,500 phone calls, and 3,482 miles on the rental car. In the end we won two of the six races which was a big step forward for Wisconsin. I’m glad to have been a part of something so important and have already discussed working with Eric in the future on other projects. I hope this was a wakeup call for union workers in America. It was nice to have different unions working together for the same goal and I think we need to have more of this if we want to grow in the future.

  2010-2012 IBEW Local 1245