A new video from the AFL-CIO, essentially kicking off its 2012 election efforts, highlights the labor federation's attempts to move to a political orientation that continues to treat electoral politics as important without relying wholly on elections to get the job done. The video draws a strong contrast between Mitt Romney and President Obama on economic issues from the auto industry to foreclosure, labor issues like Ohio's Issue 2, the DREAM Act, and Planned Parenthood, with a big helping of "Mitt's just plain out of touch." Arguably the centerpiece of that contrast is Obama's take on values:
I keep on hearing these same folks talk about values all the time. You want to talk about values? Hard work, that's a value. Looking out for one another, that's a value. The idea that we're all in it together and I'm my brother's keeper and sister's keeper, that's a value.
At the same time as the video makes clear that contrast between Romney and Obama, and the importance of the elections, though, it also emphasizes the importance of going beyond elections and politicians, building not on Barack Obama the man but on the statement of values. Immediately following that central statement from Obama, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says:
Here's the truth: If we want our country to value what we value—hard work, fairness, and opportunity for all—then our job is to build a movement. An independent movement of working men and women not beholden to any party or any candidate.
Saying that "Elections matter, and this one matters a lot," Trumka asks people to volunteer and to talk to the people in their lives about the elections. But the effort he calls for doesn't end when the polls close Nov. 6. The challenge is making that a reality.