COVID-19 made in-person campaigning tough, but UNITE HERE found a way in battleground states

The Biden campaign and many other Democrats were justifiably cautious about campaigning in person during the coronavirus pandemic—a fact that may have hurt some candidates, as Republicans had no caution about it. But it was possible to go out in the field safely and effectively, as one union showed in several of the key states we’ve all been obsessing about for days now.

UNITE HERE knocked on the doors of 3 million voters, going to 20,000 doors a day in Arizona’s critical Maricopa County. They did it all with what a union staffer described on Twitter as “comprehensive safety protocols, including mandatory PPE,” and, she wrote, had “0 COVID outbreaks.” The organizing included an intensive focus on Latino voters in Arizona, part of the successful effort in that state. And the union did it all in a pandemic economy that has been brutal for its workers—these are hotel and restaurant and other hospitality workers, which means a lot of them have lost their jobs since March. Now, UNITE HERE is taking a well-deserved victory lap on Twitter, and it’s worth checking out the effort the union put in.

We knocked on the doors of half a million voters in Philadelphia We identified 30k people who wanted to vote #bidenharris As a union that organizes, we knew we had to step up. #1u pic.twitter.com/onh82WdRu2

— UNITE HERE Philly (@UNITEHEREPhilly) November 6, 2020

Hospitality workers @UNITEHEREPhilly who knocked on the doors of more than 575,000 voters made a critical difference in the state. #Election2020 pic.twitter.com/JfrEEBTGji

— UNITE HERE #TakeBack2020 (@unitehere) November 6, 2020

In September, we released this video. Just like our door-to-door canvassing operations — the largest in the states of PA, AZ & NV — the voice over is led by our members. Think we lived up to the promises made in this video. #TakeBack2020 https://t.co/kNUtKLPHuF

— UNITE HERE #TakeBack2020 (@unitehere) November 6, 2020

In NV, victory for Dems runs through robust turnout effort organized by Culinary Union. Every election, hundreds of members take political leave from jobs to fan out across Las Vegas/Reno to canvass on behalf of political candidates endorsed by the union. https://t.co/M1qjX6IKHh pic.twitter.com/IyopfbCxVr

— The Culinary Union (@Culinary226) November 5, 2020

3 million doors were knocked by UNITE HERE canvassers in Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Florida 462,135 infrequent voters pledged to vote for Biden/Harris via a conversation with a UNITE HERE canvasser https://t.co/gHwDjGaXDc

— UNITE HERE #TakeBack2020 (@unitehere) November 6, 2020

Iris Acosta making it happen for Democrats in #Arizona! #takeback2020 #bluewave #dumptrump pic.twitter.com/aauiI1W7qP

— UNITE HERE Local 11 (@UNITEHERE11) October 28, 2020

Source: Daily Kos