Steve Rosenthal

Steve Rosenthal

AFL-CIO

In 1996 Steve Rosenthal was AFL-CIO political director.

America Coming Together

Amy Dean wrote in 2010 "A most dramatic example of the collapse of organizing efforts between electoral cycles is that of America Coming Together (ACT), an aggressive labor-based advocacy and get-out-the-vote operation led by Steve Rosenthal, former political director of the AFL-CIO, during the 2004 election cycle. With major financial supporters including George Soros, Peter Lewis and the Service Employees union (SEIU), ACT had 78 field offices spread throughout 12 swing states; it mobilized more than 50,000 people to canvass on Election Day. Yet despite an effort to keep the group intact after the elections, it folded completely within months. Its funders did not have a vision that extended beyond the drama of a big election year. “In an ideal world,” says Rosenthal today, “we’d have a progressive campaign that works year-round to create policy change and then gears up for election work. Unfortunately, right now, there is no permanent funding mechanism for progressive infrastructure, and without it, it’s very difficult to sustain operations.”

References

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