The delicately negotiated cooperation between the two federations raises questions about why they even split. But despite critiques raised a year ago about the AFL-CIO's political focus, CTW leaders argue that the break was really more about how the two federations will organize new workers.

They broadly agree on workplace and economic issues, though some unions give special emphasis to topics like trade. CTW unions highlight their work on state races, according to SEIU government affairs director Ellen Golombek, because workers can win a bigger voice on matters that affect their lives now at the state rather than the federal level. But there's little discernible difference from what the AFL-CIO is doing in states.

A year ago CTW and a few AFL-CIO unions were urging more labor support for Republicans. But if anything, there now appears to be a slight shift toward greater Democratic partisanship from all unions, especially at the federal level. "We've tried to be bipartisan," UFCW political director Michael Wilson says, "but the number of Republicans we can support is relatively small." Another union endorsed some Republicans without fanfare as part of its bipartisan strategy and simultaneously increased support for comprehensive Democratic mobilization.

Moreover, unions are now heavily invested in certain races, such as three Connecticut seats held by Republicans, that were not previously on their radar screen. "These races could change the makeup of the House of Representatives," Connecticut state AFL-CIO president John Olsen said. "It's energized people."

In the high-profile Connecticut Senate race, however, labor is deeply split between antiwar insurgent Democrat Ned Lamont and the defeated Democratic incumbent, Joe Lieberman, now running independently after receiving an AFL-CIO endorsement for the primary only. Although union strategists recognize that the Iraq War is a critical issue, most argue that unions are mainly credible with members when they address issues related to work and economics. Some individual unions and the AFL-CIO plan to criticize the budgetary impact of the war, but even in a union ardently opposed to the war, UNITE HERE, two big New Haven locals, back Lieberman, largely because he supported their most recent strike.

Labor's biggest political conundrum is immigration. "It's a huge issue, much bigger than I expected," Scanlon says. Even in southern Minnesota, Gutknecht is running an anti-immigrant campaign. Walz responds by emphasizing the unworkability of Republican plans, the need to enforce labor laws and deal with the economic roots of immigration (including NAFTA), and the potential to combine border security with a path to citizenship for all immigrants. It's a sound strategy but not likely to neutralize immigrant-bashing rhetoric. As one labor expert on immigration acknowledges, "Nobody is talking about it because nobody knows what to say. So it's not part of the political program."

In many states, such as Minnesota and Ohio, union political strategists are enthusiastic about Democratic slates with a strong prolabor message. "What makes the work better this year is that candidates are running on the same position as we talk about in the workplaces," says John Ryan, leader of the Cleveland-area labor federation, now working as manager of Sherrod Brown's Senate campaign. "Members don't turn on the TV and see a message that's different."

Despite anxieties that unions are not really gearing up adequately to exploit their opportunities, both anger at Bush and economic insecurity are spurring grassroots activism in many areas. As Al Wesley said, after door-knocking in Austin, "You've got to do something. You can't just sit on your hands."

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