A few weeks ago, you were provided with a PowerPoint overview overview of the battle ahead in 2012 and what must be done to become a Force Multiplier.

With the Obama re-election campaign in full swing since January when ex-SEIU political director Patrick Gaspard left the White House to help run the campaign through OFA, union bosses have expectedly begun lining up their endorsements.

In mid-November, stealing the #OccupyWalltStreet 99% slogan, the SEIU endorsed Obama.

Now, with its ground game ready, it’s AFSCME’s turn to give Obama its nod (and money pledge).

Via The Washington Post:

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees voted Tuesday to officially endorse President Obama in the 2012 election.

Union officials have already said they planned to spend upwards of $100 million to help Obama win reelection, so the endorsement itself is not a surprise.

[snip]

AFSCME officials said their ground-level organization in several presidential battleground states is finely-tuned following battles over public-sector worker bargaining rights in Ohio and Wisconsin.

Tuesday’s vote was so important to Obama’s team that campaign manager Jim Messina attended the meeting. He told the AFSCME board the union’s backing “demonstrates that its workers know President Obama is the only one willing to make the hard choices.”

In 2008, unions spent an estimated $1 billion in both hard dollar donations, as well as ‘educational outreach’ and GOTV operations. During the 2008 and 2010 election cycles, according to the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, unions spent $2.2 billion.

For those of you who are Constitution-loving Americans, with that much union money going to buy the White House again,  you need to become more engaged…now.

If you don’t know what to do, you can start here:

Become A Force Multiplier: Five simple tasks for American Activists

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“Socialism has no place in the hearts of those who would secure the fight for freedom and preserve democracy.” Samuel Gompers, 1918

Cross-posted at LaborUnionReport.com