“While our candidate, John Kerry, did not win, we are proud that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, along with the entire family of labor, united in an historic effort to fight for the interests of working families. And while President Bush was re-elected, we note that more than 55 million people cast their vote for a progressive agenda. We will continue the fight for that agenda in the next Congress and in state legislatures around the nation as we work hard to expand the base of support.
“For the Teamsters, this election marks the largest member mobilization effort in the history of the union. With hundreds of Teamsters working full time on the campaign in the field, and with hundreds of thousands of leaflets and phone calls, hundreds of work site visits and dozens of rallies, the Teamster membership has never been more involved in a Presidential election. We are proud that the Teamster membership responded by turning out in overwhelming numbers for Senator Kerry and in support of our economic justice agenda.
“We began this campaign in the fall of 2003 with our mobilization for Dick Gephardt and we never stopped working. We understood that at a time of war, the campaign to defeat President Bush was a tremendous challenge, but it was a challenge we could not avoid because working families confronted a jobs, pension, and health care crisis that could only be solved with a new direction in government policy. That crisis continues and we will not rest in our efforts to confront it and solve it.
“November 2 was not the end of our fight to take back this country for working families. It was the beginning. This effort was never about one candidate, one political party, or a single election. It is about moving forward a pro-worker agenda at the national level. We will continue the fight for fair trade, universal health care, worker rights, pension reform and retirement security. And we will continue to work with everyone—Republican, Democrat and Independent—who shares our agenda.
“This union has a proud history of coming together when faced with a daunting task. Traveling around the country over the past few months, we were able to see first-hand the energy and resolve among our members. We have never been so proud to be a part of the Teamster movement for economic justice.
“To every Teamster and every union member who joined us in this cause, we thank you for your effort, your sacrifices and your commitment. More importantly, we urge you to stay engaged and work with us as we continue the fight on behalf of working Americans.”