Thanks largely to CSEA members and our allies in labor and other organizations, New Yorkers overwhelmingly rejected the state constitutional convention proposal.
The defeat of constitutional convention Proposition #1 was a highlight of an Election Day that saw strong get out the vote efforts and high turnout in a year in which turnout was expected to be low.
Many of CSEA’s endorsed local government candidates were also elected to offices across the state, including State Sen. George Latimer, who unseated anti-labor incumbent Rob Astorino as Westchester County Executive.
On Election Day, our solidarity and action truly made a difference. Here are some numbers:
In April, 63 percent of voters supported a constitutional convention. By early October, that support had dropped to 44 percent among likely voters. In early November, support had dropped to 25 percent, largely due to labor and our allies’ endless work in spreading the word that the convention is a bad idea.
On Election Day, unofficial voting results show 83 percent of voters voted NO on the convention, with only 17 percent of voters supporting the measure. Not one county voted in favor of the convention.
Like many other groups involved in the New Yorkers Against Corruption coalition, CSEA members throughout the state recognized the threat a constitutional convention posed to pension benefits and collective bargaining rights, not to mention the extremely high cost to taxpayers if the convention should be held.
Our members and allies stood together to spread the word that the convention was wrong for New York, including posting on social media, hanging signs urging a NO vote and, most importantly, having conversations with our families, friends and co-workers about the potential dangers of approving a convention and urging them to
vote NO.
On Election Day, voter turnout was higher than expected, particularly in counties that also had key local government races.
“You showed the POWER!” CSEA President Danny Donohue said. “You voted in huge numbers and we all won! You beat back a constitutional convention and showed that when labor is threatened we stand up together. This is what it means to never quit!”
