Getting Organized

Tweaking a phrase Clinton campaign consultant

James Carville made famous, John Gage says that in 2004, "It's the White House, stupid." Since winning election as president of the American Federation of Government Employees nearly a year ago, Gage has waged war with the Bush administration over changes to civil services rules at the Homeland Security and Defense departments and Bush's plan to put hundreds of thousands of jobs up for competition from private firms, * "This administration has punched us in the mouth," he says. But Gage hopes to land the knockout blow this November. Ten years after Congress passed legislation allowing federal employees to play more active roles in the political process, Gage says AFGE is gearing up for its most extensive political campaign ever. * Last month in Pittsburgh, the union formally awarded its endorsement to Democratic challenger John Kerry, but Gage's planning for the campaign has been in the works far longer. Although federal unions are small compared to most of their private-sector counterparts, AFGE has teamed up with the AFL-CIO-an umbrella organization of 61 member unions-to help bolster labor's campaign nationwide. Gage has agreed to head up AFL-CIO get-out-the-vote efforts in New Mexico, a battleground state that Al Gore won in 2000 by less than 400 votes. And he has urged local AFGE members to volunteer their time in Kerry's campaign. AFGE also has raised more money than it did during the last presidential campaign, and Gage hopes to dole out $750,000 to candidates this year, topping 2000's fund-raising total by nearly 50 percent.