Labor organizations canvass in Las Vegas for Hillary Clinton

Labor organizations are applying their organizing muscle toward a Nevada get-out-the-vote effort to help Hillary Clinton’s bid for the presidency.

More than 600 volunteers from California came to Southern Nevada to knock on doors this weekend in two separate events involving the Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO. The efforts have about 300 volunteers apiece. Combined, they’ll knock on about 66,000 doors, encouraging people to vote early.

That’s just one snapshot. This weekend’s door knocks will put the AFL-CIO above the union’s original 200,000 door goal from the campaign’s start, a spokeswoman said.

The effort faces an increasingly short deadline before Clinton and Donald Trump face off. Early voting runs Oct. 22 through Nov. 4; the general election is Nov. 8.

Hundreds of people gathered in a Saturday morning rally in Las Vegas outside the Service Employees International Union Local 1107 office.

“We actually have about 300 people who have come over from California,” SEIU Local 1107 President Cherie Mancini said. “They understand that this is a swing state and it’s imperative that we get out and are knocking on doors and talking about the importance of voting in Hillary Clinton.”

In Nevada, the SEIU represents about 17,000 people who work in the public sector and health care. Mancini noted that the SEIU has a diverse membership that includes immigrant groups and women.

“(Trump) represents the 1 percent. We represent the 99 percent — the people who are going out every day and working hard and trying to earn a living and keep our families clothed and fed,” she said.

Locally, the SEIU has been canvassing and holding phone banks for about six weeks.

SEIU member Tanisa Smith-Symes of Las Vegas was among the canvassers Saturday.

“She’s been there since Day One for the working-class people and I just want to see her get elected to make sure that we continue to have our rights as a union, as a people,” Smith-Symes said. “To have Donald Trump become president would be a disaster for our country.”

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.