Union voters played an important role in President-elect Barack Obama's historic victory, delivering a critical bloc of support in swing states that helped propel Obama and other worker-friendly candidates to big wins on Nov. 4, according to polling data from the AFL-CIO.

High turnout among working-class union voters in states like Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania formed a foundation of support for Obama. In new battleground states like Colorado, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, the AFL-CIO mounted a bigger effort than ever before, and union members voted by large margins for Obama.

AFL-CIO union members across battleground states supported Obama by a 68 percent to 30 percent margin, according to an election-night survey conducted for the AFL-CIO by Peter D. Hart Research Associates.   (Read more…)