We're cheering as we write: Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will be the next U.S. president and vice president, respectively, propelled to the nation's highest office with the critical support of union members in the labor movement's biggest-ever get-out-the-vote mobilization. The Obama-Biden ticket so far has won 284 electoral votes, more than the 270 needed for victory and all votes from the states have not been tallied. And although the Senate count is not yet final, working families so far have voted in another four union-endorsed candidates to the U.S. Senate.

After eight years of an administration hostile to unions, workers and a working-family friendly economy, America's union members helped bring about much-needed change by electing Obama and working family-friendly candidates up and down the ballot.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says Obama is a leader who reached out to workers and spoke to their economic concerns, and workers responded by getting behind Obama with strong support and volunteer efforts.