1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East uses cell phones to collect voter responses to political issues and mobilize political issue efforts
New York, NY — 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, a health care union representing more than 300,000 members and retirees in New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia and Massachusetts, launched a mobile voter response system that will provide feedback and information from both members and non-members on important political issues.
“Wireless data collection is an innovation 1199 is excited to embrace, it will enable the Union to increase the breadth and scope of its canvassing and political efforts. This technology will undoubtedly increase 1199’s ability to champion its members’ interests in the days and years to come”, said Patrick Gaspard, outgoing Executive Vice President for Politics and Legislation who headed the Union’s political programs before moving on to become President-elect Barack Obama’s political director.
The technology that 1199 SEIU is implementing is a mobile canvassing application developed by Warshaw Group, Inc., part of their Mobile Validity software. The goals of the project are to collect information on how voters stand on issues of political importance to the union, promote important political issues, organize, and collect important Election Day data. Jay Warshaw, Vice President of Warshaw Group said about the project, “This is a very big step for 1199 SEIU in terms of their field operations, and will significantly improve their ability to rapidly deploy large scale canvassing efforts.”
The mobile software allows 1199 SEIU to send brief questionnaires and walk lists to over 100 mobile workers. The workers use the questionnaires to collect data on where voters stand on key issues, deliver targeted messages to voters, and help get out the vote during election season. In addition, the software is utilized on Election Day to receive polling results and perform field operations. The software is deployed on mobile phones, allowing the collected data to be analyzed in real time over the Verizon wireless network.
Because 1199 SEIU is using the software on mobile phones, they can leverage benefits of always-on wireless connectivity. 1199 SEIU is able to push out new questionnaires and receive information back instantly, enabling real-time reporting. This helps them to make key decisions much sooner than was possible before the new technology was implemented. The implementation allows them to centrally manage the project, with headquarters able to update and deploy new questionnaires rapidly, responding to the data as it is wirelessly uploaded throughout the day.
1199 SEIU is able to push out updated canvassing lists to workers in the field, filtering users based on targeting techniques so that workers can go door to door efficiently. Because of wireless connectivity, workers dont have to physically check into a central location to download and upload data, leaving more time for field work. The mobile phone data capture eliminates the need for manual data entry. These efficiencies shorten the data lifecycle of 1199 SEIUs canvassing efforts, and improve their campaign response.
About Mobile Validity
Mobile Validity is rapid deployment software for mobile data collection. Mobile Validity lets you collect, send, and report information on different mobile platforms, including Tablet PCs, laptops, PDAs, and phones. Mobile Validity is for organizations that have critical data collection needs suited for mobile deployment, including canvassing, violations, inspections, interviews, and health charts. To find out more about Mobile Validity, visit the product web site at www.mobilevalidity.com. Mobile Validity is a product of Warshaw Group, Inc.
About Warshaw Group
Founded in 1996, Warshaw Group, Inc. creates enterprise data solutions and develops Mobile Validity, an enterprise mobile applications platform. Warshaw Group, Inc. develops, designs and supports systems for clients in many different industries, including health care, engineering, transportation, education, not-for-profit, political and government organizations. www.WarshawGroup.com
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