Josh is out of town and pretty much nothing is going on, politically speaking. However: It's Labor Day! So here's a look at how labor organizations have attempted to influence this year's election, and their track record so far.

The Service Employees International Union

SEIU locals 6 and 775 came out swinging in a big way for Mayor Greg Nickels this year, maxing out to him and paying for phone calls opposing Nickels challenger Joe Mallahan. They came out in an even bigger way for King County Executive candidate Dow Constantine, maxing out to him and subsequently spending $40,000 on his behalf (and $10,000 against one of Constantine's opponents, Democrat Ross Hunter).

They paid for a poll on behalf of state Sen. Ed Murray (D-43), assessing Murray's chances as a write-in candidate for mayor.

And they contributed $20,000, altogether (between the state SEIU and one of its locals) to King County Citizens for Port Reform, who backed a slate of three candidates for the Seattle Port Commission. Max Vekich, in particular, benefited from the largesse of the port reform group, which spent more than $21,000 on his behalf.

United Food and Commercial Workers

UFCW also maxed out to Nickels, and paid for his election-night party. They also contributed $5,000 to the Port Reform campaign, and helped pay for the anti-Hunter ad.

The Washington State Council of County and City Employees

The county and city employees' union contributed $5,000 to a group that did an independent expenditure campaign against Susan Hutchison, calling out Hutchison's many Republican contributions and her refusal to say what her views are on abortion. (The county funds reproductive health care for poor women, including abortion referrals).

So how did the unions do? As Josh noted earlier, their huge contributions to Nickels were totally wasted—the incumbent didn't even make it through the primary. And Murray isn't running for mayor. Constantine, in contrast, did better than expected, ending up with nearly 27 percent in the eight-way race for county executive. However, Hutchison made it through in the lead with 33 percent, and is currently polling ahead of Constantine. Vekich, finally, made it through to the general, but far behind his opponent Tom Albro, who runs the Seattle monorail and has Republican ties. Overall, that's about a C. Although the unions still have a lot of money in the bank, there's a rumor going around that a coalition of Eastside businesses plans to make a big expenditure on Hutchison's behalf.

This morning's Morning Fizz is brought to you by Washington Conservation Voters.