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Report of the National Committee on Equity To the 63rd Annual Convention What's Going On? Last year was a busy and productive one for the National Committee on Equity. It began with the Committee redefining its mission: To develop and promote the CWA Civil Rights Program, to make all members of our Union feel welcome and to make the leadership reflect the diversity of our membership. The committee has accomplished the following since adopting its new mission: A new revised Civil Rights and Committee on Equity manual. The establishment of District Civil Rights Coordinators. COE members and Coordinators are a working committee and hold monthly conference calls to stay on top of what's happening in the Civil Rights world. Along with a successful National Civil Rights and Equity Conference the committee has established a network of more than one thousand activists. Through the Civil Rights web site, activists received updates on key issues and participated in on-line protests. In January the CWA Civil Rights department launched an all-out campaign against hate crimes by producing a hate crimes video. Responding to the call of local unions for diversity training, at the request of the Committee on Equity, the CWA Education Department has produced "Unity Training," now available for use in conjunction with stewards training, leadership training and new officers training. However, Local Committees on Equity are where the real work is being done, and that work and those locals should be recognized: The CWA Local 4320 Committee on Equity and the local grievance committee teamed up with a CWA staff representative to help a member at New Media, a division of Ameritech, win his job back after being off the payroll for over a year. Once the grievance committee discovered there was a possible issue of discrimination, they sought the assistance of the local Committee on Equity. The 6-person committee reviewed the grievance files, company security reports and conducted interviews with the employee. After reviewing the files and conducting the interview, the committee recommended that EEOC charges be filed on behalf of the member. Although the EEOC claim was denied, the information gathered by the local Committee on Equity played a significant role in helping the CWA staff representative present the case to an arbitrator, who ruled that our member had been wrongfully terminated. At Verizon Communications in California, Service Techs told the company that KKK graffiti written inside of B-boxes (cross-connect) will not be tolerated. Once discovered, the technician brought the issue to the attention of his district manager. After waiting for what he felt was enough time to correct the problem, the matter was referred to the CWA Local 9586 local Committee on Equity. The committee conducted an investigation, which included visiting the site and meeting with the district manager. As a result of the investigation, the company had the graffiti removed and agreed to instruct supervisors to cover all employees on the company's no tolerance policy. The New Jersey CWA Local 1034 Committee on Equity was able to bring about changes at a troubled State Department of Labor, in their Affirmative Action division. During the past three years the local Committee on Equity worked very hard to mobilize the workers and to weed out all forms of discrimination. Some of their accomplishments include: An emergency hot line connection between the Commissioner and the Committee. Increasing the amount of staff in the department to include three full-time investigators. Quarterly meetings have been established between the Committee and top-level departmental staff. Established a career path for nonprofessionals to professional titles. Currently the committee is studying inconsistencies in the performance ratings of minorities within the department and plans to address the problem at the next meeting with the Commissioner's office. These are just a few things that local Committees on Equity are doing around the country. Hats off to those locals that have been mentioned in this year's report. The National Committee on Equity would like to encourage all locals that don't have a Committee on Equity to establish one. And for those that have committees, we want to tell your story. Let us know what your committee is working on. The Living Wage Movement In 1994, an effective alliance between labor and religious leaders in Baltimore launched a successful campaign for a local law requiring city service contractors to pay a living wage. Living wage campaigns are campaigns that seek to pass local ordinances requiring private businesses that benefit from public money to pay their workers a living wage. Generally, these ordinances cover employers who hold large city or county service contracts, or receive substantial financial assistance from the city in the form of grants, loans, bonds, financing, tax abatements or other economic development subsidies. Our limited public dollars should never be used to subsidize poverty-wage work. When subsidized employers are allowed to pay their workers less than a living wage, tax payers end up footing a double bill: the initial subsidy, along with the food stamps, emergency medical, housing and other social services that low wage workers may require. Since 1974 some 60 ordinances have been fought for and won around the country. Currently there are approximately 75 campaigns underway in cities, counties, states and on college campuses. The most recent campaign that grabbed labor's attention is the one waged at Harvard University. The campaign participants, who include students, faculty, alumni, clergy, area citizens and workers of all backgrounds, are united in overwhelming support for a living wage for all workers at Harvard. They engaged in civil disobedience reminiscent of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and a sit-in that lasted 21 days. CWA enthusiasti-cally supported that campaign. The sit-in ended when Harvard's administration agreed to some immediate concessions and a more representative committee, (including workers and students) to create a plan to help the lowest paid of Harvard's workers. Public dollars should be reserved for those private sector employers who demonstrate a commitment to providing decent, family-supporting jobs, in local communities. The living wage has been defined as equivalent to the poverty line for a family of four ($8.20 per hour). However, ordinances have passed that range from $6.25 to $12.00 per hour. Newer campaigns are pushing for even higher wages, health benefits, vacation days, environmental standards and language that support union organizing. An effective living wage campaign will require public education through demonstrations and petitions; speak outs, press conferences and legislative measures. Lobbying and negotiations with elected officials such as city and county councils, the mayor's office, and city staff are part of the process. Wherever they arise, living wage campaigns have the potential to: Build and sustain permanent and powerful community, labor and religious coalitions including Jobs with Justice that promote greater understanding, and support for each other's work, and the potential to influence other public policy debates. Provide organizing opportunities that strengthen such institutions as community groups, labor unions and religious congregations. · Serve as a tool for political accountability, forcing our elected officials to take a stand on the issues of working people. Raise the whole range of economic justice issues that gave rise to the living wage movement, and affect the ability of low-income families to live and work with dignity and respect. Despite the concerted efforts of business interests who oppose these campaigns, "living wage" has become an exciting model of local grassroots strategy. With new campaigns springing up monthly, the movement shows no signs of slowing down. The National Committee on Equity recommends that CWA Leadership and local unions support the living wage movement, and join in the fight to preserve workers' dignity and respect in our country. Organizing a Civil Right Over the years, a number of laws have been established to protect the rights of workers who want to organize in their workplace. The National Labor Relations Act declares that private sector workers have the right of full freedom of association and it protects workers' rights to self-organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. The NLRA makes it unlawful for employers to interfere with, restrain or coerce workers in the exercise of these rights. Although the NLRA was passed to protect workers, the Act falls short of its goals. Today, many workers who try to form and join trade unions are spied upon, harassed, pressured, threatened, suspended, fired, deported or otherwise victimized in reprisal for attempting to exercise their rights under the Act as well as their First Amendment rights of Freedom of Association. Labor rights violations in the United States are especially troubling when the U.S. should be pressing other countries to ensure respect for internationally recognized workers' rights as part of the global trade and investment system - at the World Trade Organization, for example, or in the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas. U.S. insistence on a human rights-based linkage to trade is undercut when core labor rights are systematically being violated here in the United States. Human rights cannot flourish where workers' rights are not enforced. This is as true for the United States as it is for any other country. Without diminishing the seriousness of workers' rights violations in the United States, a balanced perspective must be maintained. Although U.S. workers generally do not confront gross human rights violations where death squads assassinate trade union organizers or strikes are outlawed, workers' freedom of association is under sustained attack in the United States and the government is failing its responsibility under international human rights standards to deter such attacks and protect workers' rights. Our ongoing struggle with Verizon Communications is a prime example of how workers' civil rights are being violated. Verizon continues to demonstrate its anti-union attitude with anti-union campaigns during organizing drives. They refuse to recognize the neutrality and card check agreement that they agreed to in the last contract. CWA has filed multiple charges with the NLRB due to Verizon management's failure to recognize our union for over 800 employees in New York and New Jersey. CWA has been forced to virtually put our business in the street with demonstrations and speeches at the annual shareholders meeting, testifying at P.S.C. hearings and other strategies to bring justice to our cause. Verizon management is following in the foot-steps of Sprint and MCI in fighting their employees who choose CWA representation. The National Committee on Equity recognizes that as long as workers organizing and collective bargaining, and the right to strike, are seen only as economic issues involving the exercise of power in pursuit of higher wages for employees or higher profits for employers, change in the U.S. labor law and practices is unlikely. This is a moral issue - a human rights issue of the highest magnitude. The National Committee on Equity recommends that the CWA leadership and local unions join in the fight to help foster change in U.S. labor laws that reaffirm, and expand First Amendment rights of full freedom of association for all workers. Diversity Report Card It has been ten years since the delegates at the 1991 convention passed the constitutional amendment that provided for the National Committee on Equity to report at the convention, thus allowing delegates the ability to speak to their own issues. It will be ten years next year that the National Committee on Equity rendered its first report that set forth the agenda we have been working to implement. Addressing the needs of our minority members has been a topic of study since the early 70's when the CWA Executive Board, under the leadership of Joseph Beirne, adopted a nine-point program that spelled out the Union's position on discrimination. At that time they formed the Blacks and Other Minorities Structure Committee. The committee was commissioned to study and make recommendations to the board. One recommendation made by the committee included a board position specifically intended for a minority to fill. While this recommendation was not adopted, the idea of inclusion for our minority members was born and would not be forgotten. In 1974 the Executive Board of the union approved the first National Equity Committee, and the first meeting was held in 1976. Over the next five years the union strengthened its minority agenda by creating an internship program which lasted for three years, holding CWA's first National Conference on Minority Concerns, and finally in 1983 establishing the First Minority Leadership Institute. Equity has always been a cherished tenet of the union movement, but its definition and application are not easy. Often the majority group experiences a loss of power and/or property, which causes roadblocks in the struggle to correct existing inequities. In order to measure the progress of CWA's equity agenda, we need to review the original recommendations introduced in the COE's first report at the 1992 National Convention. In 1992 the Committee recommended that: Each District holds an annual Minorities Conference. The District Conferences should strive to educate, train and promote an understanding of cultural diversity and encourage minority participation at all levels of CWA. All District Vice Presidents advise each Local President to form a Local Committee on Equity. Local Equity Committees should be in place by the 1993 Convention barring any work stoppage. In those states where the Vice President believes it is applicable, a State Equity Representative shall be selected. The President request demographic workforce data from our larger employers (public and private). This data should include a breakdown by minority groups and sex (including physically impaired). The data is to be submitted to the National Committee on Equity prior to their next meeting. The international Union review and evaluate employment tests beginning with those at AT&T. Areas of concern are the direct applicability of these tests to job performance, the validation of the tests, whether the tests show minority bias and if they are being used to screen certain employees. The results of this report are to be submitted to the National Committee on Equity for their review. CWA has had success in many areas but not to the point where we can say the job has been completed in any one area. There are still roadblocks to overcome. This year the COE is introducing a poster that captures the essence of the message, "It's time to get rid of the barriers to equity." We are in the business of growing our body of union workers. Unfortunately we lose valuable resources because the companies we represent appear to offer more attractive advancement opportunities for many of our young members. Why? Because the union that represents them does not resemble them. It's not enough to get their dues because of fair share agreements, we need their commitment. We need to commit to them by demonstrating inclusion at all levels, not exclusion! Diversity training must be included as part of the requirement for all elected and appointed union officials, regardless of level. The COE should not be receiving letters in 2001 where minority members are advised that their role in the local union is to "find a lounge area and clean it". We cannot allow our members to become disenfranchised because some still claim they did not know they were being offensive. Local Equity Committees should be as much a mandate as local Finance Committees. The difference can be an agency fee payer instead of a member. We have had enough years of suggesting that locals have active Committees on Equity, knowing there are many locals where it will not happen without official intervention and follow-up. It's time to get the facts folks! We need new demographic data. The faces in CWA have changed dramatically in the past ten years. We need to get an accurate profile of our membership and CWA staff. No longer should an African-American female count as a "two for". We are the union, not part of the Bush administration. No more fuzzy math! The union must take advantage of the rich resources our minority members possess. We need new leaders and negotiators that are in tune with the needs of our current membership. To cultivate this new leadership, we must show that we are truly an inclusive union, not an exclusive club. It is imperative that we educate our members on all the benefits our union has to offer. This includes not just positions on staff, but opportunities in community and political action as well as access to travel and education. Yet it is sad to discover that most members are unaware that the price of admission is simply a membership card. CWA has made massive strides in the past ten years, but there is a lot of work to be done. However, I am confident that we can celebrate the tenth anniversary with a completed agenda. By drawing on the commitment and talents of all of our members, we can achieve the dream. One body, One voice, One union! Racial Profiling What is "racial profiling?" Racial profiling is being practiced when an African American woman is pulled over by the police while driving in her own neighborhood. When a Latino family in a van is stopped by the police while driving to the market. When an Asian man is harassed because of the kind of car he is driving. Racial profiling is in practice when anyone is pulled over or stopped by law enforcement officers based solely on race or ethnicity, rather than driving capabilities, and released without a citation. Racial profiling is the unfair and unjustified acts by police officials who use their roles and power to harass people of color. Who are victims of racial profiling? Statistics show that the majority of people that law enforcement officers are pulling over without issuing citations are mainly those of color. These people include Blacks, Latinos, and Asians and anyone else who is not white. Because of this, people of color live with fear daily, not just of crime but also in fear of unjust police officials. The police claim that they are pulling people of color over because they are the people most likely to be involved in illegal activities. What's being done nationally to stop racial profiling? The states of North Carolina and Connecticut have recently passed legislation requiring police agencies to keep racial statistics on traffic stops. Oregon and San Diego police departments voluntarily agreed to keep records of all traffic stops. Other states, including Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia have all introduced similar bills. Even though many people have united to protest against racial profiling, it still exists across the U.S. No matter how many protests occur, or laws proposed, or how many people of color are wrongly killed, racial profiling can only be reduced, not stopped completely, unless all law enforcement officers are forced to stop racial prejudice and stereotyping. To reduce the number of racial profiling victims, victims and allies must unite and fight for justice. From petitions to meetings to protests, anything that will gain media attention will aid in the fight for justice. As Unionists we must continue to stay active in the political process so that we can introduce and get support for these types of bills nation wide. Not just to protect the rights of workers but to protect the civil rights of all. Racial profiling is a nationwide problem but if we get active within our community as leaders, we can become a nationwide solution. Election Reform The Voting Rights Act of 1965 protects every American against racial discrimination in voting. The Act stands for the principle that everyone's vote is equal, and that neither race nor language should shut any of us out of the political process. Discrimination is exactly what took place in the 2000 election. Millions of voters across the nation were denied their basic right to cast a free vote and to have that vote counted. While the situation in Florida received the most national and media attention, Florida is in fact a microcosm of the entire country. There are substantial unresolved allegations across the country of massive voter disenfranchisement in African American, Hispanic American, Haitian American and Jewish communities. The election appeared to have been conducted in such a manner that many of those same communities now believe unequivocally that it was unfair, illegal, immoral and undemocratic. Nearly two-thirds of the votes cast by minorities in the state of Florida were not counted. Faulty and/or antiquated voting equipment resulted in ballots being thrown out or "spoiled". In Atlanta's Fulton County, which uses the old punch card machines, one out of every six ballots for president was invalidated. Minority voters were disproportionately purged from voter lists, such that many who had duly registered through the normal process were told their names were not on the rolls. In Florida and Tennessee, citizens mistakenly identified as felons were illegally removed from the voter rolls. In Tennessee, election officers refused registration forms to representatives of the NAACP because the commission was aware of the NAACP Voter Empowerment Project, whose goal was to register new Black voters. Black voters were told to get behind white voters. "You know what it is to stand at the back of the bus," said one election volunteer. In Georgia, state troopers pulled over a college student who was driving people to the polls. He was told that unless everyone in the van was related to him, he must immediately cease and desist in driving people to the polls. Polling places opened one to two hours late or they disappeared and reappeared somewhere else without advising the community. CWA members fell victim to violations of the Voting Rights Act when an officer and a shop steward of Local 1081 were harassed and threatened with bodily harm, on Election Day, by the Sheriff and officers of Passaic County, New Jersey for handing out election literature. As a result of the difficulties with voting machines, voter rolls and the Voting Rights Act violations uncovered in the 2000 elections, a general consensus has arisen that there should be a reform of the electoral system to enable American citizens to vote fairly and efficiently. Bills have been proposed in several states and some have been enacted. However, many of the bills address reform without the necessary appropriations. What we need is people power. Because the right to vote is the most sacred franchise in a democracy, we believe that it is our obligation to insist that all voters be allowed to cast an unfettered ballot and be free from intimidation and harassment as promised by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We all should be incensed and outraged by what happened in November 2000. These are rights that people marched for and, in some cases, died for only 35 years ago. We cannot let it happen again. CWA has joined the fight for voter reform with other community-based coalitions throughout the nation and we would like to enlist your support. It is the recommendation of the CWA National Committee on Equity that each local adopts the community within your local jurisdiction. Become a poll worker. Stop by the Executive Vice President's booth before the conclusion of convention and take an election board survey back to your local. Learn the election rules of your state, county or city. Teach voters how to vote and educate them on what their rights are. We can do more than getting them to the polls. We can use our collective power to make a difference. We must all stand and work together to empower every voter in America. It isn't too early to work on getting out the vote for Democrats in 2002 and 2004. Immigration Amnesty The current system of immigration enforcement has come to be seen as a very broken system in this country. Linda Chavez-Thompson, Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO, in an article dated February 16, 2001 made that point. She noted that if we are to have an immigration system that works, it must be orderly, responsible and fair. The AFL-CIO has passed a resolution that addresses three issues on immigration: The I-9 process should be eliminated because this process currently gives unscrupulous employers the right to practice their own biased form of legal discrimination for verifying eligibility of workers in the United States. These same unscrupulous employers knowingly hire undocumented workers who in some cases work under deplorable conditions. When these same workers attempt to improve these conditions, they face being fired or treated very badly under the same law that is supposed to protect them. A new amnesty program should be adopted to provide permanent legal status for all undocumented workers and their families, many of whom make a tremendous contribution to their communities and work places. The National Committee on Equity proudly joins hands with the AFL-CIO for taking a stand on the inequities and unfairness practiced against undocumented workers and their families living in constant fear of being discovered. These workers face employers who are in violation of labor laws, life in substandard housing and sometimes falling prey to the criminal underworld because they are not legal residents, therefore cannot report even the smallest crime. Immigration amnesty is a special issue dear to me for I had a parent who was an immigrant. I can remember even as a child that some of these same civil rights were denied. It is important to restore faith in the immigration laws impacted by the inappro-priate behavior of the INS. This can be done if all of us support Congressman's John Conyers' Restoration of Fairness in the Immigration Act of 2000. Such support will be a stepping-stone toward restoring dignity, respect and justice to our immigration system. The National Committee on Equity challenges each of you to go back to your locals and establish a training network to help educate immigrants in your neighborhoods by volunteering your time to any community outreach organizations that provide education and training services to immigrant workers. Your mission will be to assist and provide these workers with the tools to organize a union so that their abusive dangerous working conditions and legalized racial discrimination can be abolished. Immigrant workers built the American labor movement and continue to do so even today. I see evidence of this in my very own small town where Mexican workers come to work in the fields for little pay but experience unfair treatment, low living wages and in some cases blatant racial discrimination. The AFL-CIO is asking for a complete restructuring of the immigration enforcement system, which will put a stop to this legalized form of discrimination. Brothers and sisters, I call on you to go back to your communities, seek out those programs and volunteer your time and skills to educate the community on immigrant issues and the conditions suffered by those who are undocumented workers. The current immigration policy that we have needs to be changed. Please go to the AFL-CIO web site where you will see many articles on immigration amnesty: www.aflcio.org. Brothers and sisters, I place the challenge in front of you. This is your mission. Hate Crimes Legislation In 1999 the National Committee on Equity urged delegates to the 61st Annual Convention to support passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999. Though passed by both houses of Congress, the bill was eventually killed in a Senate conference committee. That same year, the FBI documented 7,876 hate crime incidents targeting 9,802 victims. Given that approximately 15% of the U.S. population is not represented by any reporting law enforcement agency and that a large percentage of hate crimes are never reported, the 1999 statistics cannot be viewed as a valid measure of the problem. The Hate Crimes Statistics Act requires the FBI to collect data from local and state law enforcement agencies on crimes, which "manifest prejudice" based on race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity or disability. These agencies, however, are not required to provide that data to the FBI. Participation is purely voluntary, and the law neither offers incentives for states and localities to participate nor does it punish hate crime perpetrators. More effective legislation is needed both to require law enforcement agencies to report all hate crimes and to enhance penalties for those who commit these crimes. Voices from the right claim that expanding hate crimes legislation to include disability, gender and sexual orientation is unnecessary since the perpetrators of hate crimes are currently being convicted. They claim that such laws would create special rights for certain segments of the population, and that hate crimes laws are unconstitutional based on the First Amendment of the Constitution. As playwright Tony Kushner has written, "Hate crimes are not thought crimes. A thought crime would criminalize thinking . . . Hate crimes legislation criminalizes deeds, not thoughts and it expresses society's just revulsion and special opprobrium for such deeds, for bigots who act on their hatred, in precisely the same way that society has always condemned calculated murder more harshly than spontaneous, unthinking violence." We cannot rely solely on Congress to express our revulsion and ensure justice for all. Hate crimes legislation is being debated in state legislatures across the country. Recently, in Texas the governor signed The James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act, a hate crimes bill passed in Hawaii, and legislation was introduced in twenty-five other states. With the current political climate in Washington, perhaps our greatest success will be at the state and local levels. The National Committee on Equity urges CWA at all levels to join the Executive Board of the AFL-CIO and more than 175 civil rights, religious, civic and law enforcement organizations to work for the passage of the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2001 (S. 625) and the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2001 (H.R. 1343). We encourage you to devote time and resources to this aim and we call for the same level of commitment in those states and municipalities where disability, gender and sexual orientation bias are not included in hate crime language. On September 22, 2000, just three weeks after the close of the 62nd Annual Convention, hate came to CWA when Local 2204 member Danny Overstreet was murdered because he was gay. Following his death, the CWA Department of Civil Rights and Fair Practices produced a video to underscore the importance of this struggle for justice. If the delegates would turn their attention to the monitors we will now show "No Time for Hate". This year we again have the opportunity to fight the terrorism of hate. We must redouble our efforts, not only for Danny, but also for all the men, women and children who are targets simply because of who they are. We may not be able to stop the hate, but we can reduce the terror. As Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless." Respectfully Submitted, Gwendolyn Richardson Member at Large, CWA Local 1180 John R. Wills, III Secretary-Treasurer, CWA Local 2202 Elizabeth Roberson 1st Executive Vice President, CWA Local 3106 Terez E. Woods President, CWA Local 4309 Philip Perkins President, CWA Local 6139 Marlene E. Orozco Member, CWA Local 7777 Karen Kimbell-Hanson Area Vice President, CWA Local 9588 Beverly A. Davis Executive Vice President, CWA Local 13500