2022 Midterm Election Update: CWA Members at the Forefront of Delivering Key Pro-Worker Wins

For months, CWA members have been gearing up for the 2022 midterm elections. From participating in political activist trainings, to organizing GOTV rallies, knocking on doors, phone banking, and text banking, CWAers have been actively mobilizing to secure pro-worker wins and protect the rights of working families at the polls. CWAers were also on the ballot as some of our dedicated activists ran for elected office.

Election officials continue to count ballots in many areas. They are able to perform their duty of making sure every vote is counted, thanks to the work generations of CWA members have done to safeguard free and fair elections. It may be days or weeks until we know the full results of this election. However, the results so far clearly show that CWA and other union members’ grassroots efforts helped working people defy the odds and elect pro-worker candidates. Here are some initial highlights from Election Day:

• In Pennsylvania, our efforts helped secure major wins, including flipping a U.S. Senate seat to pro-worker Democrat John Fetterman.
• In New Hampshire, CWA-endorsed Senator Maggie Hassan won reelection.
• In Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer won reelection, beating a right-wing election denier. Democrats in Michigan also won control of the state legislature. This gives us an opportunity to grow worker power in the state by, for instance, fighting back against the state’s so-called “right-to-work” law. CWA-endorsed candidates also won key races for governor in Kansas, Minnesota, New York, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.
• In Illinois, we passed the Workers’ Rights Amendment, which adds the fundamental right to organize and bargain collectively to the state constitution while forbidding any law that interferes with that ability.
• In Michigan, we passed a constitutional amendment to protect voting rights and stop corporate interests from overturning the will of the people.
• In Florida, we elected the first Gen Z member of Congress, Maxwell Alejandro Frost.
• Voters also stood up for our democratic values, preventing election deniers from winning key Secretary of State and Attorney General positions in several states.

Victories by CWA Members who ran for elected office include AFA-CWA Local 27048 member Kaela Berg, who won her election in Minnesota State House District 55b; IUE-CWA Local 81201 member Pete Capano, who won his election in Massachusetts State House District 11; Former TNG-CWA President Linda Foley, who won her election in Maryland State House District 15; and CWA Local 3204 member Nikki Merritt, who won her election in Georgia State Senate District 9.

Our work doesn’t stop on Election Day. The conversations we have at work, at our places of worship, at our kids’ activities, and in our homes are at the heart of our fight to keep good, union jobs in our communities, raise wages, bring down the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs, and increase access to quality, affordable childcare. The movement of working people who are joining together in ever-increasing numbers to improve their lives and the lives of their co-workers by organizing unions is transforming our country. We won’t let greedy CEOs and corporate-backed politicians slow our momentum. Read more from CWA’s post election statement.