CWAers Running for Office

Karla May, Legislator in the Missouri House of Representatives running for reelection in District 84, Union steward for CWA Local 6300.

I started my career in politics at 8 years old, stuffing envelopes and passing out literature, when my mother, a former alderwoman, was working a campaign for a local politician. She later ran herself and won her seat, and that really stuck with me. I started working on other elections and getting out the vote. My father was a longtime UAW steward, so organizing has been in my blood for a long time.

As an adult, I saw that the community I grew up in was suffering. We just weren't getting services like basic trash pickup, street cleaning and grass cutting. These things are things our tax dollars automatically pay for, but we weren't seeing a dime. I knew that if I left, people wouldn't have a voice to bring them together around certain issues. So I ran for office. I ran for office three times before I won — you have to build up to it!

I went to work at the Capitol in August 2010. That year it was an all-out attack on working men and women. And I realized my work as a union steward had prepared me. I was already familiar with the Capitol. I understood the fight for better wages, health care insurance and protection if you get injured on the job. As a legislator — just as a union steward in the workplace — you stand up for your rights.

CWA is the largest local in this area. We've got to keep electing union members to key positions in local government and state government, so we don't have to keep playing defense. We'll get them into office and keep moving up the food chain. If we don't switch to offense, you'll see a huge effort to get rid of unions all together. We have the votes. We can make it happen.