CWA Runaway Inequality Training Aims to Stop Corporate Power Grab

CWA's Runaway Inequality program has trained hundreds of CWA members – and now a growing number of allies – about the expanding power of corporate America, how that power has harmed working families and resulted in greater economic and racial inequality, and what we can do to upend this power grab.

For decades, corporations and Wall Street have been lobbying to cut taxes on the rich and corporations, eliminate government regulations for the financial sector, and try to damage the power of working people and unions.

Through the Take On Wall Street campaign, CWA and allies are fighting back to get rid of tax breaks for companies that offshore jobs and profits, eliminate the CEO bonus loophole, and make sure that Wall Street pays its fair share.

The Runaway Inequality education program got underway in 2016, and in that first year, 32 CWA activists from New York, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, and Missouri became member-educators, and have led 42 workshops for 629 CWAers.

This year, the program has expanded into Wisconsin, North Carolina, Indiana, Arizona, and Washington. In 2017, CWA member-educators led 27 Runaway Inequality workshops for 416 participants, and more workshops will be held by the end of the year. Recent CWA training sessions have been held in Indianapolis, Buffalo, Rochester, and New York City.

The program is being expanded to allies across the country. In New York, Michigan, North Carolina, and Minnesota, CWA member-educators have run workshops for participants from allied organizations, including the UAW and other unions, Jobs with Justice, and community groups.

CWA's Michigan Legislative-Political Coordinator, Mike Schulte, organized train-the-trainer sessions for 25 activists from labor, community, faith-based, and progressive organizations from the Detroit area. Most of the participants were members of South East Jobs with Justice Committee; their goal is to educate 800 new activists.

On Staten Island, N.Y., Runaway Inequality CWA Local 1102 member-educators Joe Tarulli and Ray Ragucci have led workshops for over 100 participants and are expanding those sessions to community allies. Local 1102 is part of the Sustainable Staten coalition, a group that grew out of the successful Verizon strike in 2016.

In Massachusetts, CWA Runaway Inequality trainers Sarah Buckley and Deborah Timmons, Local 1168; Ray Ragucci, 1102; Sonji-Ann Roseborough, 1106; Dennis Dunn, 1108; and Elijah Zimmerman, 1109, held workshops for 120 UAW participants.

From top left: Participants from Locals 1102, 1106, 1109, 1180 at the New York City training; members and leaders from Locals 7200, 87140, 7304, and 7250 in Minneapolis; members of Local 1168 in Buffalo, and left, participants from Local 1170 in Rochester; CWAers at Indianapolis training session, and CWA trainers with UAW participants in Massachusetts (bottom two photos).