At District 1 Conference, CWAers Rally to Build Power for Working People

CWA members gathered in Atlantic City this week for the annual District 1 Conference. CWA President Chris Shelton, CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens, CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor, and CWA District 2-13 Vice President Ed Mooney encouraged members to continue building the CWA STRONG program in the face of unprecedented attacks, including the recent Janus Supreme Court decision that took aim at public sector unions.

"We are at a crossroads in this country and in the labor movement," said Shelton. "Business as usual won't cut it. Brothers and Sisters, we need to work like our lives depended on it, because they do!"

Trainor highlighted New Jersey CWA members' successful fight to undo the agenda of the disastrous former governor Chris Christie, and how that model can serve as an inspiration for the entire labor movement. "Phil Murphy's election in New Jersey proves that even in the Age of Trump, CWA can win big for our members," Trainor said. "We need to talk to workers one on one. We need to build power in every workplace. We need to educate every member about what is at stake, at the bargaining table and in the halls of Congress."

The conference also featured rousing speeches from New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who is working with CWA members to rebuild New Jersey in the wake of Chris Christie's attack on working people, and from congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who recently won a stunning primary victory over incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in New York's 14th Congressional District based on her energetic platform of strengthening the working class.

Watch Ocasio-Cortez's speech here.

CWA members gathered in Atlantic City this week for the annual District 1 Conference. Speakers included CWA President Chris Shelton, CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens, CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor (top left), and CWA District 2-13 Vice President Ed Mooney, along with NY-14 congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (top middle), New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (top right), and NJ-07 candidate Tom Malinowski.