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61st Convention Leading the Way into the 21st Century
CWA prepared to enter the 21st century as a strong, enduring - and growing - labor organization as nearly 2,500 delegates met in Miami Beach, Fla., July 12-14, for its 61st annual convention.
They elected a top leadership team, discussed the need for union multinationalism and spotlighted CWA's "bargain to organize" strategy that resulted in more than 25,000 new members in 1998. And - with his first visit to a CWA convention - they heard a special address from Bill Clinton, President of the United States.
The delegate re-elected President Morton Bahr, Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling, Executive Vice President Larry Cohen and 11 CWA vice presidents to three-year terms and elected one new vice president, John Thompson, to succeed retiring District 7 Vice President Sue Pisha.
Thompson, administrative assistant to the District 7 vice president since 1988, is a former officer of CWA Local 7117 in Davenport, Iowa. He began his career in 1965 as a lineman for North-western Bell. As a local officer and later, CWA staff, he has been highly effective in organizing, particularly in the public sector, and has chaired negotiations for a number of telecommunications bargaining units. Thompson defeated Local 7026 President Michael McGrath by a vote of 32,251 to 16,203.
In contested elections, District 1 Vice President Larry Mancino defeated CWA Representative Elisa Riordan, 80,230 to 54,006; District 3 Vice President Jimmy Smith won over Local 3410 President Michael Fahrenholt, 43,470 to 16,309; and Communications & Technologies Vice President Jim Irvine defeated Laura Unger, president of CWA Local 1150, 37,579 to 17,746.
CWA Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus Jim Booe administered the oath of office to those elected at the convention, and to Vice President Linda Foley, TNG-CWA, recently re-elected by The Newspaper Guild. Vice President John Clark, NABET-CWA, was re-elected at the 1998 sector conference and continues in office.
Shaping the Future
Addressing a diverse union, continually reshaped by the convergence of industries in the digital age, Bahr reviewed the highlights of its history, beginning with telecommunications. He pointed out that the modern CWA represents a spectrum of occupations including public workers, airline employees and high technology professionals.
"I have confidence in our leadership and confidence in our members to make change work for us," Bahr stated. "We will confound the critics who say unions are no longer needed. They were wrong 100 years ago. They are wrong now."
President Clinton brought the house down with his affirmation of CWA, along with an appeal to support budget priorities that will extend the solvency of Medicare and Social Security, put 100,000 teachers in America's classrooms, and improve the quality of health care and public safety.
"The CWA is stronger than it's ever been, and America is more prosperous than it's ever been. The bounty we enjoy today is in no small measure the results of your hard work," Clinton said. "We have a phenomenal opportunity . . . to use the last six months of this century to get the 21st century off to a rousing start for America. . . . We have to put first things first. We have to put people first. And if we do it, watch out. You ain't seen nothin' yet."
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney challenged CWA's membership to join the entire labor movement in registering 2 million new voters prior to the 2000 elections and to run for office at the state and local level. Joseph Andrew, chair of the Democratic National Committee appealed for volunteers to mobilize behind campaigns at every level.
"We must move forward with a new economic policy built on new ideas and a proven record of success, of fiscal discipline, targeted tax cuts to help folks get an education, to raise their children, to save for retirement, to create new jobs," Andrew stressed. "And to do this, we must fight for a raise in the minimum wage."
In introducing Andrew, Bahr said the head of the Republican National Committee also had been invited, but hadn't responded.
Sweeney praised the contributions of CWA's Executive Committee to the leadership of the labor movement and pointed out that the 25,000 new members CWA organized in the last year account for 25 percent of the Federation''s net increase of 100,000 members in 1998.
Emphasis on Organizing
Cohen highlighted CWA's ongoing organizing campaigns at AT&T, US Airways, American Airlines and Microsoft.
"More than 150 CWA locals - our organizing network - with solid support from every district, continue to demonstrate that we can build our union, we can build our movement, no matter how tough it is," Cohen stated. "We continue to demonstrate that good old-fashioned solidarity, with organizing based on workers talking to workers, is effective."
Bahr recognized 17 locals that organized more than 100 new members in the past year and presented the President's Annual Award to the leaders in four successful campaigns based on cardcheck recognition, won through "bargaining to organize."
Magnet for Affiliates
The presidents of two unions announced their intention to explore merger with CWA: The American Postal Workers Union, with 360,000 members, and Puerto Rico's Independent Union of Telephone Workers (UIET), with 4,000.
APWU President Moe Biller acknowledged CWA's support for the Postal Workers - traditionally a union of federal government employees - to organize private sector workers in Greensboro, N.C., and a follow-up campaign which culminated in a victory to represent contract drivers at East Coast Leasing.
"Hopefully, someday in the not too distant future, we can take the close working relationship between our two great unions one step further and merge the APWU and CWA into the largest postal-telecommunications union in the world."
Jos‚ Juan Hernandez, president of UIET, thanked CWA for its support during his union''s 41-day strike last year over privatization of the Puerto Rico Telephone Co. The company was ultimately acquired by GTE. But in part due to Bahr's intervention, GTE agreed to recognition of its unions and existing bargaining agreements, a no-layoff policy, no contracting out and, for three years, no rate increase for customers.
"During the struggle we managed to raise consciousness throughout the labor, cultural, civic, student, professional and religious sectors," Hernandez said.
"I can tell you that upon returning to Puerto Rico, I will do all I can to promote the affiliation of my union, the UIET, with the CWA," he concluded.
International Solidarity
As mergers and acquisitions among multinational corporations continue at a rapid pace, CWA is working to meet that challenge through multinational unionism. Philip Bowyer, General Secretary of Communications International, formerly known as Postal, Telegraph and Telephone International, announced that the international labor secretariat recently - and unanimously - elected Bahr in absentia to be its next president. Bahr will preside at CI's congress in September, when CI anticipates approving a merger with FIET, the international labor secretariat of professional employees.
Just one example of multinationalism Bowyer cited is the expansion of Ameritech into Denmark, Belgium and Hungary.
"We believe it is very important that wherever these companies go, there is a trade union waiting, that there is a trade union ready and able to negotiate," Bowyer said.
CI, inspired by the leadership of CWA's Cohen, is working to help unions to organize in Puerto Rico, Latin America, Indonesia and other countries around the world, Bowyer said, and is assisting unions rebuild in Sarajevo in the wake of massacres and civil war.
Bowyer announced that he will step aside as general secretary of CI, which will soon represent 15 million union members in more than 125 countries, to allow it to develop a "new and clear line of leadership."
Staying the Course
The delegates passed a total of 11 resolutions on topics ranging from health care organizing to progressive economic policy. They upheld Constitution Committee recommendations against excluding all company representatives from attending conventions, and against dues restructuring and changes in rules governing bargaining. They reversed Appeals Committee recommendations on two of six appeals, voting to move two discipline cases to arbitration. A third appeal was withdrawn.
They elected a top leadership team, discussed the need for union multinationalism and spotlighted CWA's "bargain to organize" strategy that resulted in more than 25,000 new members in 1998. And - with his first visit to a CWA convention - they heard a special address from Bill Clinton, President of the United States.
The delegate re-elected President Morton Bahr, Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling, Executive Vice President Larry Cohen and 11 CWA vice presidents to three-year terms and elected one new vice president, John Thompson, to succeed retiring District 7 Vice President Sue Pisha.
Thompson, administrative assistant to the District 7 vice president since 1988, is a former officer of CWA Local 7117 in Davenport, Iowa. He began his career in 1965 as a lineman for North-western Bell. As a local officer and later, CWA staff, he has been highly effective in organizing, particularly in the public sector, and has chaired negotiations for a number of telecommunications bargaining units. Thompson defeated Local 7026 President Michael McGrath by a vote of 32,251 to 16,203.
In contested elections, District 1 Vice President Larry Mancino defeated CWA Representative Elisa Riordan, 80,230 to 54,006; District 3 Vice President Jimmy Smith won over Local 3410 President Michael Fahrenholt, 43,470 to 16,309; and Communications & Technologies Vice President Jim Irvine defeated Laura Unger, president of CWA Local 1150, 37,579 to 17,746.
CWA Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus Jim Booe administered the oath of office to those elected at the convention, and to Vice President Linda Foley, TNG-CWA, recently re-elected by The Newspaper Guild. Vice President John Clark, NABET-CWA, was re-elected at the 1998 sector conference and continues in office.
Shaping the Future
Addressing a diverse union, continually reshaped by the convergence of industries in the digital age, Bahr reviewed the highlights of its history, beginning with telecommunications. He pointed out that the modern CWA represents a spectrum of occupations including public workers, airline employees and high technology professionals.
"I have confidence in our leadership and confidence in our members to make change work for us," Bahr stated. "We will confound the critics who say unions are no longer needed. They were wrong 100 years ago. They are wrong now."
President Clinton brought the house down with his affirmation of CWA, along with an appeal to support budget priorities that will extend the solvency of Medicare and Social Security, put 100,000 teachers in America's classrooms, and improve the quality of health care and public safety.
"The CWA is stronger than it's ever been, and America is more prosperous than it's ever been. The bounty we enjoy today is in no small measure the results of your hard work," Clinton said. "We have a phenomenal opportunity . . . to use the last six months of this century to get the 21st century off to a rousing start for America. . . . We have to put first things first. We have to put people first. And if we do it, watch out. You ain't seen nothin' yet."
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney challenged CWA's membership to join the entire labor movement in registering 2 million new voters prior to the 2000 elections and to run for office at the state and local level. Joseph Andrew, chair of the Democratic National Committee appealed for volunteers to mobilize behind campaigns at every level.
"We must move forward with a new economic policy built on new ideas and a proven record of success, of fiscal discipline, targeted tax cuts to help folks get an education, to raise their children, to save for retirement, to create new jobs," Andrew stressed. "And to do this, we must fight for a raise in the minimum wage."
In introducing Andrew, Bahr said the head of the Republican National Committee also had been invited, but hadn't responded.
Sweeney praised the contributions of CWA's Executive Committee to the leadership of the labor movement and pointed out that the 25,000 new members CWA organized in the last year account for 25 percent of the Federation''s net increase of 100,000 members in 1998.
Emphasis on Organizing
Cohen highlighted CWA's ongoing organizing campaigns at AT&T, US Airways, American Airlines and Microsoft.
"More than 150 CWA locals - our organizing network - with solid support from every district, continue to demonstrate that we can build our union, we can build our movement, no matter how tough it is," Cohen stated. "We continue to demonstrate that good old-fashioned solidarity, with organizing based on workers talking to workers, is effective."
Bahr recognized 17 locals that organized more than 100 new members in the past year and presented the President's Annual Award to the leaders in four successful campaigns based on cardcheck recognition, won through "bargaining to organize."
Magnet for Affiliates
The presidents of two unions announced their intention to explore merger with CWA: The American Postal Workers Union, with 360,000 members, and Puerto Rico's Independent Union of Telephone Workers (UIET), with 4,000.
APWU President Moe Biller acknowledged CWA's support for the Postal Workers - traditionally a union of federal government employees - to organize private sector workers in Greensboro, N.C., and a follow-up campaign which culminated in a victory to represent contract drivers at East Coast Leasing.
"Hopefully, someday in the not too distant future, we can take the close working relationship between our two great unions one step further and merge the APWU and CWA into the largest postal-telecommunications union in the world."
Jos‚ Juan Hernandez, president of UIET, thanked CWA for its support during his union''s 41-day strike last year over privatization of the Puerto Rico Telephone Co. The company was ultimately acquired by GTE. But in part due to Bahr's intervention, GTE agreed to recognition of its unions and existing bargaining agreements, a no-layoff policy, no contracting out and, for three years, no rate increase for customers.
"During the struggle we managed to raise consciousness throughout the labor, cultural, civic, student, professional and religious sectors," Hernandez said.
"I can tell you that upon returning to Puerto Rico, I will do all I can to promote the affiliation of my union, the UIET, with the CWA," he concluded.
International Solidarity
As mergers and acquisitions among multinational corporations continue at a rapid pace, CWA is working to meet that challenge through multinational unionism. Philip Bowyer, General Secretary of Communications International, formerly known as Postal, Telegraph and Telephone International, announced that the international labor secretariat recently - and unanimously - elected Bahr in absentia to be its next president. Bahr will preside at CI's congress in September, when CI anticipates approving a merger with FIET, the international labor secretariat of professional employees.
Just one example of multinationalism Bowyer cited is the expansion of Ameritech into Denmark, Belgium and Hungary.
"We believe it is very important that wherever these companies go, there is a trade union waiting, that there is a trade union ready and able to negotiate," Bowyer said.
CI, inspired by the leadership of CWA's Cohen, is working to help unions to organize in Puerto Rico, Latin America, Indonesia and other countries around the world, Bowyer said, and is assisting unions rebuild in Sarajevo in the wake of massacres and civil war.
Bowyer announced that he will step aside as general secretary of CI, which will soon represent 15 million union members in more than 125 countries, to allow it to develop a "new and clear line of leadership."
Staying the Course
The delegates passed a total of 11 resolutions on topics ranging from health care organizing to progressive economic policy. They upheld Constitution Committee recommendations against excluding all company representatives from attending conventions, and against dues restructuring and changes in rules governing bargaining. They reversed Appeals Committee recommendations on two of six appeals, voting to move two discipline cases to arbitration. A third appeal was withdrawn.