Cohen to LA Fed Delegates: Keep Focused on Four Key Goals

The union movement needs to stay focused on our four key goals and keep building, despite the political and legislative setbacks we're facing, CWA President Larry Cohen told 1,000 activists at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Congress.

Those goals: bargaining rights, health care reform, jobs and fair trade and retirement security, are the foundation of our movement and are the way we will keep our movement going in tough times, he said.

Cohen was the keynote speaker at the meeting held at the LA Convention Center. During his remarks he was surrounded by CWAers from nearly every sector of our union. Cohen talked about the bargaining challenges that CWAers and other union members are facing, from the fight for fair contracts at AT&T, to holding on to union jobs at NBC Universal, to the campaign by Northwest Airlines flight attendants to keep their union, to the attack on organizing rights for TSA agents, to the campaign by car wash workers and more.

Cohen stressed that the setbacks we face are real, but that we can't give up. The Massachusetts election now has made it possible for Senate Republicans to block any legislative effort or appointment, and that has serious consequences for Employee Free Choice, real health care reform, even appointments to the National Labor Relations Board who are critical to getting some justice for workers on the job.

"Our work is making a difference, but we have to continue to build our base, build our effectiveness and figure out a new path to get these things done," he said.

The Los Angeles County Federation represents workers from throughout the labor movement – it has Change to Win and AFL-CIO members – and has been a strong supporter of CWA campaigns. Extremely effective in community and union organizing, LA Union has turned that effectiveness into political clout and is a model for the labor movement.

Photo Caption: CWA Pres. Larry Cohen with CWAers at LA County Fed Congress. On screen is T-Mobile worker in disguise for fear of company retaliation.