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Championing Workers to the End
Two days before Sen. Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash Oct. 25, CWA President Morton Bahr stood with him at a union rally in Minneapolis, the kind of people-powered, high-energy, spirited event that Wellstone relished. “What you saw there was the real Paul Wellstone, a man of great integrity, a man of the working people who put the welfare of working families — whether on the job or in global issues such as peace or war — ahead of any political expediency,” Bahr said.
Democratic and Republican leaders alike, along with newspaper columnists and pundits of every persuasion, have mourned the death of the Minnesota Democrat, saluting his principles in always voting his conscience and faithfully standing against big money to fight for working people, the poor, disabled, seniors and children and anyone else without a voice in Congress.
As Wellstone said in one of his last campaign ads in his Senate run this fall, the Enrons and General Electrics and other corporate giants already have people in Washington looking out for them.
“He was tireless and unapologetic for championing the rights of working men and women — even when he stood alone,” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said. “Paul Wellstone refused to shrink his vision or abandon his principles, and our nation’s workers are the better for it. America’s working men and women had no better friend.”
In a keynote speech at CWA’s 2001 convention in Minneapolis, Wellstone’s call for pro-worker legislation had delegates jumping to their feet and applauding wildly. He called the agenda pushed by the Bush administration and Republican leaders “an effort to undo over half a century of people’s history.”
“There’s a piece of legislation, it’s called the ‘Family Friendly’ Workplace Act,” Wellstone said. “You know what it does? It overturns the 40-hour week. There’s another piece of legislation called the SAFE Act. You know what it does? It guts OSHA.”
As chair of the Senate’s labor subcommittee, he pledged to do his all to block anti-worker bills while sponsoring ones that would help workers, such as right-to-organize legislation.
“No longer will companies be the only ones to give the speeches to employees. They get to hear from the union,” he said. “No longer will it be profitable to break the law and illegally fire people. You’re going to have to pay three times the back pay and can be taken to court for more damages. If 60 percent of the workers sign cards saying they want a union, within 14 days, you’ve got to have the election. And if workers vote for a union, you can’t stonewall our contract.”
Tim Lovaasen, vice president of CWA Local 7200 in Minneapolis, was among grieving union leaders quoted by the Star-Tribune after Wellstone’s death. “This is such a tremendous loss to the labor movement, it’s unbelievable,” he said. “He’s the best friend we’ve had since Hubert Humphrey; it’s that simple.”
Wellstone died with his wife, Sheila, described by all who knew the couple as his best friend and a strong political force herself. The crash also claimed the Wellstones’ 33-year-old daughter, Marcia, three campaign workers and two pilots.
Wellstone is survived by two grown sons and six grandchildren, and he loved to talk about them. In fact, Bahr said, the subject came up while he, Wellstone and Democratic candidate for governor Roger Moe were meeting the day of the rally.
“Roger Moe had four grandsons and he was touting them and I touted my four granddaughters and then Paul outstripped us all with his six grandchildren,” Bahr said, recalling one of his last memories of a senator who was a close friend as well as political ally.
He remembered the time Wellstone visited his home during a training class for new CWA staff. “Just sitting around talking with him at my home, the new staff probably got more out of that couple of hours than they did in two weeks of school,” he said. “He talked about what life is all about, what we struggle for. The guy was a role model.”
Democratic and Republican leaders alike, along with newspaper columnists and pundits of every persuasion, have mourned the death of the Minnesota Democrat, saluting his principles in always voting his conscience and faithfully standing against big money to fight for working people, the poor, disabled, seniors and children and anyone else without a voice in Congress.
As Wellstone said in one of his last campaign ads in his Senate run this fall, the Enrons and General Electrics and other corporate giants already have people in Washington looking out for them.
“He was tireless and unapologetic for championing the rights of working men and women — even when he stood alone,” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said. “Paul Wellstone refused to shrink his vision or abandon his principles, and our nation’s workers are the better for it. America’s working men and women had no better friend.”
In a keynote speech at CWA’s 2001 convention in Minneapolis, Wellstone’s call for pro-worker legislation had delegates jumping to their feet and applauding wildly. He called the agenda pushed by the Bush administration and Republican leaders “an effort to undo over half a century of people’s history.”
“There’s a piece of legislation, it’s called the ‘Family Friendly’ Workplace Act,” Wellstone said. “You know what it does? It overturns the 40-hour week. There’s another piece of legislation called the SAFE Act. You know what it does? It guts OSHA.”
As chair of the Senate’s labor subcommittee, he pledged to do his all to block anti-worker bills while sponsoring ones that would help workers, such as right-to-organize legislation.
“No longer will companies be the only ones to give the speeches to employees. They get to hear from the union,” he said. “No longer will it be profitable to break the law and illegally fire people. You’re going to have to pay three times the back pay and can be taken to court for more damages. If 60 percent of the workers sign cards saying they want a union, within 14 days, you’ve got to have the election. And if workers vote for a union, you can’t stonewall our contract.”
Tim Lovaasen, vice president of CWA Local 7200 in Minneapolis, was among grieving union leaders quoted by the Star-Tribune after Wellstone’s death. “This is such a tremendous loss to the labor movement, it’s unbelievable,” he said. “He’s the best friend we’ve had since Hubert Humphrey; it’s that simple.”
Wellstone died with his wife, Sheila, described by all who knew the couple as his best friend and a strong political force herself. The crash also claimed the Wellstones’ 33-year-old daughter, Marcia, three campaign workers and two pilots.
Wellstone is survived by two grown sons and six grandchildren, and he loved to talk about them. In fact, Bahr said, the subject came up while he, Wellstone and Democratic candidate for governor Roger Moe were meeting the day of the rally.
“Roger Moe had four grandsons and he was touting them and I touted my four granddaughters and then Paul outstripped us all with his six grandchildren,” Bahr said, recalling one of his last memories of a senator who was a close friend as well as political ally.
He remembered the time Wellstone visited his home during a training class for new CWA staff. “Just sitting around talking with him at my home, the new staff probably got more out of that couple of hours than they did in two weeks of school,” he said. “He talked about what life is all about, what we struggle for. The guy was a role model.”