Civil Rights and Equity and National Women's Committee 2011 Convention Review

Communications Workers of America- Washington, DC-- During the 73^rd Annual Convention this year in Las Vegas, NV Civil Rights and Equity and Women’s committee members held discussions with a number of delegate visitors including CWA District 4 Vice President Seth Rosen and his assistant Linda Hinton as well as District 7 Vice President Mary Taylor, At Large Diversity Board Members Nestor Soto and Madelyn Elder. Previous committee chairs and members also stopped by to say hello and talk about committee report items. They also asked for ways to develop women’s and civil rights and equity committees in their locals. Women’s committee members partnered with CR&E committee members during district and sector meetings to promote the upcoming national women’s conference in Chicago, IL August 21-23, 2011 at the Drake Hotel. The teams also promoted the National Human Rights booth and sold raffle tickets in support of their efforts.

Election Matters:

Convention delegates approved the elimination of the Executive Vice President’s office and position. There are only two nationally elected leadership positions in the headquarters building of our union. President Larry Cohen was re-elected by acclamation. Former Executive Vice President Annie Hill was elected CWA Secretary-Treasurer replacing Jeff Rechenbach who after many years of dedicated service with CWA retired and moved back home to Ohio. We congratulate Larry and Annie and will miss Jeff for the great job he did and for his open and honest approach to our union’s critical issues.

As for diversity and women’s issues, the expansion of the CWA Executive Board is notable. There are now six women, five African-Americans, and one Hispanic member of the CWA International Executive Board. Some key diversity related elections took place. District 7 Vice President Mary Taylor was re-elected to the Executive Board. Claude Cummings, President of CWA Local 6222 and former Central Region At Large Diversity Board member was elected Vice President of CWA District 6 succeeding VP Andy Milburn who also retired. He was replaced on the CWA Executive Board by CWA Local 4100 President Greg Wynn who has a long and distinguished history in District 4 in particular for his tireless work in Detroit, with the CWA Minority Caucus as well as with his support of Local and national women’s and civil rights and equity committee work..

It is important to note that Executive Board Diversity Vice President’s Carolyn Wade, Madelyn Elder, and Nestor Soto were also re-elected by acclamation and will be returning to their previous nationally elected positions. We are extremely proud of the work they have done, thank them for their tireless support of our union’s Human Rights programs and look forward to their contributions to our future.

CWA Human Rights Committees

The Civil Rights and Equity Committee worked in a wonderfully cooperative way with the Women’s Committee throughout the entire convention. Each committee submitted convention reports rich with informative, useful information that reflects the important issues of the day- all in support of CWA’s overall mission.

Though not performed in the presentation mode they preferred, the National Women’s Committee hit a homerun and received enthusiastic support from delegates as the group effectively brought to light the incredible legacy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory disaster. Each member emphasized lessons learned during and after that disaster. Each spoke definitively of the lessons learned by the labor movement and our government while seamlessly interweaving the political and legislative parallels then and now sparked by the emotional yet compelling effects of this event.

The Civil Rights and Equity Committee Report received similar acclaim. Serving as the conscious of our union’s quest for equity in every facet of its deliberations, the Civil Rights and Equity Committee delivered a report that touched on the positive effects of inclusion and how working together regardless of nationality, race, preference or gender, CWA can continue to be a nationally recognized standard bearer in today’s progressive human and civil rights movement. As vitriolic right wing discourse seeks to overwhelm the call for national unity and growth, the message from our Committee resonated differently. The CR&E Report not only pointed out the positive effects of our work with historic partners in civil and human rights, it also gave guidance to delegates and members about how they can effectively combat the efforts of the far right through civic engagement, by taking advantage of educational opportunities, closing the digital divide and fighting for a just national budget that would provide economic freedom for every American. The Committee made it clear that CWA members working as a force for equality through shared resources, sacrifice, and civic engagement will steer our efforts successfully as we approach critical challenges this year and in 2012.

CWA Voter Suppression Resolution

The issue of voter suppression in minority communities, among seniors and college students has become a prominent issue relating to upcoming elections in both 2011 and 2012. New voting ID laws have surfaced and passed in states across the country making it more difficult for people in the above mentioned categories to obtain proper voting credentials. The CWA Civil Rights and Equity Committee along with the National Women’s Committee both supported the CWA Voter Suppression resolution introduced at the convention. United in their efforts to promote the resolution, CWA Civil Rights and Equity member William Steele from District 2 and CWA National Women’s Committee member Shari Wojtowicz from CWA District 7 both prepared statements to be read at the microphone. William Steele’s statement is attached. Shari’s will follow soon.

The CWA National Human Rights Booth

Because of the unparalleled cooperation between the Civil Rights and Equity and the National Women’s Conference, the National Human Rights Booth was a tremendous success. The booth helped satisfy three principal objectives as per CWA national Human Rights goals.

A. To serve as a central resource to convention delegates.

B. Provide essential organizing documents for Local membership, Local committees and executive boards.

C. To grow our national Human Rights (Women’s and CR&E) network as we build a broader constituency base.

Women’s and CR&E members manned the booth throughout the length of the Convention. We want to thank retiree and non delegate members of the committees for their work to make the booth a success.

Support from the CWA Minority Caucus

Of all the critical support the National Committee on Civil Rights and Equity receives from our national union, none is more important than the support this committee receives from the historic CWA Minority Caucus led by its President Walter Andrews, President of CWA Local 3204 in Atlanta, GA. Each convention year, the Caucus meets and serves as the eyes and ears of minority growth within our union. The Minority Caucus is a highly diverse organization that looks out for the interest of all minorities including women, African Americans, Hispanics, along with members of the LGBT community. This year, the Civil Rights and Equity Committee was recognized at the Saturday July 8^th luncheon. CR&E Chair Gloria Middleton was given the opportunity to introduce each member of the Committee and spoke on the mission of the Committee. She thanked the Minority Caucus, of which she is a member, for their efforts to this point and pledged an ongoing relationship between the two bodies well into the future. Members of each national committee again thank the Minority Caucus which, without fail, lines up at the convention microphone to second adoption and support both the Women’s and the CR&E Committee reports. The Caucus’ steadfast backing is greatly appreciated and critical to the effective accomplishment of our mission. Congratulations to the CWA Minority Caucus for its ongoing commitment to equal treatment within our union.

CWA Civil Rights and Women’s Activist Networks Cards

Both Committees took on the responsibility at the booth to increase our email activist database, again as a part of national goals established by our National Ad Hoc Diversity Committee. To help boost interest, committee members awarded a 14” by 24” print to a delegate randomly selected from signed Network Activist cards. This year’s winner was Shannon Fink, President of CWA Local 2009. The prize was awarded by Women’s Committee member Jenny Morgan.

All totaled, the committee distributed 178 cards and signed up 82 delegates. This boost has helped push us to 6.4 percent of our 10 percent goal. Delegates also provided information about their membership in other home based civil rights, women’s and community-religious organizations as follows:

The National Women’s Committee Raffle:

The success of this year’s raffle can be directly attributed to two things. 1) Support by delegates of the Women’s Committee goal to increase awareness of women’s issues and, 2) to support the committee’s effort garner additional monetary support for the upcoming 2011 Women’s Committee Conference in Chicago IL. The final prize amount was $999.00.

The National Committee on Civil Rights and Equity Raffle:

2011 is the first year in many years the CWA Committee on Civil Rights and Equity held a raffle during convention. The committee undertook significant deliberations to determine the use of the proceeds. After significant discussion, the Committee agreed that it is important to send the message that raffle proceeds are NOT necessary to fund future national conferences. To the contrary, the national union provides significant advance to support the conference and to begin conference planning.

Several other reasons surfaced including but not limited to conference registration relief for delegates, the purchase of CR&E “store items” such as mugs, hats, t-shirts etc. for year round sale. However, most importantly in the spirit of such raffles the Committee was able to raise some capitol as well as offer a $999.00 prize.