CWA Activists Hit the Streets for Mississippi Candidates

Mississippi state employees campaigned hard for Jackson city council member Chokwe Lumumba, securing him a landslide win in his mayoral election last week.

"Our workers were engaged – precinct walks, prepping materials to go out to voters, sweat and tears," said Brenda Scott, president of Mississippi Alliance of State Employees-CWA Local 3570. "We were very instrumental in his success."

Lumumba, a pro-worker candidate who campaigned on a living wage and improving community jobs, easily defeated three independents, winning 87 percent of the vote. After winning his Democratic primary, CWA activists became permanent fixtures in the Lumumba campaign, helping with phone banking, canvassing neighborhoods, rolling thousands of newspapers with sample ballots and poll watching. All the way up until Election Day, at least 10 CWAers could be found on each shift at Lumumba's campaign office.

MASE-CWA has been involved in mayoral elections for the past decade. But this was the first year that activists ventured outside of Jackson to campaign for other mayoral hopefuls.

Workers helped state Rep. George Flaggs become mayor of Vicksburg. In Moss Point, they aided Billy Broomfield's move from the state House to city hall. State employees successfully campaigned for Bill Luckett, a local attorney and businessman, in Clarksdale. Workers ensured state Rep. Kelvin Buck would become the next mayor of Holly Springs. And CWAers joined with the Building Trades to help elect Meridian's first black mayor, Percy Bland.

"It was all people – old people, young people, African Americans, Hispanics Whites," said Liz Roberson, assistant to the CWA Public Workers Vice President. "Everyone was pulling together to make this happen. That's the beauty of it."