CWA District 6 Mobilizes for 2012 Election

Gearing up for the national and state races around the country, CWA District 6 leaders gathered in Oklahoma City last week to kick off their political action program.

"The takeaway is how important the political and legislative part of CWA is for our growth and our continued growth," CWA Local 6128 President Darlene Kirchgessner told the 52 representatives attending the training. "If we don't have that, we don't get people in place to help the labor movement. We have to get our members on board with that."

State coordinators talked about what's at stake in 2012, outlining key races and ballot measures for CWA. During a skill building session, attendees practiced the best ways to sign up volunteers and approach members about donating to CWA's political action fund. There was a workshop on the long-term and permanent infrastructure of the LPAT program. Participants also watched and discussed two films — "The Heist" and "Citizens United" — about the attacks on workers and democracy.

"We really focused on how difficult this is going to be," said Sylvia J. Ramos, assistant to the vice president in District 6. "Four out of our five states are red. This isn't going happen overnight. It's going to take constant member outreach, member education."

Representatives came from all over, including Texas state employees, Missouri state employees, CenturyLink, IUE, Lucent and AT&T. District 6 Vice President Claude Cummings and CWA National Political Director Rafael Navar were also in attendance.

At the end of the day, each person shared what they learned and what they would commit to do going forward. Leaders are now brainstorming creative ways to organize PAC drive ideas, leaflet and support AFL-CIO-endorsed candidates in Texas's runoff election next week.

"Everyone walked away with a really positive outlook and pumped up go back to their locals to work on PAC drives," said Kara Hutchason, state coordinator for CWA Local 6316.