CWA Members Use Facts, Civility to Counter Opponents at Town Hall Meetings

Things have been stormy at town hall meetings during the August congressional recess, but CWAers have been standing up for health care reform and countering bad behavior with the facts:

• IUE-CWA Local 81201 members were out in force at a town hall meeting held by Rep. Niki Tsongas (D) in Chelmsford, Mass. "We were a democracy squad but more needs to be done," because it's clear that the antis were only interested in disruption, not discussion, said Local Vice President Alex Brown. "It was exhausting but our people were proud."

• At President Obama's town hall meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., CWAers were on the mark again, with about 40 members from Local 81201 and 1400 lining the road outside the high school where the President spoke. Local 1400 President Don Trementozzi said reform supporters were at least 10-deep along the half-mile road while opponents were spread thin on the other side.

  CWAers from Locals 1400 and 81201 joined union members and other activists to support health care reform and President Obama at the town hall meeting in Portsmouth, NH.

What opponents lacked in numbers, though, they made up for with loud comments and ugly signs. "We didn't engage them," Trementozzi said. "We just did our thing, singing our songs and chanting 'health care for all.' We even had a band."

• In Indiana, union members and activists helped counter the anti-reform crowd at President Obama's meeting in Elkhart County last week and at Rep. Joe Donnelly's (D) town hall meeting in Kokomo. IUE-CWA members and others CWAers were on hand. Joe Carbone, congressional district coordinator for CWA Local 4900, said the meeting was moved outside to accommodate the crowd of more than 500.