CWA National Call: A Hot Summer Ahead for Bargaining, Political Fights

MSNBC's Ed Schultz Joins Local Activists to Discuss Battles and Strategies

With major bargaining fights underway and the ongoing battles to protect workers' rights at the state level, summer is going to be hotter than ever for the labor movement, CWA President Larry Cohen told thousands of activists on Thursday night's "virtual town hall" conference call.

Three CWA activists gave summaries of their state battles, and progressive talk show host Ed Schultz joined the call to applaud them and all of CWA's work, saying, "It's an honor to hear such fervent voices out there for the middle class in America."

Ticking off a partial list of tough negotiations — for public workers in New Jersey, for members at Verizon and General Electric, for flight attendants and NBC technicians, and more — Cohen said summer 2011 needs to be "a hot summer for our movement" at the bargaining table, in politics and in member education.

"For the parts of our union where we haven't been under direct attack, we need to rally behind those who have been under attack," Cohen said. "We can't wait until they come for us. We win when we build a movement."

Among specific goals Cohen laid out for summer are house parties for members, as well as friends and neighbors, to discuss such things as Medicare cuts and budget issues.

Cohen was followed on the call by three local leaders:

• Local 4300 Vice President Ron Gay described how the "Good Jobs and Strong Communities" message has resonated in Ohio, as more than 10,000 volunteers statewide circulate petitions to overturn the new law that strips collective bargaining rights from public workers. With huge rallies, social networking and media outreach, a broad and growing coalition "is connecting the dots between the fight for workers' rights, a sensible state budget, job creation, strong education policy and fair housing practices," he said.

 

• Local 1122 Executive Vice President John Mudie discussed the major victory that CWA members and other unions helped make possible last month, when pro-worker candidate Kathy Hochul won an open U.S. House seat in an upstate New York district that is heavily Republican. "Our plan was to get as many CWA boots on the ground as possible," Mudie said, describing phone banks, labor walks and other activities. Between CWA and its union brothers and sisters, "three days before Election Day there were well over 200 activists knocking on doors for Kathy, from Buffalo to Rochester. In terms of money, Kathy's campaign was outspent by Republicans more than 2 to 1. But we had the message and the people to hammer it home, and that's what mattered."

 

• Local 1040 President Carolyn Wade provided a live report from New Jersey, where 10,000 workers had rallied all day at the capitol. Unlike most other state battles, Wade said public workers in New Jersey are having to battle turncoat state Democrats as well as Republicans. The workers are facing devastating pension and health care cuts, and Wade put lawmakers of both parties on notice. "If we lose this, the real fight will come in November," she said. "All 120 seats are up in the Legislature, and those who voted against us, we will vote against them."

Schultz, who has weekday talk shows on radio and at 10 p.m. (Eastern) on MSNBC, said one of his goals is to "convince non-union workers that unions are the last line of defense for the working class."

"When I see people in the top 2 percent, I ask, 'How much do you need?' They don't have an answer. But now we're in a phase of, 'How much are they going to take?' They're incorrigible in how they're acting toward workers."

"We are committed to follow this story," Schultz said. "We are committed to speak with tremendous clarity about fairness and equality, and how they want to limit opportunity for working families and shut down the voice of people in the workplace."

If you missed any or all of the half-hour call, you can listen to it online at www.cwaaction.org.