CWA Ready for the Future: 11 Ways to Get CWA 'Ready for the Future'

When you ask upwards of 700,000 union members, retirees and staff for their opinions, you're going to get an avalanche of ideas.

That's what happened in recent months as CWA leaders set out to involve every segment of CWA in helping a strong union chart a course for an even stronger future.

The ideas, generated through local, sector and district meetings, through letters and e-mails, have been discussed, debated and drafted into 11 steps the CWA Executive Board believes will address the union's major challenges in the years ahead.

The "Ready for the Future" steps, or goals, from the Board report are summarized below. Aspects of goals involving education, organizing, politics, retirees and the proposed Strategic Industry Fund are explained in more detail in stories that follow.

Strengthen the CWA Triangle
The triangle is the key to CWA's bargaining power: Representation on one side, politics and community action on another and organizing on the third. If one side is weak, that limits the effectiveness of the others. All three demand the entire union's commitment.

Education: An Army of Stewards
Leaders envision a force of 50,000 stewards trained not only to handle workplace issues but also to be mobilized quickly and effectively on industry and employer campaigns. More training will also help stewards better understand and be able to explain the political and corporate forces that threaten workplace rights today, and how stewards generations ago helped build the American union movement. See Stewards' Army Would Be a Force for Growth.

Politics: Activism and COPE
Raising the contributions to CWA's political action committee — the Committee on Political Education (COPE) — from the current $3 million goal to $5 million over the next three years is critical to electing candidates and fighting for issues that support workers and unions. The stewards' army and other activists would help mobilize thousands of other members in local communities during political battles. See Political Action Vital in Fight for Workers.

Organizing: More Funds, More Focus
The International would increase the amount spent on organizing by .5 percent a year for four years, raising the level to 12 percent of the union's budget by the 2010-11 fiscal year. Locals would be asked to commit at least 10 percent of their resources to organizing within three years. Headquarters would provide $5 million annually to help boost local organizing programs. Districts and sectors would develop annual organizing plans to be integrated into a national plan. Further, the national would add organizing support to district, state, city or other regional CWA organizations in which groups of locals pool their resources to help support an organizing program. See Building Bargaining Power Through Organizing.

Strong Locals, Strong Contracts
Just as "Ready for the Future" illustrates, CWA members have a voice in decisions about their union. That kind of democracy sets CWA apart from many other unions. But action and education are what makes democracy work and — for unions — translates into good contracts. For local representation to be effective, it demands trained stewards, full participation in meetings and programs, resources for communicating with and mobilizing members and resources for organizing and political action. The Board is committed to providing assistance and incentives to strengthen locals.

A National Telecom Office
The union born in the infancy of telecommunications is now confronted with a constantly changing industry that is more competitive and less regulated than at any time in history, a combination that is costing union jobs. With half of CWA's members in telecom, focusing on these issues is critical. Initially, resources for a national telecom office would come from the Communications and Technologies and the Telecommunications offices, with the two vice presidents combining resources and working together on the companies within their elected mandates — AT&T (national unit), Lucent, Avaya, Sprint/Embarq, CenturyTel, Alltel/Valor, Citizens, ADT and OFS. In addition, vice presidents with telecommunications members in their jurisdictions have already established the Telecom Industry Committee, which will continue to hold meetings and conference calls to share information and shape goals. Discussions on further coordination and cooperation will take place through 2007.

Budget Resources
CWA's national budget will be built on administrative unit (districts, sectors) budgets that are supported by each unit's income. Each unit will be required to live within its income, but will also have more flexibility about using their funds.

More Retired Activists
Despite active retiree chapters, CWA has tapped only a tiny fraction of the 800,000 retirees who could be involved. The goal is to double membership from 25,000 to 50,000 within three years. Creation of a "RetireE-Activist" database will engage even more retirees and notify them about actions and initiatives. See Expanding Retiree Network Key to CWA's Future.

Fewer Meetings
Meetings and conferences would be reduced by 15 percent over the next three years to "make our time together and away from our locals count," the board report states. An Executive Board committee will be chaired by Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling to work to reduce the number of meetings significantly. To allow more flexibility in scheduling, the proposal calls for requiring one district meeting a year, rather than two.

Governance and Restructuring
There are many divergent opinions about mergers and other possible changes in CWA's framework. The Board report reiterates what it calls a "fundamental union truth: that every member, every bargaining unit and every part of our union makes us stronger," and that each district and sector are proud of their accomplishments and history within CWA. The report makes the following proposals for the next five years:

• Require that all districts and sectors live within their income, with income and expenses reviewed monthly.
• Combine the resources of the two telecommunications sectors.
• Bring to the 2007 convention a proposal on Executive Board structure to increase Board diversity.
• "Right-size" the Board by 2011.

Establish a $20 Million Strategic Industry Fund
Create a Strategic Industry Fund for campaigns to increase bargaining power. Rather than defensive campaigns that respond to a crisis, SIF campaigns would focus on projects to make CWA stronger. See Strategic Industry Fund.