Ferguson Election Makes History

Voters in Ferguson, Mo., went to the polls this week and made history, electing two new African-American city council members. Now, 50 percent of the council members are African-American, in a community where two-thirds of the residents are African-American.

CWA District 6 Vice President Claude Cummings said, "CWA members played an important role in helping to change the Ferguson City Council and that's the first step toward changing the system of inequality that has marked the community and too many others for too long. One of our endorsed candidates, Ella Jones, was elected to the council. We've built strong relationships with partners in Ferguson and will continue to press on to gain economic and social justice for all."

CWA sponsored get-out-the-vote radio spots featuring Patricia Bynes, the Democratic committeewoman from Ferguson, for about a month. CWA Local 6355 and other CWA activists walked neighborhoods, met with candidates and phone banked every member in Ferguson to ask for their support for the endorsed candidates.

"Members have been working hard for social and economic justice since we started our union," said Bradley Harmon, president of CWA Local 6355, a founding member of the Don't Shoot Coalition. "Many of us work in underserved communities delivering social services and understand how in particular our society needs to work on issues of racial inequality. It's been part of what 6355 has been doing for years in our campaign to restore the public good."