If Not Now, When? Voices of Support for Action Now

Yoko Kuramoto-Eidsmoe, President, Local 37082
(Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild)

The exciting thing about this proposal is how much the entire union stands to gain from it: Fresh voices from the rank-and-file on the Board, and a focused commitment to the very difficult issues of equity. I would be proud to see CWA and the labor movement lead the way toward a fairer, more progressive society.

Ed Phillips, President, Local 4340

I don't feel that the proposal addresses the issue in its entirety, but like anything else you have to take a step before you can run. If we don't do anything, then we'll never have diversity. In the future, I hope CWA will show its true colors and become truly diversified with a Board that's more along the lines of the membership we serve.

Norm Daniels, President, Local 3121

It's a great proposal, something that's long overdue, and it should change the face of the Executive Board to make it more like the face of the rank and file. This is a positive move for our union. Now more people can aspire to become part of the national leadership. I realize they can't hold elections the first year but, going forward, any member who wants to can run for election. That's fair. I just hope that elections will maintain the intent of the proposal, to make sure there are women and people of color sitting on the Board.

Leroy Jackson, President, NABET-CWA Local 59053

I think this Diversity Proposal is a step in the right direction.  It's important to have a minority perspective in the leadership. It's important to understand the people you're reaching out to and it's important from the perspective of day-to-day union business. From the early 1970s, the membership has been trying to increase leadership diversity. These efforts led to the formation of the Minority Leadership Institute. As the first NABET-CWA member to attend the MLI, I understand the need to move forward on this. Everyone has worked hard to make this happen and we need to support it.

Rob White, Secretary Treasurer, Local 1109

Diversity is very important for CWA. It's critical in any organization — especially a union — that the leadership or executive board reflect the membership they represent. A lot of people don't believe that a glass ceiling exists. But in the world experienced by a women or minority, the ceiling is a reality and an obstacle to opportunity and advancement.

Gwen Richardson, Recording Secretary, Local 1180

Our Executive Board has failed to reflect our membership for too long. The Diversity Proposal is not perfect and I have some reservations about some aspects of the plan. But, I believe that it is a necessary first step that we must take. Our union's top leadership body has to be truly representative of our membership. Everyone needs to see themselves on the Executive Board. Unfortunately, many of us do not see ourselves represented.

Michael D'Souza, Canadian Media Guild
Chair, TNG-CWA Human Rights and Equity Committee

This is an important step towards better reflecting the membership of CWA at the highest levels of the leadership, and the leadership reflecting the shop floor is critical to the union's success. After all, the leadership is supposed to reflect the values of the members and how can it do that if it doesn't strive to include representation from all facets of that membership.

Brenda Hayden, President, IUE-CWA Local 84798

As union members, I don't know how we could not embrace diversity, especially on our union's  Executive Board. This should not even have been an issue for us. We are a union and are supposed to be setting the pace for fairness and diversity. I know that some believe that creating new seats on the Board is undemocratic, but what could be more democratic than electing people to our Board who fully represent our membership? Bringing diversity to our Board is long overdue.

Diane Tucker, President, AFA-CWA United Local Executive Council 10

I have been a part of the labor movement for over 40 years and  I have always been advocate for diversity and equality because I believe the more ideas and thoughts shared, the better the labor community benefits. Each of us has a unique perspective because of our heritage, culture and gender. In order to be successful as an organization, CWA must embrace diversity. Our differences create an opportunity for advancing a variety of ideas and opinions. Women comprise over 43 percent of the membership of CWA, but they represent less than 21 percent of the leadership. Let's vote for "inclusiveness" by expanding the "at-large" positions to include more women and people of color. All of us want to feel that our opinions count. I support the current proposal as it is a giant step towards developing a more diverse organization.

Claude Cummings, Local 6222 President

After years of trying to figure out a way to better diversify the Executive Board to get us to a point where out leadership reflects our membership, we've finally got a proposal that will help get us there. The makeup of my local leadership includes a black president, black female secretary-treasurer, Hispanic vice president, black vice president, a white male vice president and a white female vice president. When our members look at our local board they see themselves. That's what our members nationwide should see when they look at the Executive Board.

Bud Speakman, President, Local 13101

For too many years, we've made promises, or set up committees, or studied the issue, but we never really made headway on this diversity issue. Now, something real has been accomplished. This proposal is a step in the right direction. It's not a fix-all, it's not perfect, but it's a good start.  I think this proposal will be a model for other unions to follow.

Gary Richardson, President, AFA-CWA America West
Master Executive Council 

I support CWA's Executive Board Diversity Proposal and urge my fellow union leaders to do the same. We're strongest when we're united, but unity depends on diversity, and our union will be stronger and more progressive if we embrace the possibility of a fully-inclusive Board that reflects our union's membership. It has been said that diversity is the one thing we all have in common as Americans and union members. Implementing the diversity proposal will enhance our union's acknowledgment that diversity works and our membership is better served by it.

Joseph Venegas, President, Local 9510

We should view the Diversity Proposal as a catalyst that we need to break the glass ceiling that prevents us from having a Board that reflects our members and the workers we represent. We've done great as a union in bringing diversity of leadership to both the local and district union levels. It's important for us to take this next step. As we help more workers get union representation, having a Board that is not diverse makes it harder to engage workers. But having a diverse Board is recognition to workers — and our members — that we are a union that understands their concerns and will work on their behalf.

Cindy Arrington, President, IUE-CWA Local 82161

To do an effective job of representing our diverse membership, the top leaders on our Executive Board should reflect the diversity of CWA members. Without having a diverse Board, I really don't believe that our present Executive Board — no matter how progressive — can really understand and connect totally with CWA members who have experienced problems in the workplace and society because of their diversity. We need to show a diverse face as a union and our current system has not enabled us to get a Board that reflects our membership.

Jim Joyce, Vice President, NABET-CWA Local 51016 

A couple of years ago, the CWA Convention adopted as its theme "CWA: Many Faces, One Union!" This theme was meant to reflect the diversity of our membership in terms of culture, geography, and trade craft. The proposed creation of at-large CWA Executive Board seats is really the next logical step to fully realizing the "Many Faces, One Union!" goal of our healthy, growing, and inclusive union. Including four additional voices, hailing from each of the four corners of our country, and hailing from the grassroots core of our membership, could only further strengthen the democracy of our great union.

Michael Hartigan, President, Local 9400

Our local started one of the first diversity programs in the union around 1976. Of the 12 members of our executive board, at least 60 percent are Hispanic, African-American or female. The same goes for our nearly 500 stewards, who are appointed. Our local represents a large number of minorities, specifically Hispanic and female. Because of the diversity of our leadership, we've been able to maintain a good dialog with our membership.  Diversity is outstanding. It brings representation.

Judy Lugo, President, Local 6186
(Texas State Employees Union)

As a longtime member of CWA, I think that it's pretty evident that we cannot get the kind of diversity our union needs on the Executive Board if we stay with the status quo. That's why I support the Diversity Proposal. We have to start somewhere, and we cannot keep putting it off or it will begin to have a negative effect on our organizing. Our union's top leaders should look like our membership. If I was a worker thinking about joining CWA, I would have a hard time feeling a connection given our Board's nearly all-white, largely male makeup. Hopefully, by adding four new Board members who better reflect our diversity, we will bring about a change in how our national officers are selected and elected.

Daisy Brown, President, Local 2300

The diversity proposal is so very important. This issue has been around a long time and should have been dealt with many years ago. I absolutely applaud CWA's Committee on Diversity and our officers for taking it on. I don't necessarily believe that this proposal is a fix-all, but it is a good start. Let's grow from here and work to achieve the balance we're trying so hard to get. I believe that people want to see a more diverse Executive Board because they feel more comfortable when they see others like themselves in these leadership positions. It's not about race and color, but more about recognizing our differences and the things we have in common.

Madelyn Elder, President, Local 7901

I strongly support the Diversity Proposal as a step that we must take. We've accomplished much over the years to create greater diversity — the Minority Caucus, Minority Leadership Institute, Committee on Equity and Women's Committee. All of these have helped, but our diversity has stopped at the staff level. Our Executive Board doesn't resemble our membership because of how we generally select our vice presidents. If we don't break this cycle the Board's current composition promises only more of the same. This makes it next to impossible for anyone to get elected from the grassroots. If we want to attract younger and more diverse workers into our union, and into top leadership, we can't afford to continue to close off our union's top posts to our best and brightest.

Carl Younger, Executive Board Member,
Local 31245 (Boston Newspaper Guild)

When I started working in the newspaper industry in the '70s, I knew of fewer than 12 minority employees out of thousands of workers. Even in the '80s and '90s I did not see that the numbers of minorities reflected the population as a whole. Because minorities and women were lumped into the same data sheet, companies could get away with hiring few if any Latino, black or Asian people. This could be one of the factors causing minorities to be under-represented in most positions of authority in CWA locals and the national Executive Board. When I became a member of my local executive board and met with other locals in district council meetings I usually found myself to be one of the few minorities, or the only one. Over the years, the companies where CWA represents workers have become more diverse, even if most employers — especially newspapers — still have a long way to go. But our Executive Board has changed little. Adding members who are in touch with the issues that affect minorities in the workplace would give the Board a broader and badly needed point of view.

Sandy Kmetyk, President, Local 13500

I think it's about time. With a more diverse Board, we will send a message that CWA is a union that encourages minorities and women to play a leadership role. When my local came into CWA in 1986, what impressed us was CWA's fairness and openness. This was important because our group was predominantly female. Our local board has become more diverse over the years. We now have a young Hispanic member of a board made up of three women and two men. In 1986, it was all white men. Our diversity has given our local credibility with the workers we're organizing today. By presenting a more diverse face to our members, we will bring new energy to our union.

Vonda Hardy, President, Local 3640

Several people in District 3 have come to me and asked what diversity means; does this mean just creating board seats on the basis of race? So I looked it up. Diversity means gender as well as race and ethnicity. And it covers sexual orientation, physical capabilities and age. I think adding seats to the Board will be adding the talents of people with different backgrounds, and in my role as chair of the District 3 Women's Committee, I've seen that women are just as strong as men when it comes to leadership qualities. I'd like to see women run for these positions. But however it works out, the process is fair. I've always respected our Executive Board, no matter what its makeup. I wholeheartedly endorse creating these additional seats to make the board more inclusive and representative or our membership.

Linda Miller, President,  Local 2001

Building our activism within CWA should be our major goal. This Diversity Proposal is an important step forward, because it signals an awareness of the need to increase our diversity and it is a progressive move for our union, one that will enable us to be stronger. This kind of forward thinking is what we need to take our union into the future.

Rich Murray, Local 4501 President

This proposal is a way to give the CWA Board a wider view, new ears, new voices. A younger, newer fresher way of looking at things.  Bringing people to the Board from the local level, from the membership itself, could really help us with all of our goals and campaigns. It's not a perfect proposal, but democracy isn't perfect. Democracy is messy, it's bureaucratic and we still need to work on cutting through some of the bureaucracy that can bog us down. But in this case, bigger might be better. In the long run, adding new, diverse members to the Board in a lower-cost way, could actually help the Board be more efficient and even more responsive to the members.

Robin Gould, President, Local 7076

I'm supporting the Diversity Proposal because it's been a long time in coming. If you look at who we represent and what they look like, that's not what our Executive Board looks like now. This proposal is one way to change that. No plan is perfect — I'd rather see the first group of diversity Board members elected — but if we wait for a perfect plan, we'll wait another 20 years. We don't have 20 years to wait. This proposal can work, and we can make it work. It will go a long way toward developing an Executive Board that reflects the makeup of our membership.