Obama Endorsement Resolution Approved by CWA Board for Convention

CWA's Executive Board has approved a statement endorsing Senator Barack Obama for president of the United States, and will be submitting it to the Resolutions Committee for action by delegates at this month's 70th Annual Convention in Las Vegas.

The statement anticipates the critical changes that workers and working families can expect from an Obama administration after the hardships and challenges of the last 7 ½ years.

Senator Obama has made clear his commitment to CWA's four key issues, the Employee Free Choice Act, universal health care, fair trade and good jobs and financial security for retirees.

Senator Barack Obama and wife Michelle greet crowd at primary night rally June 3 in St. Paul, Minn.

"The differences between Senator Obama and the presumptive Republican nominee, Arizona Senator John McCain, could not be more clear-cut," the resolution states. "It is the choice between fundamental change for the better for working Americans or four more years of policies that favor the rich, that ship jobs overseas, that thwart the rights of workers to organize and bargain contracts, that leave health care decisions to the whims of insurance companies, that attempt, again, to privatize Social Security. And the list goes on."

Obama has repeatedly pledged to support and sign the Employee Free Choice Act, telling the AFL-CIO convention in April that, "It's time we had a president who didn't choke saying the word, 'union.' A president who knows it's the Department of Labor and not the Department of Management. And a president who strengthens our unions by letting them do what they do best – organize our workers."

McCain not only voted against the Employee Free Choice Act, he has a track record of supporting anti-union "right-to-work" laws, voting to let employers hire permanent replacements during a strike and voting to deny collective bargaining rights for police and firefighters, as well as TSA airport screeners, the Board noted.

On health care, Obama is committed to universal, affordable coverage. While he has laid out a detailed plan, he has made clear that he is open to new ideas, including those from CWA's health care campaign.

As the Board statement describes, McCain's only plan for health care reform is to make a bad situation worse. McCain wants to make employer-provided health care benefits part of taxable income. Experts say the likely effect would be the end of employer health plans, pushing workers into the private health care market where insurance companies could continue to refuse coverage.

On trade issues, Obama supports fair trade agreements with labor, safety and environmental protections. He has been a staunch opponent of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement and other pacts that are bad for American workers and workers in other countries.

McCain, the Board said, "has never seen a trade deal he didn't like." Despite the loss of more than 1 million good, American jobs to the North American Free Trade Agreement, he continues to see the pact as good for America. He has enthusiastically voted for all subsequent trade agreements and "fast track" bills allowing the president to bypass Congress when negotiating trade deals.

McCain also remains an eager supporter of privatizing Social Security. In his Senate career he has voted many times to undermine the system, from his support of deep benefit cuts to his refusal to back a plan that would have created a strategic reserve for Social Security through a slight reduction in tax cuts for the rich.

Senator Obama adamantly opposes schemes to privatize Social Security and has pledged to take steps to ensure that it remains solvent. Unlike McCain, he doesn't support a plan to raise the retirement age for Americans and has laid out a strong agenda for corporate reform to protect workers' pensions.

The Board's resolution recognizes not only Obama's shared values with CWA, but the revolution that his "hopeful, spirited campaign" has been for millions of Americans. He "has invigorated a new generation of voters and touched Americans of all ages – Democrats and Republicans – who have felt discouraged and hopeless over the last 7 ½ years," the Board said.

The Board urges CWA delegates to resolve not just to support Obama but to "use every tool at our disposal and give generously of our time to work to elect him and to elect Democrats to Congress to ensure that his pro-worker policies have the support of true majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate."

"CWA will work as never before to get out members to the polls on Nov. 4, 2008, to cast their votes to transform our country's political landscape and restore the rights, dignity and financial security of America's workers and working families," the proposed resolution concludes.