Remarks by EVP Annie Hill to CWA 71st Convention/Legislative-Political Conference

Good morning, Brothers and Sisters. I would like to welcome the delegates from convention and any new legislative activists who have joined us today. Together we will be a powerful voice. So, I have just a few questions just to make sure you are up to the task. Are you ready to march on Capital Hill? Are you ready to fight for what we believe in is fair and just? Are you ready to take back our country? Are you ready to win?

We have always known the importance of legislative and political work along with community action, and that is why it is one of the three sides of the CWA Triangle. In the past we have raised COPE dollars, worked on elections -– local, state and federal, registered voters, and been involved in massive get-out-the-vote campaigns in the days leading up to the election. But let's be honest, some of us may have thought that this is the work we do in our spare time or the work we can leave to the people who live and breathe politics and actually like talking with politicians. We think we may have other more important things to do – filing a grievance or working on other representation issues or maybe doing community work. Everyone always likes us then.

But today, we can kid ourselves no more. Our political and legislative work is literally the lifeblood of our union. It is as if we need a transplant for unions and working class Americans and the steps of Congress are the only blood banks in town. Every day we are slapped in the face with the reality of the decline of unions in this country. In the private sector only, 7 percent of workers are represented by a union. It is only the inclusion of the public sector that brings us more than 10 percent. Every day we are hit with the reality that more workers are losing their jobs, more workers are having their pay and benefits cut, and retirees who were promised a certain standard of living from their pensions and health care are losing benefits and, in some cases, their pensions. How can this happen in the richest country in the world? How can our families, our neighbors, and our friends turn a blind eye to what is happening in our country?

The jolts just don't come from reading the morning newspaper or watching the evening news. As labor leaders we see it every single day, almost every moment in the workplace. The power we once had is not quite as strong as in the past. It is harder and harder to get contracts that bring our members the economic security they deserve. Many of us have observed years of mismanagement as CEO's have come and gone with their golden parachutes, leaving the workers who make the money behind to live in the ruins. And, that is certainly frustrating enough. To add insult to injury, after we watch CEO's and other executives make millions it is the workers, the workers that have built this company, some still working and some retired, that bear the brunt of the mismanagement.

Today we have one such person with us. Just like yesterday when Ben put such a poignant face on AIDS, so too will Debra Turner put a face on what is happening to workers in America. Debra is 51 years old. She started at Frigidaire when she was 19 when the company was still owned by GM. After a layoff, she was called back to work at the GM truck and bus plant in Moraine, Ohio, where she was an assembler.

She took a medical retirement in 1993 because of an elbow injury that required several surgeries. She is also suffering from MS and has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Please welcome our CWA-IUE sister, Debra, to hear just why the rotten deal that GM is shoving down our throats can literally wipe her out — financially and physically.

We can't let Debra and others like her down. This is HER TIME and OUR TIME. To paraphrase from Delegate Judy Perez's comments earlier this week: we have been messed over for eight years. Now, it is time. We can take our country back and we will take our country back.

Last year more of our members were involved politically, more became activists and more got excited about the prospect of change for our country. More people are waking up and realizing that the lifestyle they cherish and deserve is slipping through their fingers. Parents are watching their mothers and fathers struggle to make ends meet when their retirement is impacted by a reduction in health care or when their retirement funds have dwindled by one-third or one-half from a sliding stock market. And, parents wonder what the future holds for their children. Will they be able to send them to college? Will there be jobs? Will they have a life that is at least as good or better than what they have now? People are afraid and fear can paralyze us into inaction.

Brothers and sisters, we cannot and will not let that happen. Now is not the time to be afraid. Now is the time to seize the moment. We have to motivate and activate our members. We have to grab the opportunity that we helped create with the election of President

Barack Obama and the increased majority in the House and Senate. And that is what it is, an opportunity. There are no guarantees, there are no promises though I do remember hearing many during the campaign, but getting them to follow through often seems harder than getting them elected in the first place.

It is why it is so important that we are here at this exact moment in time. Who knew when these dates were set a few years back that we would be here in our capital city in the middle of a "perfect storm." But, let us not be afraid of a little weather. This is a perfect storm of opportunities. We cannot let this moment pass us by again.

As you know, since the election we have seen slippage from senators who initially sponsored the Employee Free Choice Act and now are unwilling to cosponsor or support the bill. Of course, it is much easier to support something when you know it has no chance of passing. Now it really matters, now we have a real shot, and the pressure is really on. We heard many comments over the last few days about some Members of congress needing new knees because they had weak knees or needing a spine transplant so they could stand up for what is right. Who knew they are the ones that need health care reform. But, I would like to suggest that those aren't the body parts they really need to get. And, yes, I think they usually come in a pair.

For now, the attack is on focused on the Employee Free Choice Act. By now you have seen the commercials, seen the ads and heard about the fly-ins by business groups. The Chamber of Commerce and other business groups are spending hundreds of millions of dollars. They are pulling out all of the stops. I am sure similar attacks on real health care reform won't be far behind. But, we cannot let their attacks steal our resolve. We have right on our side. We have our country on our side, and we have real people and real stories on our side.

Who didn't get chills when on Monday Larry spoke of the courage and dedication of Sarah Steffens, a real labor leader who didn't get the right to have her own job back after being fired but was thrilled to have a union contract and a union workplace for the workers still at her old newspaper? We can't forget the Sarahs and others who are the faces of what our fight is about. Shortly you will hear from many more Sarahs.

The Employee Free Choice Act is what this country must have to not only rebuild and secure the middle class, the working class, but as my colleague Jeff Rechenbach is also quick to remind us, it is the most important civil rights legislation of our time and, yes, it is our time. But we will have to stand up and fight for what we want and need.

Some Members of Congress, even those that were original cosponsors, are ready to put this off to another day or water it down so as to have no meaningful impact. But we will not stand for that, will we? I said, will we? This is too important, this is about providing a collective voice to more workers. For too long big business and the CEOs that run them have ruled the roost. This is our time.

Many including our own President Larry Cohen are spending countless hours trying to find a solution that will get the support from the Senate that we need. Likewise, we hope that President Obama will throw his weight into this fight. We know about hope and change, but we could really use more of his audacity for this battle.

There are more battles than EFCA, and we know we will have similar battles on health care. There are just as many devastating stories about health care, potentially 47 million and growing every day. You heard one such story this morning. We all know family members or friends who don't have coverage or are underinsured. This is a travesty in a country that is the richest in the world.

Tomorrow we will focus even more on health care as we join with many other labor unions and HCAN for a large rally and lobby day on Capital Hill, but I know that many of you will be talking about this important issue today so I want to just quickly hit on our four key points.

First, we want all employers to provide coverage or pay into a trust so employees will be covered. It levels the playing field and brings down the cost of coverage. Second, we want a public option. Too long insurance companies and drug companies have had their way. They are wailing loudly about unfair competition, but we know they need some competition to keep them in line. Third, no taxation of health care benefits. Finally, we want a solution for early retirees to fill that gap between retirement and Medicare.

Now, let's just spend a couple minutes talking about our political and legislative program and some of the changes we have done and are working about. We believe this will take our work to the next level. Yes, we are doing well, we have improved, but we can always, always do better. I want to start out again acknowledging Alfonso Pollard, our political director, and our Legislative Director Lou Gerber. They both work closely with both Yvette Herrera and George Kohl. Not here today, but equally important in our legislative efforts, is Shane Larsen of AFA-CWA. I also would like to acknowledge recently departed staffer David Martin who did important work to prepare for this conference. All of these folks are knowledgeable and great assets to us all. Let's give them a round of applause.

Some of our COPE changes we've made include:

• The addition of a COPE Bank Draft and Credit Card.
• Adding additional local incentive and increased share for those locals that have more than 35 percent of their members at $1.00 per member per week. Locals will now get 40 percent.
• Specific COPE Goals – $350,000 total with $300,000 of it shared by Districts and Sectors, while $50,000 will be raised by special outreaches to specific issues.
• COPE contest and COPE Awareness Month – September through mid-October, complete with prizes and fun. More to come in the next month.
• We are committed to providing resources and materials you need in the field.
• Legislation – Communicate legislative priorities early in the legislative season.
• LPAT's.

In closing I just want to say today it is time to turn our hope in action, our dreams into reality, and bring the change we can believe in to life. Remember, there is "a better day a ‘comin." When you leave here today and march on the Capitol, be proud, be strong and remember they work for you. You elected them and you may not reelect them if that is what it takes. Remember, it is our time. Let’s show them what CWA Power is all about. Thank you.