Search News
For the Media
For media inquiries, call CWA Communications at 202-434-1168 or email comms@cwa-union.org. To read about CWA Members, Leadership or Industries, visit our About page.
White House Visit: Chance of a Lifetime for CWA Activist
Four days after meeting President Bill Clinton at the White House, Yvonne Wheeler’s voice was still filled with excitement — and a hint of disbelief.
“It was so motivating and encouraging,” Wheeler said. “I thought, ‘My God, what am I doing here?”
For Wheeler, president of CWA Local 9586 in southern California and a hard-working activist, the last few days had been a whirlwind. It started with a phone call from the White House, asking her if she could come to Washington two days later to be part of an invited audience for the president’s weekly radio address honoring Black History Month.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and one Wheeler thought she was going to have to turn down. The government wasn’t picking up the plane fare and getting a ticket on only two days’ notice was going to cost $2,000.
Then Darren Parker stepped in. The CWA staff representative in District 9 had enough frequent flyer miles for Wheeler to make the trip and gladly offered them. He even met her at the airport at 5 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 18, to sign them over to her. “I told her, for something like this, there’s not even a second thought about it,” Parker said.
At 5 p.m. Friday, Wheeler was being seated in the White House East Room with about 250 other African-American leaders and activists. They were greeted by Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, one of many dignitaries attending the event.
Clinton himself spent about an hour with the group, including the five-minute taping of his radio address. He talked to them about programs the Clinton-Gore administration had launched for minorities, and noted a substantial drop in the unemployment rate among African-Americans. He also unveiled a bust of Martin Luther King that will go on display in the White House Red Room.
“I love what he’s done for this country, what he’s done for working people and what he’s done for minorities,” Wheeler said. “I have the utmost respect for him.”
Wheeler, a GTE operator, was recognized because of her work with CWA and the A. Philip Randolph Institute, a national organization of black union members that serves as a link between unions and activists in the African-American community. She is the president of the institute’s Los Angeles chapter and first vice president for the state of California.
“I still can’t figure out why I was invited,” she said. “I do the work, but I do it because I believe in it. I never thought it was noticed, and I didn’t do it for that purpose.”
Wheeler had a chance to shake Clinton’s hand and speak to him briefly. “I thanked him for the work that he’s done and let him know that I appreciate it and that CWA appreciates it,” she said. “He told me he appreciates this work that we do.”
“It was so motivating and encouraging,” Wheeler said. “I thought, ‘My God, what am I doing here?”
For Wheeler, president of CWA Local 9586 in southern California and a hard-working activist, the last few days had been a whirlwind. It started with a phone call from the White House, asking her if she could come to Washington two days later to be part of an invited audience for the president’s weekly radio address honoring Black History Month.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and one Wheeler thought she was going to have to turn down. The government wasn’t picking up the plane fare and getting a ticket on only two days’ notice was going to cost $2,000.
Then Darren Parker stepped in. The CWA staff representative in District 9 had enough frequent flyer miles for Wheeler to make the trip and gladly offered them. He even met her at the airport at 5 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 18, to sign them over to her. “I told her, for something like this, there’s not even a second thought about it,” Parker said.
At 5 p.m. Friday, Wheeler was being seated in the White House East Room with about 250 other African-American leaders and activists. They were greeted by Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, one of many dignitaries attending the event.
Clinton himself spent about an hour with the group, including the five-minute taping of his radio address. He talked to them about programs the Clinton-Gore administration had launched for minorities, and noted a substantial drop in the unemployment rate among African-Americans. He also unveiled a bust of Martin Luther King that will go on display in the White House Red Room.
“I love what he’s done for this country, what he’s done for working people and what he’s done for minorities,” Wheeler said. “I have the utmost respect for him.”
Wheeler, a GTE operator, was recognized because of her work with CWA and the A. Philip Randolph Institute, a national organization of black union members that serves as a link between unions and activists in the African-American community. She is the president of the institute’s Los Angeles chapter and first vice president for the state of California.
“I still can’t figure out why I was invited,” she said. “I do the work, but I do it because I believe in it. I never thought it was noticed, and I didn’t do it for that purpose.”
Wheeler had a chance to shake Clinton’s hand and speak to him briefly. “I thanked him for the work that he’s done and let him know that I appreciate it and that CWA appreciates it,” she said. “He told me he appreciates this work that we do.”