Public Workers Moving Forward Together

CWA public, healthcare, and education members met in Orlando, Fla., to turn back the attack on public worker bargaining rights and make our union CWA STRONG.

At the conference, panels and workshops were held on fighting privatization, internal organizing, CWA's Take on Wall Street campaign, and labor and racial justice, using online tools to run better campaigns, and other issues. CWA Secretary Treasurer Sara Steffens and CWA Vice Presidents Richard Honeycutt of District 3, Linda Hinton of District 4, and Brenda Roberts of District 7 were in attendance.

A panel on making CWA STRONG through internal organizing was led by Judy Graves, CWA District 6 Organizing Director, with Carolyn Wade, President, CWA Local 1040 and CWA At-Large Executive Board member; Judy Lugo, President, TSEU-CWA Local 6186; Jelger Kalmijn, President, CWA-UPTE Local 9119; and Donald Alire, President, CWA Local 7076.

Hundreds of CWAers and allies from organizations including Central Florida AFL-CIO, Central Florida Jobs with Justice, the National Nurses Union, and Planned Parenthood held a rally outside the Orlando office of Senator Marco Rubio to call on Rubio to back off his efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. After initially refusing to let a CWA delegation into the office, a staff person finally came out to speak with them about repealing the ACA, which Rubio still supports.

At the rally, Brooks Sunkett, Vice President of CWA's Public, Health Care, and Education Workers Sector, said, "Senator Rubio and his Republican colleagues should back off their efforts to repeal the ACA. Repeal would mean tax cuts for the wealthy elite and unaffordable health care costs for millions across Florida, as well as layoffs and cutbacks for health care workers who provide essential care across Florida. Meanwhile, the Republicans' proposed alternative health care plan would increase health costs, especially for retirees and older Americans."

CWA public, health care, and education members rallied outside the Orlando, Fla., office of Sen. Marco Rubio, calling on Rubio to listen to his constituents and keep quality health care. The conference included sessions on internal organizing and fighting back against Wall Street greed, with VP Brooks Sunkett introducing a video message from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). CWA Sec.-Treas. Sara Steffens, bottom right, next to Sunkett, outlined the CWA Strong plan.