Resolution: 73A-11-5
Adopted: July 12, 2011
This year, a big part of our fight back effort has been our state campaigns. In too many states, the attacks by over-reaching politicians and their allies have been fierce. Our members have responded with strong action and new alliances, and we have not backed down.
In Ohio, 10,000 CWA members and other union volunteers collected nearly 1.3 million signatures – six times more than the law requires -- for a November 2011 referendum to overturn SB5, the bill that eliminated public workers’ collective bargaining rights.
In Wisconsin, we are pushing ahead on recall elections of state legislators who voted against working families.
In New Jersey, CWA activists are taking the fight to the November 2011 elections, after state legislators approved the governor’s assault on the right to bargain over health care, stripping bargaining rights from 500,000 public workers and imposing health care cuts that will decimate living standards for families.
Everywhere that workers’ rights are under attack, the fight goes on.
CWA, the entire labor movement, and our allies all are standing together. Last October, we came together in Washington, D.C., as One Nation. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, 10,000 CWA members stood with members of the NAACP, Sierra Club, and progressive organizations to fight together for economic and social justice.
On April 4, “We Are One” was our message as we marched together again, in memory of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was brutally killed while standing strong for the rights of sanitation workers in Memphis. In unity, we reaffirmed the collective bargaining rights Dr. King died defending.
This summer, we are turning up the heat to hold our elected officials accountable. We will make our voices heard and build our momentum for August Accountability Month by taking action in our Districts, states, and communities through various activities, including attending Congressional Town Hall meetings, visiting with legislators on our issues, and holding house parties. Through concerted political action we will shine a bright light on the elected officials and politicians who have voted to harm working families and our communities. We will provide information about rallies, events, and many other ways to participate at www.we-r-1.org.
Our Legislative-Political Action Teams (LPATS) are a key component of CWA’s effort to restore democracy, build our movement, and gain a progressive majority in our states and our nation. Through our LPAT structure, CWA activists are working in nearly every state and congressional district to build coalitions, get the attention of lawmakers, fight against the attack on workers, and move our agenda that benefits working families forward at every level of government.
To build our power, we also need to expand our partnerships with key allies. CWA has been partnering with human rights groups, civil rights groups like the NAACP, citizen groups like Common Cause, and others who share our commitment to keep and strengthen a democratic society for all families, not just the wealthy.
CWA activists and the Sierra Club members in Virginia formed a partnership to help bring high- speed broadband to communities throughout the state, which is a goal shared by both organizations. In Texas, the Sierra Club and CWA members are also working together to advance our common goals.
Thousands of CWA members are joining the NAACP because we know that together we are stronger in the fight for economic justice.
CWA partners with Common Cause to fight for democracy in the U.S. Senate and to restore fairness to current campaign contribution rules that favor dollars over true democracy.
Resolved: CWA districts and locals will continue to work to build effective coalitions with our allies to protect and fight for the fundamental right to collective bargaining and to build a movement to move our agenda forward.
Resolved: CWA supports the historic march for Jobs and Justice “From the Emancipator (Abraham Lincoln) to the Liberator (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)” on August 27, 2011 in Washington D.C. just one day before the unveiling of the Dr. King Memorial on the National Mall.
Resolved: CWA activists will participate in the August “We Are One” mobilization to hold elected officials accountable for their anti-worker agenda to eliminate collective bargaining, destroy Medicare and other critical safety-net programs, and restrict workers rights.
Resolved: CWA will work with Move On this summer, organizing house parties to help activists “Rebuild the American Dream” and to build the August 20 Stand-Up for Ohio Rally. Working together is the way we build our movement. It is the way we fight back and win.
Resolved: Every CWA local will strive to get 10 percent of its membership participating in Legislative-Political Action Teams (LPAT) activities such as attending rallies and Congressional Town Hall meetings, writing letters and making phone calls to Members of Congress, and spreading the word to friends and neighbors.