KEY POINTS:
- Utilized CWA’s national relationship with NAACP
- Sharing resources a key to partnerships
CWA has the largest membership of any union in Mississippi, but the long history of civil rights abuses, redistricting problems, new voter suppression laws and anti-union tension make it difficult to elect pro-worker legislators. But a deepening partnership between the NAACP and CWA is working to change that.
The relationship between CWA and the national leadership of the NAACP has grown since the One Nation March in Washington, D.C., in October, 2010. After that successful event, leaders met to introduce Derek Johnson, Mississippi chair of the NAACP, to Chris Kennedy, then-assistant to the president of CWA’s public workers sector. Johnson wanted a “thought partner” in Mississippi to increase political power. Kennedy works closely with Presidents Brenda Scott of Local 3570 and Kim Saddler of Local 3515 in Jackson, Mississippi, to link the needs of CWA membership with NAACP’s political clout. One issue involves fighting together for dues deduction for a Head Start agency that CWA represents. In turn, CWA assists an NAACP civic engagement project called One Voice. Both efforts are mutually beneficial because CWA members are also voters who live in the affected communities.
During the 2011 elections, CWA began to build a relationship with Planned Parenthood in Mississippi. The organization believes in an individual’s right to manage fertility and was mobilizing to defeat a restrictive, overreaching ballot initiative. Local 3515 offered use of their phone bank system and Scott, the Local 3570 president, agreed to be involved in a public service announcement. While these efforts had some logistical problems, CWA and Planned Parenthood of Mississippi have laid the foundation for future work together.
Mississippi’s population is nearly 40 percent African-American, yet the state has only one African-American member of Congress. Additionally, 10 percent unemployment and massive redistricting threaten to roll back many of the gains achieved during the civil rights movement.
CWA and the NAACP are “drilling down” into their memberships and building electoral power to enact progressive legislation. The Unity Caucus is a collection of organizations that come together to coordinate agendas. In addition to CWA and the NAACP, members include the Children’s Defense Fund, APRI, UAW, Coalition of Black Ministers, Move On.org, Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance, and others. Greater collaboration is the only way to strengthen communities and create good jobs.