October 18, 2007

CWA Political Activists Focus on Key '07 Elections

While the push is on to take back the White House in 2008, CWA and other unions are already building momentum, mobilizing behind key races up for grabs this November in Virginia, Kentucky and New Jersey.

Working closely with the state AFL-CIO and central labor councils, CWA volunteers are precinct walking in Virginia, hoping to gain four seats in the state House and 11 in the Senate for a majority in both houses.

"It's important for our members to get somebody into office who will actually work for us and for working families," said Scott Wilson, a Local 2252 member. He is working four days a week on the election.

A key race in Northern Virginia is Chap Petersen (D) vs. incumbent Jeannemarie Devolites-Davis (R) for the 34th District Senate seat. Locals 2222, 2252 and AFA Council 21 have participated in Labor-to-Neighbor walks on Saturdays since Sept. 29, and are phone banking to union members' homes Monday through Thursday.

CWA Executive Vice President Jeff Rechenbach went door-to-door in the Norfolk area on Oct. 13, talking with union members about the differences between Dr. Ralph Northam (D) and state Senate incumbent Nick Rerrer (R). Working full time on politics with the Greater Tidewater Central Labor Council are CWA members Matt Yeargin of Local 2205 and Bryon Taylor of Local 2202.

In southwestern Virginia where Adam Tomer (D) is challenging state Rep. Danny Marshall (R), IUE-CWA Local 82161 member Cindi Arrington is working full-time  coordinating volunteers from CWA Local 2204 and IUE-CWA Locals 82161, 82162 and 82167.

In Kentucky, Democrat Steve Beshear has a good chance of unseating incumbent Ernie Fletcher (R) in the governor's race. "I don't think CWA has a local in the state that's not out beating the bushes to win this one," said Beverly Hicks, assistant to District 3 Vice President Noah Savant.

CWA President Larry Cohen was in Kentucky last week meeting with hundreds of members and stressing the importance of the election. Various polls last week showed Beshear with leads ranging from 53 percent to 72 percent. "Still," said Hicks, "We're not taking any chances."

CWA Representative Karen Murphy and Local 3372 member Jan Garkovich are working fulltime to get out the vote.  "They had an AFL-CIO phone bank last weekend and we had so many people, we had some in the hallways using cell phones," Hicks said.

All across New Jersey, locals are working to put  and keep friends in the state House and Senate, with all 120 seats up for election, said CWA Representative Don Rice.

"This is all about pushing our legislative agenda," Rice said. "It's important because the decisions they make in Trenton affect our members' lives, whether its health care, pension bargaining rights, wage levels – they're all impacted."

Some of the tightest races, he said, are Districts 1 and 2, Atlantic Cape May; District 8, Burlington County in the south of the state; and District 12, mostly Monmouth County; and District 14 in central New Jersey.

So. Cal. Interpreters End Strike, Continue Fight for Fair Treatment

With strong backing from political leaders who have promised to address their concerns, 400 CWA court interpreters in Southern California ended their 6-week strike on Wednesday.

The previous day, State Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero presided over a joint legislative hearing in Los Angeles, packed by 300 interpreters and their supporters, where lawmakers and court officials heard dramatic testimony about the vital role the interpreters play in helping non-English-speakers – about half the population in L.A. – deal with the justice system.

Calling the system "in chaos," Senator Romero asked the interpreters to return to work but promised to continue with further hearings in Sacramento to remedy problems exposed by the strike, which was largely focused on calling attention to the years-long shortage of court interpreters.  Pay disparities between interpreters and other court employees have contributed to a one-third decline in the number qualified Spanish-English interpreters, according to the California Federation of Interpreters (CFI), part of CWA Local 39521.

At the hearing, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo testified to  "a breakdown in the system," noting extensive delays and potential loss of evidence from lack of interpreter services. He cited cases such as that of a convicted child molester whose hearing to compel registration as a sex offender was delayed for two months while he was free.

In ending the strike, CFI President Sylvia Barden said it was only the beginning of the interpreters' effort to win recognition and respect for their work and a fair pay system.  "This is a much bigger fight – we're willing to take the long road on this," she told the Lompoc Record.

One of the striking workers, Doris Vick, told the paper that the strike accomplished one of the workers' main objectives.  "I just wanted others to see that we were treated unfairly.  And I think that was very clear in the hearing."

The interpreters are continuing to press unfair labor practice charges against the court for illegally declaring impasse, said Local 39521 Executive Officer Doug Cuthbertson, and he said part of the decision to go back to work was based on Senator Romero's pledge to continue to try to mediate a contract settlement.

CWA President Larry Cohen sent the interpreters a letter urging them, "When you return to work, return proudly, unified and more determined than ever that justice will be ours.  Your struggle is part of the transformation of Southern California into a true multi-cultural community.  Our strike is part of that community struggle."

Speed Matters Catches on as Presidential Campaign Issue in Iowa

Access to high-speed Internet service isn't a major campaign issue like the war in Iraq or health care -- but voters are beginning to hear from presidential candidates why Speed Matters thanks to CWA activists who are taking the union's campaign to the candidates. This week, at a campaign stop in Iowa, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said CWA's Speed Matters' campaign is crucial to building a "strong America" where "small towns. . . have the ability to compete."

"All of us need to be out there pounding the bully pulpit and make sure that America understands how important it is to build out high speed Internet to everywhere in America," Edwards told the crowd of 400 who jammed the high-school gym in Exira, population 810. He said the very survival of small town America depends on their residents – workers, health care providers, and schools – having "access to the same technology" that is available in the nation's cities and suburbs.

Edwards, who has made high-speed Internet a major element of his program to revitalize the rural economy, pledged to "find those places in America where access to high-speed Internet is lacking, map them, and build out high-speed internet in all those places." To view his remarks go to http://files.cwa-union.org/national/news/source/Johnedwards_sm.mpg.

In Iowa, a cadre of Speed Matters' activists made up of active members and retirees from CWA Local 7108 have blanketed this key presidential campaign state, meeting with and educating the candidates and their staffs about CWA's message. All of the candidates have pledged support for Speed Matters, and recently, CWA activists met with the staffs of Gov. Bill Richardson and Sen. Joseph Biden to discuss the candidates' focus on the issue at upcoming events in the state. View the candidates at Speed Matters' events in Iowa at http://cwa.smugmug.com/gallery/3670995.

In Iowa, CWA's message is reaching into the classroom as well. A junior high school teacher in Strawberry Point, Iowa, is using CWA's Speed Matters booklet as part of a recent homework assignment where students have been instructed to test the speed of their Internet connections at home. "Our activism is paying off in getting this issue out to the candidates and before the voters," said CWA Executive Vice President Jeff Rechenbach. "Voters in small towns are connecting with Speed Matters because high-speed Internet is critical to their remaining competitive," he said.

Concerns in New England Rising over Verizon-FairPoint Deal

Public concerns over Verizon's pending sale of phone lines to tiny FairPoint Communications are increasing in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, where CWA and IBEW have been urging regulators to reject the deal as bad for consumers and workers.

In Maine, following the conclusion of public and regulatory hearings on the proposed sale, the state's Office of Public Advocate recommended that the deal not be approved unless it met a list of 23 conditions addressing many of the unions' concerns, including service quality, pricing, and the build out and availability of high-speed Internet. The state's public advocate also recommended that the deal be renegotiated to reduce FairPoint's debt, something that could cost Verizon more than $600 million.

Regulatory hearings begin in New Hampshire next week, and tough questioning is expected after a staff consultant with the state's Public Utility Commission also recommended against the deal unless the commission imposed 16 conditions similar to those proposed in Maine. Last week, the speaker of the house in New Hampshire urged that the deal be opposed unless those conditions were adopted.

This week, CWA urged that Vermont's Department of Public Service reject the sale as the best way to serve the public interest. The union recommended a series of conditions that should be imposed on the parties, should the state decide to go ahead and approve the deal.

CWA's message to regulators and the public is that FairPoint, a small company that will take on $1.7 million in debt through this transaction, won't be able to maintain quality phone service, let alone provide high-speed Internet communications for northern New England.

CWA has asked the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the Verizon-FairPoint transaction, and that study is still underway.

Reporters' Shield Law Passes Big in U.S. House but Faces Uphill Battle

A federal shield law for reporters strongly supported by The Newspaper Guild-CWA was passed overwhelmingly by the U.S. House this week, though the bill now faces a divided Senate and a Bush veto threat.

Even top Republican leaders broke with the Bush administration to support the bill, which passed 398-21. Supporters said today's reporters need more protection against federal prosecutors and civil lawyers demanding journalists reveal sources and other background information.

"In the past few years, there have been too many instances where the pendulum has swung against the free flow of information and in favor of the government," House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said on the House floor. "I was troubled by the instances I've seen where reporters have been jailed or threatened with jail for simply protecting their sources."

In a letter to House members last week, TNG-CWA President Linda Foley said the bill, the Free Flow of Information Act, "is a thoughtful, bipartisan and fair piece of legislation" that balances the public's need and right to know against the demands of national security.

"Freedom of the press is a bedrock principle of our democracy." Foley wrote. "Recently too many reporters have been jailed and news services attacked through our legal system in an effort to suppress this important principle. The (bill) creates a national balancing test standard which will aid state attorneys general in deciding which cases are legitimate and which cases are filed with the malicious intent of stifling the voices of reporters who are simply doing their duty of providing news to the public."

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a similar bill, though with fewer protections, earlier this month. So far, strong opposition from several Republican senators has kept it from a floor vote. Should it pass, President Bush has pledged to veto it, claiming national security interests.

IN BRIEF:
  • Attention: CWA communicators.  Do you need help with brushing up on writing skills, or with getting news coverage for your local union events?  Then check out the "How-to" section of CWA's communications resource website – www.cwa-union.org/source – "The Source."

    And let us know if you have suggestions for other communications how-to's or specific questions either by using the "Ask the Experts" form or by sending us an e-mail at the "Contact Us" feature.  New stories and photos and artwork for downloading are added to the site each week for the use of local newsletter editors and webmasters.


     
  • As the U.S. housing crisis worsens, a "Save My Home" hotline has been set up by Union Plus to help union families address their worries and uncertainties about what to do when their adjustable-rate mortgages reset and other concerns.

    Union Plus, the AFL-CIO endorsed provider of financial benefits for union members, says the free, confidential hotline will be staffed 24 hours a day by counselors from Money Management International, a nonprofit, HUD-certified agency. Face-to-face counseling is available at more than 100 offices in 22 states and Washington, D.C.

    The Save My Home Hotline can advise homeowners who are behind in their payments, already in foreclosure or looking for ways to budget and restructure their debt. The toll-free number is (866) 490-5361. More information is available online at www.unionplus.org.