February 4, 2010

Cohen to LA Fed Delegates: Keep Focused on Four Key Goals

CWA Pres. Larry Cohen with CWAers at LA County Fed Congress. On screen is T-Mobile worker in disguise for fear of company retaliation.

The union movement needs to stay focused on our four key goals and keep building, despite the political and legislative setbacks we're facing, CWA President Larry Cohen told 1,000 activists at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Congress.

Those goals: bargaining rights, health care reform, jobs and fair trade and retirement security, are the foundation of our movement and are the way we will keep our movement going in tough times, he said.

Cohen was the keynote speaker at the meeting held at the LA Convention Center. During his remarks he was surrounded by CWAers from nearly every sector of our union. Cohen talked about the bargaining challenges that CWAers and other union members are facing, from the fight for fair contracts at AT&T, to holding on to union jobs at NBC Universal, to the campaign by Northwest Airlines flight attendants to keep their union, to the attack on organizing rights for TSA agents, to the campaign by car wash workers and more.

Cohen stressed that the setbacks we face are real, but that we can't give up. The Massachusetts election now has made it possible for Senate Republicans to block any legislative effort or appointment, and that has serious consequences for Employee Free Choice, real health care reform, even appointments to the National Labor Relations Board who are critical to getting some justice for workers on the job.

"Our work is making a difference, but we have to continue to build our base, build our effectiveness and figure out a new path to get these things done," he said.

The Los Angeles County Federation represents workers from throughout the labor movement – it has Change to Win and AFL-CIO members – and has been a strong supporter of CWA campaigns. Extremely effective in community and union organizing, LA Union has turned that effectiveness into political clout and is a model for the labor movement.

IUE-CWA Fights to Save 1,100 Whirlpool Jobs in Indiana

IUE-CWA is fighting to save 1,100 jobs at a Whirlpool plant in Indiana. The company wants to move that work to Mexico.

IUE-CWA members are ramping up their "Shame on Whirlpool" campaign, urging the company not to carry out plans to close its Evansville, Ind., refrigerator plant and move their jobs to Mexico.

The plant is scheduled to close this year, putting 900 IUE-CWA members plus 200 salaried employees out of work and harming the community. Whirlpool is spending $110 million to build a new facility in Mexico.

"Whirlpool's decision to shut down and move our work to Mexico is greed-driven and an atrocity," said IUE-CWA President James Clark. "We know companies need to make money, but moving jobs out of the country during this economic crisis is shameful," he said.

Whirlpool will remain eligible for some of the $300 million in taxpayer dollars available to companies that produce energy efficient appliances.

IUE-CWA is keeping a spotlight on Whirlpool, putting up billboards with the "shame" message, and leafleting local stores that buy Whirlpool products, including Lowes and Sears and planning other community events.

CWA contacted Indiana Senator Evan Bayh's office to ask what steps the senator was taking to keep the Whirlpool jobs in the United States, but his office failed to respond by the time this issue went to press.

In an earlier letter to Bayh, Clark also expressed disappointment "at the lack of response" from Bayh's office on efforts to save the jobs.

Click here to send a message calling on Whirlpool to keep quality jobs in the United States to Whirlpool's CEO and Indiana's U.S. Senators Evan Bayh and Richard Luger.  

CWA District 3 Moves Forward on New Contract

At AT&T Southeast in District 3, CWA members at BellSouth Telecommunications did not ratify a new three-year contract. The vote was 60 percent against and 40 percent for ratification.

CWA District 3 Vice President Judy Dennis has been working with locals and staff to move forward to obtain a fair contract for AT&T Southeast members.

CWA members at AT&T Utilities, Billing and Advertising Solutions ratified new contracts. 

NABET-CWA Has New President

Jim Joyce, former NABET-CWA national vice president and past vice president of NABET-CWA Local 51016, is the new president of NABET-CWA. Joyce was named president by the NABET-CWA board on the retirement Jan. 31 of past president John Clark. An election will be held this summer.

NABET-CWA is in tough negotiations with NBC for a new contract covering about 2,500 technicians, camera operators and other workers, and members have been mobilizing in lots of creative ways, picketing outside the "Today" show production, putting a pro-union ad on NBC's "Facebook" page and mobilizing around NBC events like the Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center and the network's political programming.  

VZ West Mobilization Going Strong

CWAers in California send a message to Verizon West.

CWAers at Verizon West are making sure that Verizon management gets the message: fair contract without delay.

The Verizon West mobilizing committee already has more than 200 members, with training going strong and lots of actions planned for a fair contract.

Meanwhile, in solidarity demonstrations, Verizon CWA members on the east coast have been rallying at garages and other sites

The Verizon West agreement covering about 5,500 workers expires March 13.  

CWA Wins Top Honors for Ad Campaigns

CWA won top awards at an annual competition for best political and public affairs advertising. The Reed Awards, a project of Campaigns & Elections' Politics magazine, were presented last month in Washington, D.C. to "political and public affairs professionals at the top of their game," the judges said.

CWA won best overall newspaper ad for "Scrooged" and best independent expenditure for "Song and Dance" (both part of our Verizon campaign.)

A radio spot, "Tin Can," another Verizon spot, was one of three finalists for best public affairs radio ad.

Judged by a bi-partisan group of commentators and political consultants, the awards recognize the work of CWA's communications staff, raise our union's profile among political and opinion leaders and demonstrate the effectiveness of our media strategy.