Countdown to Making History in DC!

Just 16 days 'til hundreds of thousands of union members and progressive activists fill the mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial for the One Nation rally.

No question, CWAers are getting on the bus, on 140 buses, actually and are traveling from the Midwest, New Jersey and New York, and up and down the East Coast to rally for jobs and working families with our allies.

Our voices will be loud and strong and can't be ignored. Check out www.cwa-union.org/onenation and www.onenationworkingtogether.org/.

CWA activists also have been organizing events in other locations, including Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif, where an Oct. 2 rally will focus on workers with stories to tell: the tough search for a good job, the hardship of losing a home to foreclosure, a lack of healthcare, returning home from Afghanistan, and more.

In Austin, members of CWA Local 6186, the Texas State Employees Union, will rally around the One Nation banner on Oct. 1, at TSEU's general assembly.

Building COPE, Building Support for Working Families

Above, CWAers Tomas Espinosa, Local 7076 EVP, left, and Michelle Lewis, Local President, right, greet Democratic gubernatorial candidate Diane Denish, a longtime supporter of working families in New Mexico. Below, CWAers meet with Rep. Rick Boucher at the Labor Day picnic in southwestern Virginia.

At Labor Day events across the country, CWA activists were showing just how important it is to elect political leaders who support working families.

In Santa Fe, N.M., members of CWA Local 7076 wore the cool COPE t-shirts that read: "I know my member of Congress, do you?"

Across the country in Virginia, CWAers showed their support for Rep. Rick Boucher (D-9^th district, VA) at a Labor Day event held by the Western Virginia AFL-CIO.

CWA's COPE contest is still going strong and will end in October, with the winners announced on Election Day, Nov. 2.

Members are signing up for COPE or increasing their current contributions. Every District and Sector that meets the minimum quota will hold a drawing among those members; districts or sectors that don't reach the minimum will hold a combined drawing. CWA will award up to eight top prizes of a trip for two to Las Vegas, including airfare and two nights' hotel accommodation.

Any CWAer who becomes a new contributor or increases her or his contributions by $1 a week or more will get a COPE t-shirt just like those worn by Local 7076 members. (see photo)

COPE contributions are the way CWA members show our support for elected officials and candidates that stand up for us. These voluntary contributions help keep our union and our union movement strong.

Workers Face More Harassment as Delta, Piedmont Elections Get Underway

Management campaigns against union activists at Delta Airlines and Piedmont Airlines are in high gear, with workers set to begin voting soon.

At both airlines, management is pressuring workers in mandatory captive-audience meetings and one-on-one sessions with supervisors, who are demanding to know how they will vote. Activists at both airlines are getting written up for skipping these anti-union meetings or refusing to divulge their positions. At Piedmont, an AFA-CWA leader actually was threatened by a station manager after the flight attendant questioned why the manager was tearing union materials off the AFA-CWA union bulletin board.

Most US Airways employees have union representation. But US Airways, which owns Piedmont, has supported the hiring of a $300-an-hour anti-union "consultant" from Labor Relations Institute to lead its campaign. LRI is so convinced that its aggressive tactics will scare union supporters that it has offered Piedmont a money-back guarantee: Piedmont only pays if workers don't vote for CWA representation.

Within the past week, nearly 10,000 messages condemning US Airways and Piedmont for this anti-union attack have been sent to US Airways CEO Doug Parker, through an e-mail campaign by CWA, the AFL-CIO, and American Rights at Work. "Retaining LRI sends a terrible message: that Piedmont and US Airways don't respect workers' rights, and that you'll go to any lengths to prevent your employees from holding a free and fair union election," the message reads. Some 2,900 Piedmont workers will be voting from Oct. 4 through Nov. 7.

The election among 20,000 flight attendants at Delta/Northwest runs Sept. 29-Nov. 3. The vote is a critical union, especially for the 7,000 flight attendants from Northwest Airlines, who have had a union voice for nearly 50 years.

Still Fighting for Justice

EZ Pass workers protest Xerox's illegal retaliation against workers who want a CWA voice.

When the National Labor Relations Board finally rejected Xerox's claims and certified the vote by EZ Pass workers for a CWA voice - a vote held 15 MONTHS AGO - you might think that a big-name company like Xerox would stop its union-busting campaign.

Well, think again.

Xerox, which runs EZ Pass, finally agreed to comply with the law and bargain with CWA, about 15 months late. The EZ Pass workers are pleased to see their employer finally say it will bargain. But despite agreeing to bargain, Xerox is continuing its campaign of intimidation and harassment in the EZ Pass call center. That makes it hard to believe that Xerox will bargain in good faith at the negotiating table.

Back in June, Xerox told 19 workers they could transfer into worse jobs - or get out. All 19 workers selected for the forced transfer wear red to show solidarity. Not a single worker who doesn't wear red in the call center was force-transferred. Many activists quit rather than take a pay cut and a worse job. Xerox should reverse the forced transfers and stop harassing people for supporting the union. Maybe then CWA can believe that Xerox will follow the law and bargain in good faith for a fair contract. CWA will keep taking on Xerox and fighting to get a fair contract for EZ Pass workers.

Read more at www.notsofastezpass.org.

And if you need more evidence that our labor laws help management intimidate workers and block union representation, here it is.

A CWA campaign among about 50 workers in Akron, Ohio, at the BF Goodrich Credit union was hit hard by an anti-union campaign that included captive audience meetings, one-on-one meetings and other intimidating tactics especially directed at union supporters.

CWA Local 4302 helped build a strong committee, but it's hard to overcome intense management bullying and harassment. The vote was 25 no, 19 yes. Not so long ago, workers in these types of units - a credit union of a union-organized company - would have their call for union representation automatically recognized. Not any more.

In Final Weeks Before Elections, CWA Focuses on Jobs

Congress is back, and CWA is working with House and Senate leaders over the short four-week session to move forward on legislation to support good jobs and help middle class families.

With the Nov. 2 elections just six weeks away, CWA is reminding lawmakers to focus on passing legislation important to members' jobs. That includes:

• Collective bargaining rights for public safety officers. The legislation has bipartisan support, but a committed group of anti-union Republican Senators has prevented the Senate from considering House-passed legislation to extend these rights. CWA's National Coalition of Public Safety Officers represents more than 16,000 officers nationwide.
• Continued funding for the F-136 Joint Strike Fighter Alternate Engine, built by IUE-CWA members at General Electric. Some 2,000 jobs are at stake.
• Repeal of the job-killing Reverse Morris Trust tax loophole that has allowed Verizon and other companies to get big tax breaks when they sell assets to smaller companies that often are unable to provide quality service.
• Reauthorization of an emergency Needy Families Assistance program that has created 240,000 jobs in 37 states. Hundreds of CWA public workers in New Jersey are working everyday to provide this assistance to struggling families.
• In the House, CWA is working to pass legislation to clarify the FCC's jurisdiction over the Internet and establish key principles to preserve an open Internet while promoting job creation, no blocking, no discrimination and transparency.

A major victory  was secured this week, when the Senate voted to break a months-long Republican-led filibuster and passed a package of tax breaks and loan assistance for small businesses by a 61-38 vote. The measure only got to the Senate floor for a final vote because two Republican senators who are not running for reelection voted yes: George Voinovich (Ohio) and George LeMieux (Fla).

Register by Oct. 1 for Customer Service Conference in San Diego

Don't miss your chance to register for CWA's customer service professionals conference, three days full of workshops, panel discussions and speakers Oct. 20-23 in San Diego.

The registration deadline is Oct. 1 for the conference and block of hotel rooms at the Holiday Inn San Diego-On the Bay. Click Here to download a registration form with more details. 

"CWA's new Customer Service Professionals Committee has been working hard to put together the best conference ever," CWA Executive Vice President Annie Hill said. "With representation from every sector, you can be assured your issues will be covered."

For updates on customer service issues and more on the conference as speakers and workshops are finalized, read more here.

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