CWA Newsletter, September 4, 2014

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On MSNBC's Ed Show yesterday, CWA President Larry Cohen said all of usshould stand behind the fast food workers and Walmart workers, theCommittee for Better Banks and others who are fighting not just for a raise butfor a union voice. All working Americans need a raise and need bargainingrights in order to share in today's corporate profits, he said.

MSNBC's "The Ed Show" looks at the fight by low wage workers for a union and a raise.

Below: In Kansas City, members of CWA Locals 6360, 6355 and 6450 join Stand Up KC andsupport striking fast food workers today at a Kansas City Taco Bell. Photo credit: JamesRaines.

Jennifer Epps-Addison, executive director of Wisconsin Jobs Now and a leaderof the campaign for fairness for fast food and other low wage workers, also

joined the program, and said workers were ready to do whatever it takes fortheir $15 an hour and their right to form a union.

Last year, Epps-Addison was awarded the Edna Award, given by the Berger-Marks Foundation to recognize contributions and leadership in social justicemade by an outstanding young woman. The Foundation was established with abequest from the estates of Edna Berger, the first female lead organizer for TheNewspaper Guild-CWA, and her husband, the legendary Tin Pan Alley song-writer Gerald Marks.

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In 150 cities across the country, fast food workers and supporters, includingmany CWAers, rallied and engaged in civil disobedience.

Read more about today's actions here.

Fight Back Against Big Money in Politics

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On Sept. 8, the U.S. Senate has an historic opportunity to begin to restore somebalance in our political system by voting "yes" on S.J. Resolution 19, aConstitutional Amendment to enable Congress to limit political spending and getbig money out of politics.

In Virginia, CWAers and allies working to get big money out of politics deliver tens ofthousands of signed petitions to Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner.

CWA Legislative-Political Team Activists joined other members of CommonCause, Public Citizen, People for the American Way and other organizations inworking to take on big money in politics in rallies and actions this week. CWAers

helped deliver petitions signed by tens of thousands of citizens to their Senatorsin Virginia, Illinois and Indiana.

Money isn't speech. But the Supreme Court, in several decisions, has given thisflood of corporate money and massive contributions from wealthy donors theprotections of free speech. The result: the richest one-tenth of 1 percent controlsour elections and drowns out the voices of ordinary citizens.

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The Democracy for All Amendment requires two-thirds approval of the Senate,House and the states. It's a long road. But there is strong grassroots and publicsupport for taking action that makes it clear that money isn't speech and thatCongress can restrict political spending.

So far, 16 states and more than 550 cities have formally called on Congress topass the amendment.

Make your voice heard.Send a message to your Senators here.

Labor Day and Every Day

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On Labor Day, President Obama traveled to Milwaukee to tout the nation'seconomic recovery and talk about how much further we have to go.

"I want an economy where your hard work pays off with higher wages, andhigher incomes, and fair pay for women, and workplace flexibility for parents,and affordable health insurance, and decent retirement benefits," Obama said."I'm not asking for the moon. I just want a good deal for American workers."

The President made it clear: "If I were busting my butt in the service industryand wanted an honest day's pay for an honest day's work, I'd join a union. If Iwere a firefighter or police officer risking my life and helping to keep mycommunity safe, and wanted to make sure I came home safely to my family, I'd

join a union. I'd want a union looking out for me," he said.

That's important to hear.

As CWA President Larry Cohen told The Ed Schultz Show, "We need

Democratic leaders like the president and vice president to be saying that everyday, not just Labor Day, and make that the message of this election, so workingpeople turn out to vote."

Economic populism is what's going to motivate workers to go to the polls. Andit's a message that will cut through the distortions and misrepresentations in allthe negative ads this campaign season.

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"We have to fill the space with what should good government be doing, ratherthan personal issues or social issues the Koch brothers and others would use todivide us," Cohen said.

At a time when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's attacks on collectivebargaining have "totally taken over the Republican Party," Cohen said,politicians must remind voters of what it takes to build a strong, vibrant middleclass.

"Elections are about choices, and the choice is clear," he said.

Bargaining Update

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Frontier Communications, West Virginia

CWA members at Frontier Communications in West Virginia ratified a new four-year agreement, retroactive to August 2013. CWAers joined in months ofmobilization to support their bargaining team. The agreement covers about1,500 workers.

FairPoint Communications

FairPoint workers and supporters in Portland, Maine, rally for a fair contract on Labor Day.

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On Labor Day, members of CWA Local 1400 and the IBEW who work atFairPoint, joined by union activists and supporters throughout Portland, Maine,pushed the company to get back to the bargaining table. Hundreds of unionmembers, showing their support for the workers' fair contract fight, marchedfrom the Southern Maine Labor Council's annual Labor Day breakfast to therally, then through the streets of downtown Portland to the FairPoint building.

The company walked away from negotiations and imposed a contract on Aug.28; CWA and the IBEW have filed charges with the National Labor RelationsBoard.

About 2,000 FairPoint workers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont arecovered by the negotiations.

Princeton Experts Say: 'We're No Longer Living In a

Democracy'

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A new Princeton University study has some bad news: Our democracy hasslowly transformed into an oligarchy.

Using data measuring 1,779 policy issues between 1981 and 2002, researchers

asked, "Who governs?" and "Who really rules?" And they discovered thenation's top 1 percent and corporations wield the most power.

"The central point that emerges from our research is that economic elites andorganized groups representing business interests have substantial independentimpacts on U.S. government policy, while mass-based interest groups and

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average citizens have little or no independent influence,"they wrote.

CWA and our partners in the Democracy Initiative have pledged to worktogether to attack the blocks to our democracy.

We do know what democracy should look like. That's why we're determined,with our partners, to get big money out of politics, change the broken Senaterules, ensure voting rights so all citizens can turn out on Election Day, and gaina path to citizenship for immigrants.

"Zombie Republicans" Fail to Address Immigration

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In some great street theatre in Bakersfield, California, a citizen coalition ofCWAers, SEIU members, immigration activists and allies, and community andfaith activists called out House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R) and otherHouse Republicans for their failure to take up comprehensive immigrationreform.

They also urged President Obama to sign an executive order to help the more

than 11 million immigrants and their families in the U.S. who have been waitingfor years for relief.

Activists in Bakersfield, Calif., call out Rep. Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans for theirfailure to take action on immigration reform.

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"House Republicans are acting like zombies," CWA California Political DirectorRob England said. "They exist but they don't do anything, especially onimmigration."

Activists rallied outside McCarthy's office in Bakersfield, wearing zombie ragsand face masks of House GOP Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and others, thendanced zombie-like to Michael Jackson's "Thriller." With the crowd chanting"sign it, sign it," an activist wearing a mask of President Obama signed a pieceof paper, signifying the executive order that immigrant rights supporters wantthe President to sign.

The Kern Coalition for Citizenship includes members of CWA, the United FarmWorkers, Cesar Chavez Foundation, SEIU, Mi Familia Vota Education Fund,United Domestic Workers, G.I. Forum, Fair Immigration Reform Movement, and

the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), which hasbeen at the center of the fight for immigrant and refugee rights for 21 years.

Sept. 21: Join the Largest Climate March in History

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Get ready to march! CWA is partnering with more than 1,000 organizations todemand that world leaders take action to battle climate change.

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What:People's Climate MarchWhen:Sunday, Sept. 21 at 11:30 a.m.Where:New York City

It'll be the largest climate march in history.

As we peacefully raise our voices and flood the streets, the United Nations willbe holding a summit on the climate crisis, where UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will be urging governments to support an ambitious global agreement todramatically reduce global warming pollution. With our future on the line and thewhole world watching, we'll take a stand to bend the course of history.

We're working toward a world with an economy that works for people and theplanet; a world safe from the ravages of climate change; a world with good jobs,clean air and water, and healthy communities.

Learn more atwww.peoplesclimate.org.

TNG-CWA Statement on Murder of Steven Sotloff

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Newspaper Guild-CWA President Bernie Lunzer issued the following statement

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on the murder of journalist Steven Sotloff:

"It appears that barbaric and radical extremists have again murdered ajournalist as an act of revenge against the United States. Like JamesFoley two weeks ago, Steven Sotloff was murdered by horrific means

shown in a video meant to terrorize and disgust the world.

"Because they are willing to risk their lives to tell stories from the darkestcorners of the world, journalists have always been especially vulnerabletargets for kidnappers. Now they are being preyed on by the most vileand vicious terrorists the modern world has ever seen. As we send ourprofound sympathy to the Sotloff family, we urge the entire world tocontinue to condemn these atrocities and to work together to stop anenemy to all humanity. Murdering storytellers who are courageouslytrying to understand and explain conflicts is an attack on civilization

itself."

Trans-Pacific Partnership Update

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The latest round of TPP negotiations got underway this week in Vietnam, anation reviled around the world for its human rights and labor abuses. Theaverage minimum wage in Vietnam is 28 cents an hour; the average wage is 75cents an hour.

CWA and partners are fighting back against the TPP trade deal and fast trackauthorization that would push it through Congress without any opportunity foramendments.

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Rep. Tim Bishop joins the No Fast Track/No TPP rally at CWA Local 1108.

CWAers and union activists in New York rally against fast track authority for the

Trans-Pacific Partnership. Joining them outside CWA Local 1108 was Rep. TimBishop, a strong supporter of the Buy America Procurement Act, which isthreatened by the TPP. Bishop is a longtime CWA supporter and a vocalopponent of TPP. Attending the rally were members of IBEW Locals 25 and1049, UAW 259, RWDSU 1102, RWDSU 338, CWA Locals 1108, 1104, 1005and the Printing Trade Alliance, Laborers Local 66, NYS United Teachers, andcommunity partners Long Island Jobs with Justice and Long Island ProgressiveCoalition.

Next CWA Telephone Town Hall Call on Sept. 18

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Sign up now for the next CWA town hall call, on Thursday, Sept. 18, starting at7:30 pm ET. The call will last half an hour.

Register athttp://cwa-union.org/cwacalland pick up the phone when you get thecall.

We'll hear from amazing activists from the US Airways/American Airlinescampaign, and other speakers. Don't miss it.

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Movement Building

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Put the People First!

UCW members at Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville and other locations tell the UT Regents andlawmakers to "Put the People First."

Members of United Campus Workers-CWA Local 3865 are mobilizing for a

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budget that puts the people first. The coalition of unions and workerorganizations, community, faith, and student groups came together earlier thisyear to focus attention on Tennessee Republican Gov. Haslam's devastatingbudget cuts and to call for living wage jobs, fully funded public education, andworkers' rights to organize and bargain.

At campuses across the University of Tennessee system, CWAers are showingtheir support as budget discussions affecting university workers and programsget underway.

Local 3865 writes, "Without campus workers, our campus wouldn't work butthat reality isn't reflected in the budget. Despite the fact that thousands of highereducation employees in Tennessee make less than a living wage, and manymore make right around it, we aren't a priority for state spending. Tuition isgoing up on our students; buildings are getting built all around our campus; but

our wages well, they're right where they've been for a while. That's why we'retaking action. We're calling for a budget that puts the people first. We need aliving wage, because a full-time job should keep you of poverty, not in it! Budgetdeliberations are happening right now at the campus level, and within the monthare going to start at the state level. We need to speak out for ourselves and oneanother to make sure we're a priority!"

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