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November 6, 2008
10,000 CWA Volunteers Played Major Role in Historic Election
Months of grassroots' activism by members of CWA and other unions, capped by a massive get-out-the-vote effort Tuesday, played a huge role in the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States and gains by pro-worker candidates for House and Senate seats. Polling for the AFL-CIO by Hart Research showed that 68 percent of union members voted for the Obama-Biden ticket -- believed to be the highest level of union support ever in a presidential race and critical in helping make the difference in key battleground states. Thanks to the increased number of labor-backed candidates who won election, the new Congress increases the number of allies CWA and other unions will need to press for the passage of Employee Free Choice and other key measures. At press time, the composition of the new Senate showed 57 Democrats (including two independents who caucus with Democrats) and 40 Republicans, with the outcome in three races still undecided. The line-up in the House so far is 254 Democrats and 173 Republicans, with eight races still undecided. In all, some 10,000 CWA volunteers – local union officers, rank and filers, stewards and retired members – devoted months of their time, especially in the battleground states. "CWA members are proud to have played a big part in this historic election," said CWA President Larry Cohen. "It's a huge victory for working and middle income Americans, who soon will have in the White House and Congress real advocates for the critical changes our country and economy needs – a laser focus on creating quality jobs here in the U.S., real health care reform and real bargaining rights through the Employee Free Choice Act that will enable working people to secure a better future," he said. Labor's effort overall helped produce a voter turnout that could, when finally tallied, equal the nearly 64 percent turnout in the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon election. In fact, voter participation in many battleground states – nearing 80-90 percent of registered voters – hasn't been seen since the 1920 election when women first exercised their right to vote. Among CWA's campaign highlights: -- More than 100 coordinators in other battleground states mobilized 10,000 member volunteers for Election 2008 actions. -- During the week of worksite action in October, more than 1,500 worksites were leafleted across five CWA districts. -- CWA members in New York and New Jersey took 40 to 60 buses every weekend to Pennsylvania to support labor actions, worksite leafleting and labor walks. -- CWA members and locals held more than 1,000 debate watch and convention watch parties. -- More than 700,000 leaflets were distributed at worksites and other locations, produced by CWA to focus on members' key issues – jobs, the McCain tax on health care, veterans' issues, the economy, guns and the Second Amendment, equal pay for women, and more. -- Mailings to nearly 100,000 retired members focused on the McCain tax on health care, Social Security and other issues important to retirees. -- 200,000 members in battleground states received a series of mailings comparing Senators Obama and McCain on the issues. -- Two election issues of the CWA News covered key issues affecting working families. Anti-Employee Free Choice Campaign – An Election Non-IssueDespite $20 million spent in nine battleground states by big business interests to attack support for the Employee Free Choice Act by Democratic Senate candidates, voters ignored the misleading attacks and overwhelmingly favored candidates who support working families. That's the finding of a survey by Hart Research commissioned by American Rights at Work. ARAW Chair David Bonior, in releasing the results today, noted: "Not only did the opponents of Employee Free Choice fail to affect these races, often those candidates supporting the bill rose in the polls despite massive advertising on the issue." The misleading ads, mainly bankrolled by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are based on a complete lie -- the claim that Employee Free Choice would "eliminate secret ballot elections" in union campaigns. Most of the candidates targeted by the attacks won their elections, and even in other races the issue wasn't a serious factor. Less than one percent of citizens who voted for the anti-Employee Free Choice candidate voiced any unfavorable mention of unions or the bill itself as a factor in their voting choice, the survey found. In fact, voters in these battleground states "are more than twice as likely to say big corporations having too much power (50 percent) creates a bigger problem for people like them than big labor unions having too much power (23 percent)," according to Hart. "We have only seen the beginning of the fight to restore workers' rights in this country and we can expect more sound and fury from opponents of this bill," said Bonior. "But voters have clearly spoken. In our current economic climate, the American public is hungry for measures to strengthen the middle class, and our new Congress should heed this call and make it a priority to pass the Employee Free Choice Act." Colorado Voters Reject Two Anti-Union AmendmentsA campaign by a coalition of Colorado unions, including CWA, some business groups and political leaders succeeded in defeating two deceptive anti-union ballot measures in their state Tuesday. "Amendments 47 and 49 were contrived by wealthy special interests, including so-called 'right to work' groups, simply to block workers from having a real voice, whether in the workplace or in public policy," said Louise Caddell, CWA District 7 vice president. Cadell said the amendments "would have harmed the labor-management environment that so many in Colorado – business, labor, our elected leaders and community groups -- are working hard to maintain. Colorado voters rightly rejected these measures." Amendment 47 would have made Colorado the 23rd "right to work" state, allowing workers covered by collective bargaining agreements to opt out of paying dues or agency fees to support unions' resources and ability to represent workers. Without the impediment of Amendment 49, public workers will be able to advocate for issues affecting their jobs and communities. "Coloradoans care about the economy, about health care and about bringing quality jobs to our state. Their vote rejecting these amendments shows that they don't support divisive and disruptive tactics," Caddell said. Despite the coalition's hard work, special interests prevailed on one anti-union measure, Amendment 54. It attempts to ban political contributions by companies that win exclusive contracts with government as well as by unions that represent government workers. The coalition expressed disappointment that Amendment 54 gained majority support, saying their opponents' campaign was based on lies, fraud and deception. From the start, backers of the amendment hid the identities and agenda of donors and lied about the initiative's intent and effect. AFA-CWA Files to Represent Flight Attendants at Lynx, RyanAFA-CWA filed petitions with the National Mediation Board for separate representation elections on behalf of the 87 flight attendants at Lynx Aviation flight and 150 at Ryan International. Lynx Aviation is a regional carrier for Frontier Airlines and sometimes is known as Frontier Express. Ryan International is a U.S. based air-charter carrier, serving such customers as the Department of Defense, the Justice Department and tour operators. "Over the past few months, we have heard overwhelmingly from Lynx flight attendants that they want a voice in their workplace and the benefits that come with being members of the world's largest flight attendant union," said AFA-CWA President Patricia Friend. "Ryan flight attendants are showing a strong commitment to shaping the future of their careers by joining AFA-CWA," she said, adding, "this is exactly the right move by these flight attendants, at the right time." IN BRIEF:
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