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VOLUME 71, #3 • FALL 2011

MovementBuilding!

2 CWA News / Fall 2011

CWA®

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Official Publication of theCommunications Workers of America(AFL-CIO, CLC)International Union Headquarters501 3rd Street, N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20001-2797Phone: (202) 434-1100

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Produced byCWA Communications DepartmentDirector/Executive EditorCandice M. JohnsonSenior Writer/Editor Janelle HartmanMedia Campaign CoordinatorStephen ChapmanEditorial Specialist Alicia NestorTechnical Specialist Sarah Splitt

women and men, standing together,standing up for each other’s fights,cannot be ignored.

Around the world, we’ve seenordinary people standing up forthemselves and their families, acrossthe Middle East and around the world.Ordinary people are raising theirvoices for freedom, for jobs, for theirhuman rights.

In the U.S., workers in Ohio, NewJersey, Wisconsin, New Mexico andso many more states are standingagainst extremist politicians and theattack on their bargaining rights and their standard ofliving. At Verizon, CWA and IBEW members are fightingthe same battle.

Public support is growing. More and more, theAmerican people are making it clear: put our country aheadof ideology. Put our country ahead of politics.

But it takes a broad movement to make that happen.Many elected officials ignore our voices. They don’t listento civil rights activists who point out the dangers of votersuppression, or the warning of Common Cause that ourdemocracy is for sale to the biggest spender. They ignorethe link between workers’ bargaining rights and a strongeconomy. And they pretend that we haven’t become a dol-lar store economy, where 24 million workers face a real job

It will take all of us, union members,progressive activists, the civil rightscommunity, environmentalists, peopleof faith, students and others to

restore the rights and standard of living ofworking families.

For our union and for our allies, thatmeans we must be in the streets, fightingfor democracy. That sounds radical, butthat’s what it will take.

Today, our political system is all about raising money.Last year’s Citizens United Supreme Court decision assuredcorporations and wealthy extremists that they could spendwhatever they wanted in political election campaigns withvirtually no restrictions and with no disclosure. That’sexactly what they’re doing. The biggest spenders in Ohioand Wisconsin and New Jersey are the right-wing extrem-ists and big corporations who don’t want workers, anyworkers, to have a union voice. We’ll see much more ofthat in the national elections next year.

As a result, there is no path to democracy for workingand middle class families. In the United States Senate, wedon’t have 60 votes for any progressive action. The Houseof Representatives, under Republican leadership, has beenfocused on eliminating workers’ rights, ending Medicareand doing away with the responsibilities of government thatordinary people count on, from disaster relief to education.

It’s not hopeless. Because the voices of millions of

crisis while right wing economists pretend that fairy talecapitalism will get us out of our economic slump.

Our elected officials can’t ignore all of us. The powerthat we have, millions of us standing together, being therefor each other’s fights, is how we can prevail.

This issue of the CWA News recognizes the hard workthat our members and activists do off the job. Like all ofus, they have families and responsibilities, hobbies andinterests, or higher education plans. But they put their per-sonal lives aside to fight for workers’ rights, to saveMedicare, to keep a fair election standard for airline work-ers and to join our allies in their campaigns.

That’s building our movement. That’s what it takes tobe heard.

It’s all about movement building

W O R K I N G Together

Volume 71, No. 3 Fall 2011

CWA News (ISSN 0007-9227) is publishedquarterly Jan/Feb/March, April/May/June,July/Aug/Sept, and Oct/Nov/Dec byCommunications Workers of America, 501 3rdStreet, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001-2797.Periodical Postage Paid at Washington, D.C. andadditional mailing officesPostmaster: Send address changes to CWANews, 501 3rd Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.20001-2797.Printed at Kelly Press, Cheverly, Md.Design by Chadick+Kimball, Washington, D.C.

CWA Executive Board � President Larry Cohen� Secretary-Treasurer Annie Hill � VicePresidents District 1, Christopher M. Shelton �

District 2-13, Edward Mooney � District 3, JudyDennis � District 4, Seth Rosen � District 6,Claude Cummings � District 7, Mary Taylor �

District 9, Jim Weitkamp � Telecommunicationsand Technologies, Ralph V. Maly Jr. � Public,Health Care and Education Workers, BrooksSunkett � Broadcast and Cable TelevisionWorkers, Jim Joyce � The Newspaper Guild-CWA, Bernie Lunzer � IUE-CWA IndustrialDivision, Jim Clark � Association of FlightAttendants-CWA, Veda Shook � PPMWSExecutive Officer Dan Wasser � At Large BoardMembers: Madelyn Elder, Nestor Soto, CarolynWade, Greg Wynn � Director TNG-SCA Canada,Martin O'Hanlon

In the U.S., workers in Ohio, New Jersey, Wisconsin,New Mexico and so many more states are standing againstextremist politicians and the attack on their bargaining rightsand their standard of living. At Verizon, CWA and IBEWmembers are fighting the same battle.

Public support is growing. More and more, the Americanpeople are making it clear: put our country ahead of ideology.Put our country ahead of politics.

Larry CohenCWA President

Top 10 Reasons to Take Action

10) To show our children we really can change the world, or at least our part of it.

9) To remind corporations and elected officials that ordinary people do make a difference.

8) Because it’s my contract and my standard of living.

7) Because it’s my Medicare and Social Security.

6) Because it’s my country too.

5) To build a movement to preserve democracy.

4) To keep good jobs in my community.

3) To get corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share.

2) Because nothing changes if I just sit at home.

1) They can’t ignore all of us.

Find something that matters to you, and do it.

CWA News / Fall 2011 3

Timothy Staples — her firstname comes from a flower-ing grass — never had aunion at work until she got

a job last February at a Verizon callcenter in Salisbury, Md.

“I went to my first union meetingin the spring and I started learningabout what we’re fighting for, andthat includes saving the pensionsthat retirees are counting on,”Staples said. “I’m only 34 years old,but I realized I have an opportunityto change things. Retirees foughtfor what we have now, and now it’smy turn to fight for them.”

Staples, of Local 2106 in Maryland,joined union activists for a bus tripto New York City to rally in front ofVerizon headquarters in late July.

“To hear people talk about whatthe union has done for them andhow we have to save the middleclass, it made me believe even morein what we’re fighting for.”

During the strike, she turned outfor extra picket shifts. Whenpassersby were critical, she says itwas especially gratifying to discovershe was able to change some peo-ple’s minds. And she was over-whelmed by the community support.

“Oh my gosh, Domino’s gave uspizza. A slushie truck stopped andgave us all icies on a really hot day.Some people would just stop by

‘It’s Cool to Be in a Union’Young Verizon Worker Embraces Her New Union

Kenny Distance used to be a“sit-on-the-sidelines” kindof union member.“I let the shop steward

and other members do the work,”Distance says. “All I would careabout is opening the finished con-tract to the page about the money.That was good enough for me.”

Now the proud, red-shirtedNABET-CWA Local 52031 activistbarely recognizes his old self. He’s

become an inspira-tional speaker, help-ing energize mem-bers at other locals.

His epiphanycame in late2009, 10 yearsafter he started

working as a PBSbroadcast techni-cian. Angered bymanagement atti-tudes and emails,

‘The Union is Us’From Union Bench Warmer to Quarterback

Kathy Hayes works for AT&TMobility in Champaign, Ill.,and Stan Wylie works forCenturyLink in Seattle, but

it would be easy to mistake themlately for Verizon/Verizon Wirelessworkers.

That’s because both of them,along with their local colleagues andthousands of other CWA membersaround the country, are proudlysupporting East Coast Verizon andVerizon Wireless workers before,during and since their two-weekstrike in August.

For Local 4202’s Hayes, it’s beena teachable moment for her 9-year-old son, who at times accompaniedher to leaflet outside a local VerizonWireless store.

Hayes: “He’s so interested, andit’s a lot of fun watching him learnabout the union and what unions dofor people. At first he was a littleconfused about why AT&T workers

‘Why Are You Supporting the Competition,Mom?’Standing with Verizon/Verizon Wireless Workers an Education for Kids and Grown-Ups

‘WeHave PerseveredAgainst AmazingOdds’

September marked the 25th year since newspaper workers at theDayton Daily News ratified their last contract. By sticking togeth-er and fighting for their rights, they’ve held on to importantrules governing their working conditions and made other

progress despite the protracted bargaining battle.In an email, TNG-CWA Local 34157 President Lou Grieco told mem-

bers they are heroes in America’s union movement: “We have perse-vered against amazing odds, against one of the wealthiest and mostpowerful companies in the country, during a time when union strengthnationwide has ebbed. Anyone could build a union after FDR signed theWagner Act. Try building one after Reagan fired the air traffic con-trollers. Well, we did.”

and say they knew someone whoworks at Verizon and ‘you guyskeep fighting.’”

It frustrates her that some peopleare willing to sit idly by while othersdo the heavy lifting. “You’re takingadvantage of the people who arefighting for you by not participating.”

And those people are missingout on something special. “It’s coolto be in a unionbecause you areunited as a groupof people whomight normallyhave nothing to dowith each other.But as a union,we’re all there tosupport eachother and helpeach other.”

Distance decided it was time for himto do more than complain.

“I realized that the union doesn’tsend magic elves to get rid of ourproblems,” he says. “The union isn’ta building. The union is us.”

With their contract expiring,Distance’s coworkers elected him asone of the union’s three negotiators.He encouraged members to sit in onthe talks, demonstrating their soli-darity and helping them understandwhat was at stake.

“Those first 10 years, I didn’t getinto the weeds, and it’s all about theweeds, seeing how managementreally discusses things with theunion, seeing how they view you,”Distance says. “I found they didn’treally view us too favorably; theytook us for granted. They alwayswant to do more with less — hireless people. Pay us less.”

Distance also helped mobilizemembers, from writing postcards to

the vice president of PBS to wearingred shirts and grilling lunch on whatbecame “Hot Dog Wednesdays.”

“Management is always going totry to chip away at our rights, ourbenefits and our wages. We need tobe aware of what they’re up to, weneed to be organized and we needto be mobilized, and not just whenit’s time to bargain a new contract.”

Local 52031 activist Kenny Distancegrills lunch on “Hot Dog Wednesday,”a regular event that kept morale highfor NABET-CWA members at PBS.

were helping Verizon/VZW workers.He asked, ‘Why are you supportingthe competition, Mom?’ But now heunderstands more about how we allsupport each other in a union.

“He’s learned that we have week-ends off because of unions, that wehave vacation days because ofunions, that I can be at his parent-teacher conference because I have aunion contract.”

In downtown Seattle, Local7800’s Wylie and other activistshave been leafleting outside VerizonWireless stores.

Wylie: “It’s one thing when cor-porations are struggling and theyhave to look for ways to survive, buteveryone knows that’s clearly notthe case for Verizon/VZW. The strikeand the ongoing fight for a fair con-tract are important to all workingpeople. Just like the public workerswho are under attack in so manystates, we’re sending a clear mes-

sage that we’re not going to sit backand take any more abuse.”

Wylie says being involved isn’t achoice as much as a responsibility,when “you look historically at whatthe labor movement has done andhow beneficial it’s been to our coun-

MovementBuilding!

“We can be proud that through our collective action we forced Verizonand Verizon Wireless back to the table. We fought for and preserved our

collective bargaining rights. We stayed on point with our messaging,won public support, and now have a contract extension that contains theexact language the company threatened to eliminate in July. We can andwill sustain this pressure because our families deserve a just contract.”

— Kevin Sheil, Local 1103

Local 7800’s Stan Wylie and otheractivists rally in Seattle to supportVerizon and Verizon Wireless workers.

try. Now we’ve moved away from thatand our country’s in a terrible spot.”

The fact that he’s lucky enoughto have a good, union-representedjob with benefits means he’s gotthat much more responsibility to

act, he says.“It’s not about me. It’s about our

friends and neighbors, and a lot ofthem are struggling. And you neverknow what can happen. You can’tafford to be complacent.”

Local 2106 activist TimothyStaples wears a CWA “We AreOne” T-shirt.

ContractFights

CWA public workers in New Jersey keepup the fight for a new contract and pledgeto hold lawmakers accountable for theirattack on bargaining rights.

4 CWA News / Fall 2011

New Jersey Gov. ChrisChristie and every otherpolitician who spent 2011beating up on public work-

ers and slashing the services theyprovide should be forced to talkdirectly to people like Ellen Vidal.

A teacher turned social worker,Local 1088’s Vidal assists mentallyand physically disabled adults, thenheads home to care for two adoptedchildren who’ve had severe medicalissues of their own. So has Vidal,who endured numerous surgeriesafter a bad root canal. For the betterpart of two years, she hung a bag of

‘I’m FightingHarder Than Ever’

It’s because of CWAers likeDiane Bailey and Barb Allen thatpetitions to repeal an anti-bar-gaining rights law in Ohio had

to be hauled to the secretary ofstate’s office in a semi-truck.

The two private-sector workerswere among thousands of CWAmembers and allies who gave upevenings and weekends to collectsignatures to overturn SB5. Pushedby Gov. John Kasich and Republican

‘I Can’t Just Sit Back andWatch’CWA Volunteers Fight Tirelessly to Overturn Ohio’s Anti-Bargaining Law

leaders at the statehouse, the lawstrips public workers of their collec-tive bargaining rights.

But the record-breaking petitiondrive — 1.3 million signatures col-lected, more than 900,000 of themcertified valid — put the law on holduntil the Nov. 8 referendum.

Bailey and Allen, who are now col-lecting signatures to overturn a newvoter suppression law, say volunteeractivism is just part of their DNA.

Local 4310’s Bailey says: “Icome from a labor family and Iknow how we got the things wehave, how we got Social Securityand Medicare and our benefits atwork. I can’t just sit back and watchit be stripped away. All the hardwork that those before me did tomake my life easier will be robbedfrom my children and grandchildrenif I don’t take action.”

Allen, of IUE-CWA Local 84722,says she can’t sit still either. “I can’t

watch something happen that Idon’t believe in. I love my union, Ilove my job and I love the people inmy local, and it’s worth it to me togive my time.”

Bailey and Allen were creative incirculating anti-SB5 petitions. Baileyoften posted her location onFacebook so people could find herand sign. Allen said she kept peti-tions with her at all times and alwayswore her anti-SB5 button. That drewvoters to her wherever she went.

Since delivering the petitions,CWA members and coalitions ofactivists are working just as hard toeducate voters and ensure SB5never takes effect. Like Bailey andAllen, many of the volunteers haveprivate-sector jobs, meaning theydon’t have a personal stake in thebattle — at least not yet.

But Bailey says it’s all related.“We know that it will trickle-down tothe private sector if we don’t get outthere and fight,” she said. “I can’t letthat happen. I like to be someonewho does something about things,instead of just talking about it.”

Ellen Vidal, Local 1088, directs bus-loads of CWAers to the One Nationrally in Washington, D.C.

IV antibiotics from her blinds atwork so she could infuse herselfevery four hours.

And still, Vidal gives her time torally and lobby and leaflet and dowhatever else is needed to fight forworkers’ rights, to protect Medicareand Social Security, and to try tosave services and jobs in her statethat are so essential to her desper-ate clients.

“The richest of the rich arereceiving tax breaks and bailoutswhile friends and family are losingtheir homes and their jobs. I knowpeople who have served this coun-try in the military and now theirfamilies qualify for food stamps.That’s just wrong. I’ve always stoodup and said something when I thinksomething is wrong, but now I’mfighting harder than ever.”

So are many other CWA mem-bers in New Jersey, Wisconsin,Ohio, Minnesota and other stateswhere public workers’ collective bar-gaining rights are under attack, therights of all workers are beingthreatened, and severe budget cutsare destroying jobs, cutting backpolice, fire and social services andleaving roads, bridges and parks indisrepair.

Local 7250’s Cheryl Gella worriesabout all of it — will her college-agetwins find jobs, what will happen toa relative with high blood pressureand no insurance, will she and herhusband, a rail worker, actuallyreceive their employers’ promisedpensions and retiree health care?

“I am an activist because it’s still‘we the people’ who vote politiciansinto office, and we can still make a

difference,” Gella says. She regularlyemails and calls lawmakers andattended town hall meetings whenMinnesota Republicans shut downthe state government this summerrather than raise taxes on millionaires.

The public pressure that Gella,other CWA members and angry vot-ers around the state brought to bearon lawmakers led them to vote for abudget bill that restored state serv-ices after two weeks. Although itdidn’t include tax hikes on the rich,agencies reopened, constructionprojects resumed and 22,000 work-ers were able to return to their jobsand paychecks.

“It’s absolutely essential that wetake advantage of every opportunityto speak directly to our legislatorsand members of Congress, to tellthem how their decisions affect uspersonally,” Gella.

In Ohio, Local 4502’s DaveMcCune has seen state politics shiftso ferociously against workers thatmembers he never expected to bepolitically active have been moved tospeak out and act.

McCune says: “No one can beneutral in this fight. “Everyone hasto ask themselves: are you on theside of protecting workers’ rights ortaking away their rights? I’m forprotecting workers’ rights — forthis generation, for our children andour grandchildren. It’s a moralissue, plain and simple. That’s whyI’m involved, and it’s an honor towork side by side with thousands ofOhioans, union and non-union, whofeel the same way I do.”

CWA activists in Ohio collect signatures tooverturn the state’s anti-bargaining law.

PoliticalAction

MovementBuilding!

“I grew up in a union family and we wereraised that everyone should be equal,

that everyone should be treated the sameand that you always, always, look out for

the underdog. When I went to work forAT&T I would get so mad when someone

was mistreated by a manager that I had tospeak up. I became a steward and I’ve

been an activist ever since.”

—Mona Meyer, Local 7250

CWA News / Fall 2011 5

Jeanette Spoor could be livinga life of leisure in retirement.Instead she’s at rallies, onpicket lines, meeting with

allies to build coalitions of activistsand, most recently, helping leadprotests against a New York con-gresswoman who wants to killMedicare.

“I just don’t think I could go tosleep at night without giving it mybest shot,” says Spoor, the presi-dent of CWA Local 1103’s RetiredMembers’ Chapter. “I have staminaand energy and I’m going to fightfor what I believe in.”

During labor’s “AugustAccountability Month,” Spoorprotested with other CWA members,retirees and allies outside Rep. NanHayworth’s offices in New Yorkstate. Swept into office in 2010 bythe Tea Party, Hayworth voted forthe Paul Ryan budget scheme thatcalls for privatizing and eliminating

‘I’mMad and I’mNot Going to Take It Anymore’

Trading lazy summer daysfor the chance to make adifference, CWA activiststurned up the heat on law-

makers at “August Accountability”events from coast to coast.

Together with allies, they packedtown hall meetings, protested out-side politicians’ district offices,leafleted at airports, wrote lettersand made phone calls throughoutAugust and early September. Andnow they’re ready for more.

“I’m an activist because I seethat it works, that it really doesmake a difference,” says Local13500’s Karen Sparks. “I tell myfriends, my family — not just myfellow CWA members — that it’s soimportant to take action and fightfor what we want, because no oneelse is going to do it for us in themiddle class.”

‘I Can’t ThinkAbout Pain. I ThinkAboutHelping People’On Sept. 6, Sparks and other

CWA members joined with the PennAction coalition to try to talk to U.S.Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.),though the congressman nevermade himself available.

In Duluth, Minn., CWA mem-bers, retirees and other activistsshamed Rep. Chip Cravaack (R)into holding a genuine town hall

meeting. In late August, the crowdwaited in the rain, shouted “JobsNow” and demanded to be heard asCravaack arrived at a restaurant totalk only to voters who paid for theprivilege.

Local 7250’s Mona Meyer said:“For weeks, he ignored and refusedto meet with his constituents. Thatdidn’t stop the people. We wantedour voices heard. With the crowdand media focused on him,Cravaack agreed to hold a meetingat the city’s airport the next day.”

Medicare.Spoor and other CWA retirees

who are fighting the same battle intheir states and congressional dis-tricts say they can’t take their retire-ment security, or their employers’benefits, for granted. Spoor said: “Iretired from Verizon in December2001, just after 9-11 and the Enrondebacle. I saw what happened toEnron’s retirees, and today, it does-n’t matter if you work for Verizon oryou’re a public worker, retirees’ ben-efits are the first thing employers goafter.”

And she’s had enough of that.“I’m mad, and I’m not going to takeit anymore. I’m not the ‘bad guy.’ Iworked hard for what I have and I’mdamn proud of it.”

Across the country in August,CWA retirees joined members andallies to send a strong “Hands OffMedicare!” message to all lawmak-ers. In California, CWA Retired

Members’ Council leaders organizedbus trips to Democratic Sen. DianeFeinstein’s offices, as well asprotests at GOP offices.

Fueling their anger is the ideathat Medicare and Social Securityare “entitlements,” instead of hard-earned benefits. Ray Kramer, ofLocal 6201’s Retired MembersChapter, wants anyone who’d slashthose “entitlements” to think aboutpeople like his parents, the kind ofAmericans that politicians hold upas role models.

“My father, a World War II veter-an, owned a service station, then ahamburger joint, where my motherworked with him. Later she workedin a department store. They paid offtheir mortgage, put money in sav-ings and never lived beyond theirmeans. For many years now mymother has lived with Medicare asher only insurance and a smallSocial Security check as her only

On the West Coast, CWA retireeactivists in northern and southernCalifornia organized buses and vansfull of retirees, union members andallies to travel to Sen. DianeFeinstein’s offices to press theDemocrat to stand firm againstMedicare cuts and privatization.They also rallied at U.S. Housemembers’ district offices.

For Addie Brinkley of Local9333’s Retired Members’ Chapter,the hours spent making arrange-ments was just one of countlessactivities she’s embraced in a life-

CWA retireesand alliesrally outsideSen. DianeFeinstein’sSanFranciscooffice, askingthe CaliforniaDemocrat toprotectMedicare.

At a congressman’s office near Philadelphia, above, and apacked town hall meeting at the Duluth, Minn., airport,CWAers and allies made it clear that good jobs and work-ers’ rights are essential to rebuilding America's economy.

CWA Local1103 retireeactivistJeanetteSpoor helpslead protestagainstMedicarecutsoutside theoffice ofU.S. Rep.NanHayworth(R-N.Y.)

time of activism. “I was born in theSouth and I went through somerough years growing up. I knowhow hard it is for people to gethelp.”

Brinkley, 74, says she’s been anactivist since going to work for thetelephone company in New YorkCity in 1955, but it really startedeven earlier. An African-American inthe segregated South, she was alsoa child crippled by arthritis whospent a year in the hospital. Nuns lether help care for premature babies,and that alleviated some of her ownpain.

“They taught me how to believein myself and to fight, to not let any-thing stop me. “That’s still truetoday. I can’t think about pain. Ithink about helping people.”

income. Recently, she fell and hadto move to a nursing home, mean-ing she’ll need to use Medicaid.

“Now my mother is entirelydependent on so-called ‘entitle-ments.’ My mother and father paidall their working lives into SocialSecurity, Medicare and Medicaid.You’re darn right my mother is enti-tled to them.”

It’s far more than self-interestthat motivates CWA’s retiree-activists. They’re fighting for futuregenerations and for the union thatfought for them. Spoor says: “I’mvery grateful to CWA. I had a verygood job, well paying, excellent ben-efits, and that’s because of myunion.”

Addie Brinkley

6 CWA News / Fall 2011

Ohio’s law cuts the early vot-ing period from 35 days to16, bars poll workers fromredirecting lost voters to

their correctprecinct, andbans countyelection boardsfrom continu-ing to sendmail ballotapplications toall registeredvoters.

“If we allowthis law tostand, it will suppress the voteamong groups who traditionallyback candidates that support our

NewLawsAttackDemocracy’sMost FundamentalRight

Not only does Wisconsinnow require all voters toshow state-issued photoID, Gov. Scott Walker’s

administration has even tried tomake it harder for people to get theidentification they need.

The Republican governorordered 10 DMV offices around thestate closed this summer, but publicoutrage forced him to reverse thedecision. But CWA members saythere are still many battles to fight.

Local 4621’s Betsy LaFontainejust moved her 85-year-old fatherinto assisted care, and doesn’t knowwhether he’ll be allowed to vote.Nursing and retirement home resi-

dents are supposed to be exemptfrom the state-issued photo IDrequirement, but many of them, likeher father, need absentee ballots.And that requires mailing the state acopy of a state-issued photo ID.

“It may betoo hard forhim to get tothe DMV to getit updated,”with his newaddress,LaFontainesays. “This willdiscouragemany people

‘This Is NothingMore Than an Effort to Suppress the Vote’from voting — not just the elderly,but also the poor, andpeople in rural areas.”

Although at least 30U.S. states have passedor are considering voter suppres-sion laws, Wisconsin’s is consideredone the nation’s most exclusionary,LaFontaine says. As in Florida, itsharply limits voter registration bythird-party organizations such as theLeague of Women Voters.

“This is nothing more than aneffort to suppress the vote,”LaFontaine says. “Governor ScottWalker and Republicans in the stateSenate pushed the bill through with-out hearings, rejecting 50 amend-

The ability to turn out a largepro-worker vote on ElectionDay is the only thing thathelps even the odds against

the hundreds of mil-lions of corporate dol-lars that pour into polit-ical campaigns.

Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott and GOPlawmakers know this. In May, theyrammed through a law that severelylimits voter registration and earlyvoting.

“It is the most vicious attack Ihave ever seen on the right and abil-ity of people to participate in thevoting process,” says Local 3104’s

Gail Marie Perry, an activist who’shelped register voters in Florida formore than 30 years.

The new law makes it almostimpossible for unionsand other groups to con-duct voter registrationdrives. If the forms that

volunteers collect aren’t turned in tothe state within 48 hours, “the vol-unteers will face huge fines of $500to $1,000 for each form that is late,or contains mistakes, like mis-spellings or typos,” Perry says.

Even the League of WomenVoters, which has registered votersfor 91 years, is being forced to end

its registration drives in Florida, say-ing the punitive rules put their vol-unteers at risk.

Perry says the law will disenfran-chise groups of voters who aremost likely to back candidates whosupport workers and the middleclass.

“Minorities and students sign upin large numbers during voter regis-tration drives. This new law is aboutideology, not protecting the vote.”

The law also shortens from 15days to eight the early-voting periodbefore elections, when many votersin Florida and other states cast theirballots. “Cutting this period in half

A deluge of new laws are forcing Americans to fight for the mostbasic right of all in a democracy: the right to vote. In Ohio, Florida,Wisconsin and other states where GOP governors and state legisla-tures spent the first part of 2011 attacking workers’ rights, voter

suppression was next on the agenda. Here’s what happening in threestates and what CWA members and allies are doing about it.

‘TheMost Vicious Attack I’ve Ever Seen’

‘Many People Could Be Prevented fromVoting’

PoliticalAction

MovementBuilding!

ments by Democrats to make it lessrestrictive.”

Walker and othershave claimed the law isneeded to protect against

voter fraud, but a 2008 investigationby Wisconsin’s attorney generalfound only 19 substantiated cases ofvoter fraud out of 3 million votes cast.

Closing the DMV offices wasn’tWalker’s only attempt to make itharder for people to get state-issuedIDs, and get them for free, as thelaw requires.

“This summer, a top state trans-portation official directed DMVemployees statewide not to tell cus-tomers about the (free) cards unless

asked,” says Local 4603’s KathyAntoniewicz, who serves as a pollinspector on election days. “‘Youshould refrain from offering the freeversion to customers who do notask for it,’ is how the official put it inthe memo that was leaked toMadison newspapers.”

Even the supposedly free cardamounts to a poll tax, Antoniewiczsays. “The photo ID may be free,but complying with the law will havea big cost for many voters, and it’sclear the state is doing little to getout information. It’s up to us to pickup the slack and educate peopleabout what they will need to do inorder to vote.”

WISCONSIN

hurts the elder-ly, andDemocrats,who tend tooutnumberRepublicans inearly voting,”Perry says.

“We have toget busy andget informationabout the lawout to voters,” Perry says. “If wedon’t, the law will have a devastatingimpact on our ability to elect candi-dates who care about issues criticalto working people.”

rights as union members,” saidLocal 4322’s Anita Andrews. “That’swhy I’ve been doing all I can —phone banking, participating in laborwalks, and getting signatures — toget it overturned.”

Ohio Gov. John Kasich alsowants a photo ID measure, alreadypassed by the state House, thatwould require nearly 900,000Ohioans to pay for new, state-

approved ID cards if they want tovote. Many elderly and poor citizensdon’t have drivers’ licensesor other government-issued identification. Andcollege students, includingAndrews’ son, could no longer useschool IDs for voting.

“In order to vote, my son wouldhave to travel back to Kentuckywhere he was born to pay for a cer-

tified copy of his birth certificate inorder to get a state-issued photo

ID,” she says.After collecting a

record-breaking 1.3million signatures for

a referendum this November onOhio’s anti-collective bargaining law,Andrews, other CWAers and coali-tions of Ohio activists are circulatingpetitions to overturn the voter sup-

FLORIDA

OHIO

pression law. If they get 231,000valid signatures, the law will be puton hold until voters have their say inNovember 2012.

“CWA and union members allacross Ohio need to get active indefeating this law. It’s not too late,”Andrews says. “If we fail to overturnit, many people I know could beprevented from voting in 2012.”

Kathy Antoniewicz

Anita Andrews

Gail Marie Perry

Hypocrisy Watch

Several Republican state legislators in Maine used the state’s “same day registrationlaw” to register to vote on Election Day, but voted to eliminate that right for ordinarycitizens.Project Maine Votes found that seven representatives and three state senators –—

all of whom voted against same day registration — themselves registered to vote on or justbefore Election Day. The same goes for Governor Paul LePage (R) and several of his staff.

The legislature voted to eliminate same day registration in June, but Project Maine Votesgathered enough signatures for a November referendum on the issue.

CWA News / Fall 2011 7

US Airways’ reservationsagent Vickey Hootsremembers just how toughher fight for a union was at

US Airways. That’s why she spendsmost of her time helping organizethe 9,300 agents at AmericanAirlines.

Hoots: “I know how it feels to be

‘I KnowHow It Feels to Be Powerless’Building a Union at American Airlines

Weeks of activism byCWA and AFA-CWAmembers across thecountry stopped House

Republicans from forcing a secondshutdown of the Federal AviationAdministration.

This summer, the failure ofCongress to pass FAA funding forcedthe agency to shut down and put4,000 employees and nearly 100,000workers on airport projects nation-wide out of work.

House Republicans were tryingto force the repeal of a NationalMediation Board rule allowing forfair, democratic union elections forairline workers. In the past, workerswho didn’t vote were counted as“no” votes. The NMB changed therule in 2010 so that only the votescast would be counted, the standardthat applies to all other Americanelections.

Activists won an extension ofFAA funding into January with thedemocratic standard for union elec-tions in place.

“You can only take so much ofthese assaults on union members,”said CWA Local 6222 memberRobert Mahle, a 30-year veteranwith AT&T. Mahle and activistsserved notice on Rep. John Mica(R-Fla.), the House Republicanleader responsible for the attack onairline workers’ rights.

“I’m a firm believer that an injuryto one is an injury to all. Wherever wework as union members— in tele-com, the airlines, or state government— we have to stick together now

‘You CanOnly Take SoMuch of These Assaults’CWA Activists Win FAA Reauthorization and Keep Democratic Union Election Standard

AFA-CWA flight attendants atthe former NorthwestAirlines, now a part ofDelta Air Lines, are keeping

up the fight for their union.“Many of them say they never

dreamed that they would be withouta union after we merged with Delta.They took it for granted that wewould prevail,” said Elizabeth Joyce,an AFA-CWA union representative atNorthwest for 25 years.

“I have too much invested inbuilding our union and profession atNorthwest to give up. We’re contin-uing to wear our AFA pins becausewe want our colleagues at Delta,who never had a union, to see thatwe are united, and to know that our

campaign is not over.”The National Mediation Board is

investigating Delta and its unfair tac-tics in the unionelection thatstripped away 60years of collectivebargaining rightsfrom 7,000 flightattendants atNorthwest.

Joyce: “There isstrong support fora union at Delta.

We are being approached by manyyounger flight attendants who wantto know what having a union con-tract means and we’re building anetwork to stay connected with all

our colleagues.”Joyce and other AFA-CWA mem-

bers at Northwest formed a unionFacebook group which now hasthousands of followers. “Socialmedia is a great way to get out thetruth about union representation andto correct misinformation that man-agement is putting out.”

During a layover in Wisconsin,Joyce was reminded how workersreally can build a movement.

“When I visited the state capitolgrounds in Madison, there were stillstate workers there demonstratingto overturn the anti-union laws. Thatreally heartened me. They’re not giv-ing up, and we aren’t either.”

because all of us are under attack.”CWA members took the attack

on airline workers and the FAA per-sonally. They demonstrated outsideMica’s Florida offices, the Jacksonvilleand Orlando airports and a fundrais-er for Mica in Houston.

CWA Local 3106 member FloydCarroll: “What we accomplishedreally fired me up. We had membersof the clergy and local elected stateofficials join us, and they broughtthe issue home for the communityby speaking about the negativeimpact a shutdown would have onjobs and the local economy.”

The threat of another FAA shut-down and the harshness of theattack on workers’ rights pushedsome CWAers to get active for thefirst time, Carroll said. “They under-stood that we can’t remain apatheticany longer.”

Jo Seeley, a 15-year flight atten-dant at US Airways talked to pas-

ing a new contract and I realize howmuch worse off we’d be if we’dnever won the right to bargain withmanagement. This is the message Itake to American Airlines’ agents.”

Hoots, a member of CWA Local3640 in Winston-Salem, talks withas many as 200 agents everymonth about the issues they havein common as customer serviceagents. She regularly visits agentsat American’s call center in Cary,N.C., joins in phone banking tobuild support and makes homevisits to agents who have signedinterest cards.

Hoots: “As CWA members, itbenefits us to connect with unrep-resented workers who are in thesame jobs or industry. When agentsat American organize and bargaintheir first contract, US Airways’management won’t able to use poorworking conditions at American asleverage to drive down our pay andbenefits.”

CWAactivists likeHoots havehelped LyndaFranka, anAmerican reser-vations agent inTucson, main-tain her spirit,energy, andhope for win-

ning CWA representation.Franka: “It keeps us going, hav-

ing CWA members who care andgive us support. Management isnow posting supervisors to sit inour break rooms all the time. It real-ly discourages agents from talkingwith each other. CWA activists helpus reach out and network withagents all across the country, some-thing that is crucial to our buildingmajority support.”

“I love being at American and theengagement I have with customersand with my supervisors. We couldmake it so much better if we hadCWA representation. “That’s why Iam still involved,” Franka said.

Roscivia Jones-Smith, a memberof CWA Local 6215, starts anevening shift as an American reser-vations agent after a full day’s workat AT&T in Dallas. She tells otheragents what CWA has meant for her.“The union will back you up. AtAmerican, if we get a bad score,even if it’s unfair, American can fireyou and there’s nothing you can doabout. If they tried that at AT&T,CWA would step in and fight for me.”

Agents at American Airlines arelooking for help from other home-based agents who belong to CWA orwho are CWA retirees. Contact theorganizing campaign atcwa4aa@sbcglobal.net or by tele-phone at (817) 868-9933.

ElizabethJoyce

powerless atan airline. Wefelt awfullyalone until weorganized in1999 and bar-gained our firstcontract. Now,we’re bargain-

CWA and AFA-CWA activistsleaflet anddemonstrateagainst the GOPattack on jobsfunded by theFAA and thedemocratic vot-ing standard forunion elections.

sengers at Phoenix Sky HarborInternational Airport. “Many had noidea that the FAA shutdown was afight over the fate of democraticelection rules for airline workers.When I explained the process, manyof them were shocked when theylearned that we could be defeated inour election by people who didn’teven bother to vote.”

WorkersRights

MovementBuilding!

Vickey Hoots

‘IHaveTooMuchInvestedtoGiveUp’Northwest Flight Attendants Keep Up the Fight for Union Rights at Delta

Lynda Franka

8 CWA News / Fall 2011

MovementBuilding

“UNITE HERE members see this as a tremendousopportunity to tell corporate America, ‘we won’tlet you destroy what people have worked theirwhole lives to achieve. We’re with you becausethis is what we all need. We can remain divided

or we can unite and fight back.”

— John Wilhelm, president, UNITE HERE

in common inour industry,and what wehave been ableto accomplishas union mem-bers atVerizon.”

Craddick issupporting T-Mobile workersin Richmond,Va., as they build a committee andhe created a Facebook page soworkers can easily talk to eachother. “Today’s social media technol-ogy really helps out in organizingbecause it’s often hard to get every-one together at the same timebecause of their varying shifts,” hesays.

CWA members who aresupporting T-Mobile work-ers in their campaign toorganize know that they

are helping themselves as well asthe workers.

“It gives me a lot of satisfactionwhen I’m able to turn a T-Mobileworker into a union supporter,” saysTammy Chaffee, Local 6402.“Helping them get a union helps us,too, because it will make it more dif-

ficult for AT&T,Verizon and ourother telecomemployers touse non-unioncompanies as awedge to drivedown ourwages and

‘Helping ThemGet a UnionHelps Us Too’T-Mobile Organizing Campaign Brings CWAers Satisfaction and More

benefits during bargaining.”Chaffee works as a customer

service rep at an AT&T call center inWichita, Kan., and usually meetstwice a week with T-Mobile workers.She leaflets at a T-Mobile call centerin Wichita, makes home visits andsupports workers in setting up an

inside organizing committee.On top of that, Chaffee often

makes the three-hour drive toOklahoma City to talk with T-Mobileretail store workers. She figures shecontacts between 30 to 70 workerseach month and most sign interestcards. “They are generally eager toopen up and talk about their con-cerns when they find out that I’mdoing the same kind of work theydo,” she says.

Local 2201’s Charles “Bubba”Craddick, a Verizon technician, sayssome T-Mobile workers he contactsare a little suspicious of him at first.“They want to know why someonefrom the competition wants to helpthem, like I have some ulteriormotive,” he says. “They relax when Itell them about the issues we share

WorkersRights

MovementBuilding!

“We need to look for opportunities to link to otherfights in our communities. We need to connect

them, from Hyatt Hotels to Verizon stores tothe postal workers’ campaign. If we’re there foreach other, we all start winning. It’s all about

building a movement. We can’t hope for it,we can’t wait for it. We have to fight for it.”

— CWA President Larry Cohen

‘WeHave to Be There for EachOther’s Fights’

“On Sept. 1, workers from 43 different locals –musicians, car wash workers, iron workers, stage-

hands, plus students working for immigrationreform — leafleted at Verizon stores across LosAngeles County. One member said, ‘I’m a school

bus driver and school starts tomorrow. But I’ll usemy lunch hour to help out.’ That’s because we knowthat you are fighting for all of us and we’ll be there,standing together with you, shoulder to shoulder.”

—Maria Elena Durazo, president, Los Angeles County AFL-CIO

“We know we have a certain power asyounger consumers and that we present a

real dilemma for corporations that mistreattheir workers. Verizon and especially

Verizon Wireless care a great deal aboutwhat young people think about their

company. But they’re counting on us beingapathetic about how they treat their

employees. They couldn’t be more wrong.”

— Jack Mahoney, United Students Against Sweatshops

“Without peoplestanding up,every workerwill suffer.

We’re puttingthese

corporations onrecord that wewill support the

fights ofworkers around

the world.”

—Neil Anderson,president, UNI Postal

Tammy Chaffee

Charles “Bubba”Craddick Candace Harrison, a T-Mobile

customer service rep inAlbuquerque, is a big union sup-porter who’s encouraging hercoworkers to join her. She’s been aunion-represented reservationsagent at Southwest Airlines, and aTeamster truck driver.

“I know what we can accomplishwith CWA representation,” Harrisonsays.

“Today’s social mediatechnology really helps

out in organizingbecause it’s often

hard to get everyonetogether at the sametime because of theirvarying shifts.”

— Local 2201’sCharles “Bubba” Craddick