• Obama Endorsement Resolution Approved by CWA Board for Convention
• CWA, IBEW Mid-Atlantic Verizon Bargainers Meet
• Democrats Introduce New Direction on Trade
• IUE-CWA Will Fight to Save Moraine, Ohio, GM Plant
• Harry Swaim Dies, Retired District 3 Staff Rep

Obama Endorsement Resolution Approved by CWA Board for Convention

CWA's Executive Board has approved a statement endorsing Senator Barack Obama for president of the United States, and will be submitting it to the Resolutions Committee for action by delegates at this month's 70th Annual Convention in Las Vegas.

The statement anticipates the critical changes that workers and working families can expect from an Obama administration after the hardships and challenges of the last 7 ½ years.

Senator Obama has made clear his commitment to CWA's four key issues, the Employee Free Choice Act, universal health care, fair trade and good jobs and financial security for retirees.

Senator Barack Obama and wife Michelle greet crowd at primary night rally June 3 in St. Paul, Minn.

Obama has repeatedly pledged to support and sign the Employee Free Choice Act, telling the AFL-CIO convention in April that, "It's time we had a president who didn't choke saying the word, 'union.' A president who knows it's the Department of Labor and not the Department of Management. And a president who strengthens our unions by letting them do what they do best – organize our workers."

McCain not only voted against the Employee Free Choice Act, he has a track record of supporting anti-union "right-to-work" laws, voting to let employers hire permanent replacements during a strike and voting to deny collective bargaining rights for police and firefighters, as well as TSA airport screeners, the Board noted.

On health care, Obama is committed to universal, affordable coverage. While he has laid out a detailed plan, he has made clear that he is open to new ideas, including those from CWA's health care campaign.

As the Board statement describes, McCain's only plan for health care reform is to make a bad situation worse. McCain wants to make employer-provided health care benefits part of taxable income. Experts say the likely effect would be the end of employer health plans, pushing workers into the private health care market where insurance companies could continue to refuse coverage.

On trade issues, Obama supports fair trade agreements with labor, safety and environmental protections. He has been a staunch opponent of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement and other pacts that are bad for American workers and workers in other countries.

McCain, the Board said, "has never seen a trade deal he didn't like." Despite the loss of more than 1 million good, American jobs to the North American Free Trade Agreement, he continues to see the pact as good for America. He has enthusiastically voted for all subsequent trade agreements and "fast track" bills allowing the president to bypass Congress when negotiating trade deals.

McCain also remains an eager supporter of privatizing Social Security. In his Senate career he has voted many times to undermine the system, from his support of deep benefit cuts to his refusal to back a plan that would have created a strategic reserve for Social Security through a slight reduction in tax cuts for the rich.

Senator Obama adamantly opposes schemes to privatize Social Security and has pledged to take steps to ensure that it remains solvent. Unlike McCain, he doesn't support a plan to raise the retirement age for Americans and has laid out a strong agenda for corporate reform to protect workers' pensions.

The Board's resolution recognizes not only Obama's shared values with CWA, but the revolution that his "hopeful, spirited campaign" has been for millions of Americans. He "has invigorated a new generation of voters and touched Americans of all ages – Democrats and Republicans – who have felt discouraged and hopeless over the last 7 ½ years," the Board said.

The Board urges CWA delegates to resolve not just to support Obama but to "use every tool at our disposal and give generously of our time to work to elect him and to elect Democrats to Congress to ensure that his pro-worker policies have the support of true majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate."

"CWA will work as never before to get out members to the polls on Nov. 4, 2008, to cast their votes to transform our country's political landscape and restore the rights, dignity and financial security of America's workers and working families," the proposed resolution concludes.

CWA, IBEW Mid-Atlantic Verizon Bargainers Meet

CWA and IBEW Verizon "South" negotiators met at CWA headquarters this week to review issues in early contract talks.  IBEW Pres. Ed Hill and CWA Pres. Larry Cohen attended, and are shown standing just right of center.  A similar joint bargaining team is meeting in New York.   (CWA Local 1022 President Patti Chronic near center first row standing)

Democrats Introduce New Direction on Trade

A bill that promotes global trade as long as agreements are fairly negotiated and include effective labor, environmental and product safety standards is being introduced by Democrats on Capitol Hill with the support of CWA and other labor unions.

"We're here to play offense," said CWA President Larry Cohen. "We're tired of playing defense."

The TRADE Act calls for a review of all existing trade agreements and provides a process to renegotiate them. The bill includes principles outlining what should be included in future trade agreements, and spells out that the role of Congress in trade policymaking should be strengthened. It will reverse years of trade policy that have elevated capital, financial and property interests above all else, Cohen noted.

CWA President Larry Cohen joins U.S. senators, representatives and other labor leaders on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to speak in support of a new bill that encourages trade deals that are negotiated fairly and include labor, safety and environmental standards.

"The TRADE Act will help Congress and the White House craft a trade agreement that benefits workers, business owners and our country," said Brown, who introduced the bill in the Senate. "We want trade, and we want more of it. The TRADE Act is a critical first step."

The bill is formally called the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment Act.

Cohen said that enforceable labor standards are critical to fair trade, so that companies can't simply abandon the United States or other countries for nations with even weaker workers' rights.

He called the proposed Colombia Free Trade Agreement a "new low, even for hard-core free traders." Colombia leads the world in denying workers the right to collective bargaining.  Simply by labeling workers as contractors, self-employed, or cooperatives, when these workers are employed by major corporations, Colombia has allowed 85 percent of its 18 million workers to be stripped of any possibility of gaining collective bargaining rights.  "This trend exists in the USA, but in Colombia we see the end point with no corporate responsibility and an extreme disparity between wage earners and the economic elite," he said.

Wednesday's news conference also featured Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Representative Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), and Teamsters President James Hoffa.

IUE-CWA Will Fight to Save Moraine, Ohio, GM Plant

Blaming weak sales of sport utility vehicles, General Motors this week announced plans to close the IUE-CWA-represented plant in Moraine, Ohio, along with three other plant shutdowns, prompting the union to declare that the workers and the community are victims of GM's "failure in reading the U.S. automotive market and securing future product for our facility."

IUE-CWA President Jim Clark said in a statement that the union "will work as hard as possible and reach out to all potential allies to try to save the plant" by convincing GM to bring new auto production lines to the facility.  "If GM still wants to make an excellent product at a profit in the United States, we can do it in Moraine," he said.

IUE-CWA represents 2,500 workers at the suburban Dayton plant, which manufactures several lines of SUVs.

"Through unprecedented work rule flexibility and an unmatched commitment to quality, the workers at (Moraine) have consistently delivered a profitable product," Clark noted.  "GM should recognize the loyalty and the skill of the Moraine workers with a new product placement.  GM could reward the community's long-time support by working to rebuild the plant's future, not abandoning an already hard-struck area.  I hope that GM is not out of fresh ideas and new products," he declared.

At the same time, IUE-CWA "will fight equally as hard to ensure that our members and retirees get all they deserve and all they have earned after years of working for GM," Clark stated.

Harry Swaim Dies, Retired District 3 Staff Rep

Harry Swaim, 74, retired District 3 staff representative, died May 26, at the Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfeesboro, Tenn.  "Harry was a gentle giant, always working most of the time unnoticed, for the rights of working men and women," said District 3 Vice President Noah Savant.

Swaim became active in CWA from the moment he went to work for South Central Bell in 1954. During the next 21 years, he rose through the ranks of Local 3806, in Memphis, serving as steward, secretary-treasurer, vice president, and president. He appointed a CWA representative in 1975 and moved wherever he was needed – from Alabama, to Louisiana, and finally to Tennessee. He retired in 1999.

"There's nothing Harry wouldn't do for you," reflected a colleague, retired District 3 Vice President Gene Russo. "During a tough round of bargaining with the old United Sprint bargaining unit in Johnson City, he moved to Johnson City from his office in Nashville and stayed put until a contract was reached."

He is survived by his wife, Jeanette, sons Eddie, Michael, Jay and Victor, along with eleven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.