September 10th

“Even if you’re not a union member, every American owes something to America’s labor movement.”
President Barack Obama, Labor Day 2009

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

Labor Day 2009 begins a new season for working families.  For us, our calling is to serve workers and build our union and our movement.  For CWA, this is a critical time, a turning point possibly like no other in our history.

As we all predicted, bargaining in the U.S. is like never before. Unemployment is near 10 percent and counting, under employment 20 percent.   Earned income is down 4 percent for the last 12 months.  Deflation of .66 percent has replaced inflation, meaning that a 3 percent wage increase is equivalent to 3.66 in real terms.  All of this is unprecedented. 

But, of course, for us bargaining rates in the private sector of 7 percent and our own membership falling by 20,000 this year are more important numbers.  As the President has also said “Change we can believe in,” and we have to lead it like never before.

We can play defense and offense at the same time, but we need to make the connection or we will not keep hope alive.  We must link our bargaining and organizing to broaden change as well as defend the benefits and living standards we have fought to have for generations.  We can defend our jobs but also understand the need to bring CWA and bargaining rights to our major employers and industries.  We can bargain the best health care benefits possible and link that bargaining to a commitment that in the next few months, we can help lead the U.S. to join every other democracy with broad-based health care where every employer must play or pay. 

For now, health care is center stage and rightly so.  Health care cost escalation has led most employers to dump all retiree health care and cut back on benefits for actives.  Tonight, President Obama will address this, but we will need to dig in and fight for our core principles like never before or we could end up worse than when we started.  In particular, we will need to fight taxing of our benefits or plans, and fight for the employer mandate as the way to pay for health care for all. 

At the same time, we must stay focused on Employee Free Choice—no one else will!  The Chamber will fight this in the months ahead just as they will fight against health care reform and financial regulation.   The Chamber and U.S. management have no trouble doing more than one thing at a time. 

Today there is a key hearing in Massachusetts to amend the state’s election law so the Governor can appoint an interim senator, as Senator Kennedy wished, until the special election in early 2010.  CWA will have 50 activists in that auditorium, helping to fill it and put the electeds on notice that we cannot wait for real health care reform or Free Choice.  Without the key 60th Democratic senator we cannot get cloture for Free Choice or most likely real health care reform.  However, with the 60th D, we have better than average odds to enact the first major positive change in the NLRA since enactment almost 75 years ago.  October to early December will be the key time in the Senate and we will need to mobilize, with your leadership, like never before.

Many of you have been involved in critical bargaining and know first hand what bargaining is like in 2009 as every employer uses the economy to explain why they must cut, ignoring the consequences that continuing cuts contribute to a worse recession.    I realize that you are on the front lines whether bargaining at AT&T or any employer, or any of the other aspects of representing our members every day.

In two weeks our Executive Board will be meeting here—recommitting to the big fights for health care reform and Free Choice as well as organizing, electoral work in key states like New Jersey and Virginia with gubernatorial races and the legislature on the line, as well as key issues internally like dealing with our finances and the structure of our union.  Next week, the AFL -CIO will meet in Pittsburgh and elect Rich Trumka as president and other new officers.  CWA will be there committed to labor unity and health care and Free Choice.

But none of this is possible or even hopeful without you leading the way.  As the President said on Labor Day, we need to be “Fired Up and Ready to Go.”  We need that spirit in every local even in these toughest of times.  I am more convinced than ever that together we will make a significant difference in the critical months ahead.

In Solidarity,

Larry Cohen
President