This is What Democracy Looks Like

Wisconsin Crowds Grow as Fight Intensifies to Protect Workers' Rights

Tens of thousands of workers from throughout Wisconsin converged on the state capitol this week to protest the governor's attempt to end collective bargaining rights for public workers.

Below: The crowd in the capitol rotunda includes CWA members in red shirts.

A week of rapidly organized rallies and marches continued today in Wisconsin, drawing tens of thousands of residents to the state capitol to condemn Gov. Scott Walker's attacks on collective bargaining rights for public workers.

Crowds estimated at 15,000 on Tuesday had swelled to 30,000 by Wednesday and even greater numbers were predicted today to fight Walker's union-busting agenda. Click here for YouTube video of the rally.

"The energy that was going on in there, it was the biggest union boost I've had in my life," said CWA Local 4630 President Terry Russell, who turned out Tuesday with about a dozen members of his AT&T local. "Absolutely every union was represented. It was a bonding like I've never seen before. I was proud to be part of it."

CWA Local 4671 members came from across the state to Madison. "I think the energy that got ignited there is something the governor did not anticipate," Local President Mike Oliver said, noting the roar from the crowd as firefighters and off-duty police officers marched around the capitol square.

Walker specifically exempted police and fire unions from his decree, but "they showed up to march with placards and banners," Oliver said. "We formed lines as they came through the square and we shook their hands and thanked them for their support."

As crowds grew outside, several thousand people waited in long lines and even slept overnight in the capitol atrium Tuesday to testify at a standing-room-only hearing of the state Joint Finance Committee, which continued meeting until the Republican majority walked out at 3 a.m. Wednesday. The committee passed the governor's budget bill with its union-busting language by a 12-4 vote along party lines Wednesday night. The state Senate could vote on the bill this afternoon.

The public and private sector unions, and scores of non-union allies, are continuing to send a strong message to Walker that he's overplayed his hand in a state with a proud labor history. Wisconsin was the first state to extend bargaining rights to public employees, who include about 150 CWA members.

Last Friday, Walker announced his intention to strip away those rights for everything but wage negotiations. If workers didn't like it, he said the National Guard was prepared to respond.

His comments hit a new low in the barrage of political attacks on public workers nationwide, drawing condemnation from newspaper editorials, conservative workers who say they regret voting for him, and a former Wisconsin Guardsman and an Iraq war vet.

"The National Guard is not his own personal intimidation force to be mobilized to quash political dissent," Guardsman Robin Eckstein said. "The Guard is to be used in case of true emergencies and disasters, to help the people of Wisconsin, not to bully political opponents. Considering many veterans and Guard members are union members, it's even more inappropriate to use the Guard in this way. This is a very dangerous line the governor is about to cross."

Police quoted in media reports this week said the demonstrations, including about a thousand people marching in front of Walker's home, have been large but entirely peaceful.

MSNBC's Ed Schultz will be doing his MSNBC show live from Madison tonight at 10 p.m. and has been covering the events all week. Go to www.msnbc.com or click here for "The Ed Show" and scroll down for video segments.

Ohio Workers Crowd Hearings, Build Alliances to Fight Back

CWA members and thousands of other workers packed into Ohio's statehouse for hearings on anti-worker legislation.

For the second week, thousands of people are jamming Ohio's statehouse to protest legislation that would wipe out collective bargaining rights for state employees, weaken other workers' rights and have a devastating ripple effect on families and communities already struggling financially.

"There had to be at least 3,000 people there Tuesday," said Diane Bailey, vice president of CWA Local 4310 and president of the CWA State Council in Ohio. "Rooms everywhere were filled up. They had to put chairs in the atrium, in the rotunda." Audio of the hearing was piped into the overflow rooms.

Unions and other opponents get a chance to testify today, but Tuesday's hearing was for supporters of the anti-worker legislation. "They gave us a warning about the booing getting out of hand, but I think it was very well ignored," Bailey said. "People are angry."

CWA members are also making their case in the media, from Facebook and Twitter to newspaper columns and letters. "Eliminating front-line workers and civil servants who provide critical services to the public will not provide the solution promised. Often it is a promise of future prosperity that never materializes but instead results in less service and accountability to the taxpayers," CWA Local 4502 President Brien Bellous wrote in a Cleveland Plain Dealer op-ed Feb. 13.

Union members aren't alone in the fight. Allies from small groups of concerned neighbors to large churches to the full slate of social justice and environmental activists have formed a coalition to stop Gov. John Kasich's attacks on workers and the GOP's broad agenda to slash jobs and public services.

The coalition, "Stand Up for Ohio: Good Jobs and Strong Communities," was started by CWA District 4 Vice President Seth Rosen. In the first 12 hours after its debut this week, 25,000 people friended its Facebook page and the number has more than doubled in size since.

Coalition members will use their collective, grassroots power to help each other fight for issues critical to workers, families and strong, safe communities. They are planning major street demonstrations at least three times in the next six months in cities across the state, with the first series of events March 15. "The politicians have a strategy of divide and conquer," District 4 Vice President Seth Rosen said. "Our strategy is unite and win."

Workers united not only in Ohio this week but at enormous rallies in Wisconsin. "As anyone who was present in Madison or Columbus could tell you, this is what the beginning of a mass movement looks like," Rosen said. "The energy, unity and commitment of workers from both private and public sectors, as well as people outside unions, was evident to all. We will continue to grow and build a broader coalition over the weeks ahead because this fight is far from over."

Act Now: Don't Let Congress Kill Public Broadcasting and CWA Jobs

If U.S. House Republicans get their way, PBS, NPR and local radio and TV public broadcasting stations would lose their federal funding and up to 1,500 CWA members could lose their jobs.

Republicans want to strip all funding from the current year's budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a move that has already spurred outrage and petitions on Facebook and other social networking sites.

NABET-CWA has launched its own campaign, urging people to call or e-mail their members of Congress immediately or, even better, write a handwritten letter, fax it to CWA and it will be personally delivered. NABET-CWA represents most of the 1,500 workers, with others represented by TNG-CWA and CWA Local 1300.

More than 170 million people in the United States access public broadcasting stations or websites every month at a cost of just $1.35 per American per year.

"That is a microscopic fraction of the federal budget, and yet losing it would be catastrophic," NABET-CWA President Jim Joyce said. "Donations alone can't save all our members' jobs, or the unique mix of news, entertainment and educational programming that Americans have enjoyed for more than four decades."

The 2011 federal budget has been operating under a continuing resolution since the fiscal year began last Oct. 1. The resolution expires March 4, and House Republicans are demanding $61 billion in cuts to education, job training, social services and other programs, including the full $430 million for public broadcasting.

Here's how you can help:

• Click here to e-mail your member of Congress via NABET-CWA's Save Public Broadcasting webpage.
• Call your Member of Congress toll free at (877) 426-8013.
• Text CPBFUND to 69866. (Standard text messaging rates apply.)
• Write a hand-written letter to your member of Congress, and fax it to (202) 434-1426. CWA will hand-deliver the letters.

Global Unions Take on T-Mobile: 'The World is Watching'

Billboards telling T-Mobile "We Expect Better" are going up in a number of communities where T-Mobile operates. Members of CWA Local 2201 in Richmond, Va., were on hand as the billboard went up.

CWA and ver.di formed TU, a bold and innovative global union, that represents T-Mobile workers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Now, the International Trade Union Confederation is launching a major global campaign telling DT that "We Expect Better." The ITUC is working with CWA and ver.di, to persuade Deutsche Telekom that it must allow T-Mobile USA workers the right to join a union if they choose. ITUC members are the labor federations in nearly every country, including the AFL-CIO. The ITUC represents about 150 million workers worldwide.

Deutsche Telekom has repeatedly refused to stop the anti-union campaign being waged by T-Mobile USA. "We expect better from Deutsche Telekom," said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow. "With operations in some 50 countries, it has established union relations with much of its workforce. However, in the USA in particular, the company massively violates its responsibility to be neutral towards trade unions, and tries to keep unions out of its workplaces. We're simply asking Deutsche Telekom to respect fundamental rights for all those who work for it around the world, in line with international legal standards." In the United States, billboards and other public advertising with the "We Expect Better" message are going up in several cities where T-Mobile USA operates, including Richmond, Va., Allentown, Penn., Salem, Ore., Thornton, Colo., and more to come.

The message to the company, being sent in English and German is T-Mobile: We Expect Better. You can follow the campaign on twitter @realtmobile and on Facebook at loweringthebar.

House Committee Votes to Repeal Democratic Airline Elections

By just one vote, the House Transportation Committee this week voted to reinstate unfair rules for union representation elections for workers in the airline and railroad industries.

Last year, the National Mediation Board updated the rules governing union elections in the airline and railroad industries and put in place the democratic standard that is used in virtually every election for public office in the United States. The NMB's new rules determine union representation based on a majority of votes cast, in line with the National Labor Relations Act rules governing union representation across all other industries.

The committee's vote preserves language in the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization bill that would block the NMB from using this democratic standard for the union elections it oversees. Three Republicans and all Democrats on the committee voted against changing the NMB rules.

As the FAA Reauthorization bill moves to the House floor, CWA will continue to fight to keep this important democratic standard in airline and other transportation industry elections. If the Reauthorization language isn’t changed on the House floor, the NMB will be forced to conduct future airline and railroad elections under the undemocratic system.

CWAers Join 'Global Days of Action' in Solidarity with Mexico's Workers

At a demonstration at the Mexican embassy, CWA Executive Vice President Annie Hill calls on the Mexican government to uphold workers' rights.

In a show of outrage and solidarity, CWA members joined other unions Wednesday to protest Mexico's violations of workers' rights. The demonstration, outside the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C., is part of a series of "Global Days of Action" being mounted by unions worldwide to demand that Mexico comply with its own laws and international standards on human and trade union rights.

The campaign calls on Mexico's leaders:

• To hold employers and government officials accountable for a mine explosion that killed 65 miners in 2006.
• To abolish violations of workers' freedom of association and end the use of force against workers seeking union representation.
• To end a campaign of persecution against the Mexican miners and electrical workers' unions.

Call center workers at Telefonica/Atento Mexicana were met with brass knuckle-carrying thugs in 2010 when voting to join the independent Mexican Telephone Workers' Union (STRM). CWA has worked closely with STRM, as well as other Mexican unions trying to bring truly democratic labor rights to workers.

CWA's affiliate in Europe, UNI Global Union joined in the week of action by meeting with the Mexican ambassador to the United Nations and holding a rally in Geneva, Switzerland.

Follow the campaign on Twitter with the hash tag #mexicoaction or go to www.uniglobalunion.org/MexicoAction to show your support.

Even Child Labor Laws Aren't Immune from State Assaults

A Missouri state senator wants to turn back the clock a hundred years and repeal child labor laws, letting children under 14 hold jobs with no restrictions on the number of hours or time of day worked.

Republican Sen. Jane Cunningham thinks the laws protecting children infringe on the right of parents. In fact, she doesn't even want the state's Division of Labor Standards to be able to inspect employers for child labor law violations.

Right now in Missouri, children under 14 aren't allowed to hold jobs, and 14- and 15-year-olds need work permits. Cunningham doesn't think that's fair.

She's almost, but not entirely alone, in her bizarre pursuit. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is also railing against child labor laws, claiming they're unconstitutional.

The irony? Lee claims it's the states' job to regulate child labor. "This may sound harsh, but it was designed to be a little bit harsh," Lee says, explaining his interpretation of the Constitution on YouTube. "Not because we like harshness for the sake of harshness, but because we like a clean division of power, so that everybody understands whose job it is to regulate what."

AFL-CIO Tracks Attacks on Workers with 'States of Denial' Website

Political attacks on workers and unions at the state level are happening so fast that it's hard to keep up. But a new AFL-CIO website, "States of Denial," is designed to help.

The website includes the latest news as state legislators introduce bills to restrict organizing and bargaining rights, kill project labor agreements and prevailing wage laws, slash budgets for public services while cutting corporate tax rates, and much more.

Sign a petition on the site that will be sent to your state lawmakers telling them to focus on creating good jobs instead of playing politics with the lives of working people.

There's also a wealth of information about the types of attacks and Q&A sheets that can be used as flyers to help union members understand what's at risk. For instance, the page on so-called "right to work" laws explains how the attempt to weaken unions has proven to lower wages and living standards for all workers in those states.

"In state after state, newly elected Republican legislators and governors are playing politics as usual by launching a coordinated attack on working families designed to swell already-record-size corporate profits and keep those CEO bonuses coming," the website says. "These politicians aren't offering up their own pay or pensions—they want working families to bear the burden." Find the site at www.aflcio.org or click here.

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