• Union Leaders Pursue Unity Strategy
• New CWA District 3 and 9 Vice Presidents Take Oath of Office
• CWA Joins Obama's Call for National Day of Service
• NLRB Rules Chinese Daily News Violated Labor Law; Workers Still Wait for Justice
• More Organizations Backing Employee Free Choice
• Ryan International Flight Attendants Join AFA-CWA
• The Best "Source" for Keeping CWA Locals and Members Informed

Union Leaders Pursue Unity Strategy

Union presidents from a dozen major unions, plus leaders from the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, met Jan. 7 to discuss ways to create a united labor movement to effectively take on the challenges facing working Americans. The meeting was facilitated by David Bonior of American Rights at Work.

CWA President Larry Cohen said the meeting was "an important first step towards a unified labor movement at a critical time. We all realize that labor unity nationally strengthens us at the local and state level."

Participating were Larry Cohen, CWA; Leo Gerard, United Steel Workers; Ron Gettelfinger, Auto Workers; Joe Hansen, United Food and Commercial Workers; James Hoffa, Teamsters; Gerald McEntee, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; Terry O'Sullivan, Laborers; Bruce Raynor, UNITE HERE; Andy Stern, Service Employees International Union; Dennis Van Roekel, National Education Association; Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers; and Ed Hill, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Also participating were AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and Anna Burger, Chairperson of Change to Win.

Following the meeting, the group issued this statement:

"The goal of this meeting is to create a unified labor movement that can speak and act nationally on the critical issues facing working Americans. While we represent the largest labor unions, we recognize that unity requires broad participation. We also recognize our members are active and work through our institutions where they live and work. We will be reaching out to them."

New CWA District 3 and 9 Vice Presidents Take Oath of Office

New District 3 Vice President Beverly Hicks and District 9 Vice President Jim Weitkamp are sworn in by CWA President Cohen.

Following the retirements of District Vice Presidents Noah Savant, District 3, and Tony Bixler, District 9, Beverly Hicks and Jim Weitkamp were sworn in as CWA district vice presidents this week.

Beverly Hicks, appointed to CWA staff in 1996, has served as Assistant to the District 3 Vice President since 2005. She joined CWA Local 3808 in 1966, serving as both its vice president and president.

Jim Weitkamp, assistant to District 9 Vice President Tony Bixler since 2004, was named to CWA staff in 1988, serving as Southern California Director. He joined CWA Local 9505 after going to work for Pacific Bell in 1977 and served as first vice president and executive vice president.

CWA Joins Obama's Call for National Day of Service

Monday, Jan. 19, the national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is also a National Day of Service that marks Dr. King's commitment to building a nation that cares for and respects all people.

President-elect Barack Obama has called for the National Day of Service to be the start of "an ongoing commitment by Americans to their communities." Both Obama and Vice President-elect Biden will participate in events in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 19, the day before the Presidential Inauguration.

CWA is joining this effort and is encouraging all locals to participate. Our project will be to collect food for community food banks which are facing a critical shortage of food as the economy worsens and need grows.

This CWA action will begin Jan. 12. On January 19, locals will deliver the collected food to the food bank they selected. 

CWA also has agreed to work with AT&T in 30 cities to collect food. Drives will begin Jan. 12-19 in six cities with the greatest need: Sacramento, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Hartford, Conn., and Dallas, and will continue Jan. 19 through Jan. 27 in the remaining cities.

The first 500 locals to sign up to participate will receive an inaugural commemorative gift from CWA. The locals participating will also be posted on the special website set up by the Obama team.

For a signup sheet, go to www.cwa-union.org, "What's Hot." Please email your information to ssplitt@cwa-union.org or fax to 202-434-1377.

NLRB Rules Chinese Daily News Violated Labor Law; Workers Still Wait for Justice

In a new victory for embattled workers who tried for years to form a union at the Chinese Daily News in Los Angeles, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled that an attorney violated federal labor law by asking an employee in a deposition whether he'd voted in favor of the union.

The Board decision reversed an earlier administrative law judge's ruling. The Board also upheld rulings in favor of the union that found the newspaper guilty of unfair labor practices that barred workers from wearing union insignia and prohibited union activity in non-work areas. The Board ordered the newspaper to rescind the policies.

In 2000, more than eight years ago, the Chinese Daily News employees began working with The Newspaper Guild-CWA for a union voice at the newspaper. Workers won representation in a 2001 election, despite management's illegal and abusive campaign of fear, intimidation and firings of union activists. The newspaper refused to recognize the union and continued its attack on workers, ultimately overturning the election victory.

The latest board ruling stems from a class-action wage and hour lawsuit filed by 200 embattled employees, who were forced to work many hours of unpaid overtime. A jury and federal judge in March 2008 collectively awarded the workers $5.19 million, and the company was ordered to pay an additional $3.52 million in attorney fees. Workers have yet to receive any award, since the newspaper is appealing the verdict to the federal appeals court.

More Organizations Backing Employee Free Choice

The list of Employee Free Choice allies and supporters continues to grow, with more than 99 organizations now committed to working to pass the Employee Free Choice Act to help restore an economy that works for all of us.

Several key consumer groups, including Public Citizen, the National Consumers League, Consumer Action and others, called on members of the 111th Congress, who were sworn in this week, "to address the needs of hard working Americans on Main Street and not just the interests of Wall Street."

"The current crisis in our financial markets shows what happens when corporate greed is allowed to go unchecked – and consumers and workers unfortunately pay the price. The Employee Free Choice Act will help level the playing field for America's workers by giving them a fair and direct path to form unions," they wrote.     

Organizations listed below have expressed their strong support for the Employee Free Choice Act and their determination to help make it become the law of the land. (To view list click here.)

ACORN, Alliance for Justice, Alliance for Retired Americans, American Friends Service Committee, American Library Association – Allied Professional Association, American Public Health Association), American Rights at Work, Americans for Democratic Action, Americans United for Change, A. Philip Randolph Institute, Apollo Alliance, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Black Leadership Forum, Business Responds to AIDS/Labor Responds to AIDS, California Church Impact, Center for American Progress, Center for America's Future, Center for Community Change, Center for Corporate Policy, Change America Now, Church Women United, Clergy and Laity Network United for Justice, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Coalition of Contingent Academics Labor, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Coalition on Human Needs, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, Cornell University LGBT Center, Demos, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Socialists of America, Earth Action Network, Empire State Pride in New York State, Equality South Carolina, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Gamaliel Foundation – Transportation Equity Group, Grassroots Policy Project, Gray Panthers, Gray Panthers of Austin, Tex., Gray Panthers of California, Gray Panthers of Berkeley, Calif., Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights Watch, Interfaith Worker Justice, Japanese-American Citizens League, Jewish Labor Committee, Jobs with Justice, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, League of Rural Voters, League of United Latin American Citizens, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Michigan ACLU, NAACP, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Baptist Convention of America, National Center for Trangender Equality, National Consumers League, National Council of Women's Organizations, National Employment Law Project, National Federation of Filipino American Associations, National Immigration Law Center, National Latino Congreso, National Employment Lawyers Association, National Partnership for Women and Families, National Puerto Rican Coalition, National Resources Defense Council, National Stonewall Democrats, National Women's Political Caucus, National Workrights Institute, NDN, NOW California, Operation BIG VOTE, Pax Christi USA, People for the American Way, Presbyterian Church USA – Washington, D.C., Press Associates Union News Service, Pride at Work, Progressive Jewish Alliance, Progressive Maryland, Progressive States Network, Queer Organizing Coalition, San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Sierra Club, Sojourners/Call to Renewal Tikkun/The Network of Spiritual Progressives, United Church of Christ - Justice and Witness Ministries, United for a Fair Economy, United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society, United Nations Association of the National Capital Area, United for Peace and Justice, United States Student Association, United Students Against Sweatshops, United University Professors, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, USAction, U.S. Labor Against the War

Ryan International Flight Attendants Join AFA-CWA

Flight attendants at the Illinois-based Ryan International Airlines voted AFA-CWA as their bargaining representative. Over 74 percent of the 150 eligible flight attendants – 111 workers – voted for AFA-CWA representation, far exceeding the National Mediation Board's "50 percent plus one" voting requirement for airline workers to form a union.

"Ryan International flight attendants are committed to shaping the future of their careers and we are thrilled to welcome them to the largest flight attendant union in the world," said AFA-CWA President Patricia Friend. "They spoke in favor of having a voice in their workplace and today management hears their voices loud and clear," she added.

The airline provides scheduled and charter services for passengers and cargo to customers around the world, and is the authorized carrier for the Departments of Defense, Justice, Energy and Homeland Security.

The Best "Source" for Keeping CWA Locals and Members Informed

Starting next week, CWA's website for local union communicators, The Source, will be adding another resource to help local union editors keep members up to date on all the issues affecting workers and our union.

We will be adding a new section at The Source, www.cwa-union.org/source, where editors can go to download individual articles for their newsletters on the Employee Free Choice Act, health care reform, and other key issues. These articles will be formatted in Microsoft Word to make it easier for local union editors to download and use in local newsletters and publications. Currently, CWA members can access articles from the CWA News and weekly CWA Newsletter by copying the text from The Source and main CWA website and pasting that article into a separate file, but putting a selection of the articles in Word will make it easier for editors to access this information.

We also will add a special "Extreme Makeover Newsletter edition" feature to The Source next week to help local editors improve their local newsletter.

A reminder that every week, The Source is updated with the weekly CWA Newsletter, photos, and other useful resources, artwork, cartoons, and materials to improve communications with our members. It also includes templates for workplace flyers, news releases and media advisories, and other materials for union communicators.  

Help us get the word out! Please click here to send us the name and e-mail address of your local union editor to Janelle Hartman in the CWA Communications Department.