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Recent CWA e-Activist Campaigns
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May 18, 2009
 What will happen to your health care when you retire? What about during the next round of bargaining? Or if your company goes bankrupt or you change jobs? And can you afford to have your health care benefits taxed?
Right now in the Senate, behind the scenes work is being done that will affect how these questions are answered. We need your help today because reform has to be done the right way, including the right priorities, from the start.
Senator John Cornyn of Texas is on the Finance Committee, and will be one of the first to mark up this legislation. It's especially important for you to tell your Senators about the right way to reform the health care system. Speak out now:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/healthcarereformright/8kebi7r17x3xi7d?
This is a crucial moment. At these beginning stages, we can have a huge impact on the shape of the legislation that Congress considers. But you also know that insurance companies will be pushing hard to protect their profits at the expense of everyone else.
It's up to us to push back and show Congress how to achieve commonsense health care reform for the American people. CWA has identified four key elements to health care legislation:
- Every employer must pay. Much of the cost of uninsured workers who get sick is built into the insurance premiums paid by individuals and employers. Today, employers who offer health insurance pay as much as $1,000 per family to cover the uninsured and to make up for freeloading corporations that don't offer health benefits. Real reform must make all employers offer coverage.
- Benefits should not be taxed. Not only will taxing benefits hurt working families, it would disproportionately hurt low-income families, single parents, and small businesses. There are better ways to raise revenue to pay for health care, such as closing offshore tax loopholes. Taxing benefits will also undercut employers who provide insurance.
- Provide a choice of private or public insurance plans. Insurance companies make billions in profits by charging outrageous premiums and denying coverage to those who need it most. Government plans -- like Medicare -- can use their leverage to negotiate lower prices. And they spend more on care, less on paperwork.
- Retirees must be protected. While many retirees have health care today, corporations continue to slash benefits. Each negotiating session involves epic struggles to keep these benefits and protect our retirees.
These four priorities are essential to making sure health care reform works for everyday Americans, not big insurance companies. Help make sure your Senators share these priorities:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/healthcarereformright/8kebi7r17x3xi7d?
Health care reform will help take health care off the bargaining table when we negotiate new contracts, so we can focus on other priorities like good jobs and wages. And it will help expand coverage to the uninsured, reduce health care costs, and improve the quality of care.
Now is our chance to point Congress in the right direction as the Senate begins to craft its legislation. Don't miss this opportunity to speak out:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/healthcarereformright/8kebi7r17x3xi7d?
In solidarity,
Beth Allen
Online Mobilization Coordinator
CWA e-Activist Network |
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May 14, 2009
Here's this week's news from the CWA Health Care Campaign:
Health industry promises $2 trillion in savings
So, if the insurance industry and the drug industry and the doctors and the hospitals offer us $2 trillion, should we be pleased? Or should we suspect a trick?
If reform stalls this year, will we have to wait 19.7 years to try again?
What happens if the government can't get it together to pass health reform this year? If this isn't the time, how long will we have to wait? How about 19.7 years? That's how long, on average, it's been between major reform efforts going back to the Truman administration.
Love and health insurance
Last summer, Health Care Voices told you about a New York Times article about people getting married so they could get health care coverage. Our headline: "I fell for his blue eyes - and his Blue Cross." Now comes another treatment of the issue, not as serious as the New York Times. |
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May 6, 2009
Here's this week's news from the CWA Health Care Campaign:
Coverage is expensive -- and tough to get -- for those over 50 or 55
It's hard enough for anybody to find an insurance company to sell them a policy and to pay for the premiums and out-of-pocket costs. But it gets even tougher for those over 50 or 55. CWA has made coverage for pre-Medicare retirees one of its priorities for 2009.
Insurance companies pushing back in health reform debate
The insurance companies, who took the lead role in blocking health reform in 1993, aren't just sitting around this time, either. The industry is pushing back on at least two key elements of President Barack Obama's plan -- cutting back on subsidies to private Medicare HMOs and offering a public health insurance plan, similar to Medicare for people under 65, to compete with private insurance companies.
Health reform: Part of the cure for economic stress
Under continued economic pressure, six in 10 Americans say that they, or someone in their family, skipped or delayed health treatments in the past year, according to a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The poll demonstrates strong support nationally for health reform, and for particular features of reform that align with CWA's priorities. |
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Do you want to share your story on camera? (Optional)
Video yourself telling your health care story, then upload it to YouTube and share the link with us. No one can make a more powerful case for health care reform than you. |
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Real health care reform—now is the time! Never has the political will been so strong or the need been so great. The commitment for reform is strong from President Obama, our leaders in Congress and activists like you.
To maintain our momentum, we must continue to press our case here in Washington, D.C., in the media and in cities and towns across the country. A key part of our case for health care
reform is the information, very real stories and recommended areas of reform from people like you.
Your voice is critical. Take the 2009 Health Care for America Survey and tell your story. (Individual survey responses are kept completely confidential, but the tallied results will be shared with leaders at all levels of government and the media—and you can choose whether to make your health care story public.)
The 2009 Health Care for America Survey is sponsored by the AFL-CIO and Working America, the 2.5 million-member community affiliate of the AFL-CIO. More than 26,000 of you completed the 2008 survey, gaining widespread media coverage and keeping health care at the top of the national agenda during the 2008 elections. This year, we expect even more responses.
Some questions from this year’s survey:
- In the past year, have you or has someone in your family lost health coverage because of losing a job or changing jobs?
- Are you able to get the health care you need at a price you can afford?
- If you could change one thing about the way health care insurance works, what would it be?
Take the survey now and share your health care story. Help make the case for real reform that real working families need.
To turn our economy around to work for working families, we need to fix our broken health care system. As President Obama has said, "Health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year."
Congress is preparing for a major health care reform debate this year as well. As members begin to draft reform legislation—and even before they start—it is critical that they hear from working families about how the health care system works today (or doesn't).
Please make your voice heard by completing this survey, telling your health care story and encouraging your friends, co-workers and family members to do so, too. The AFL-CIO and Working America will share the compiled survey results with national and state leaders and the media.
Take the survey now and tell your
story!
In this great country, no one should go without health care.
In solidarity,
CWA e-Activist Network
P.S. We want to hear from as many voices as we can as we fight for secure, high-quality health care. Get your friends, family members and anyone else you know to take part today in the 2009 Health Care for America Survey. |
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April 30, 2009
 As you know, AT&T is trying cuts its workers' health benefits. In contract negotiations with CWA, the telecom giant has proposed huge increases in health care costs for its workers and their families -- in some cases tripling what they would pay.
We can't let this happen. You're one of 100,000 people who have signed our petition to AT&T. We're sending a strong message -- and now you can make it even stronger.
Help add the voices of your lawmakers in Washington to our effort. Write to your members of Congress and urge them to contact AT&T's CEO Randall Stevens about his company's attempts to cut our benefits:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/triplehealthcare/8kebi72a7x7dnnn?
CWA has been a willing negotiating partner with AT&T for 26 years, working with the company to reach path-breaking health care agreements that help save the company money while providing
good benefits for workers and their families.
Now AT&T is insisting on benefit cuts that go much too far, shifting too large a share of the costs onto workers. This just doesn't make sense at a time when so many American families are struggling and AT&T continues to thrive.
Just recently, AT&T moved into the Fortune Magazine's top-10 most profitable companies in the world. AT&T's continued growth is the direct result of the hard work of its union employees, who have built, serviced, and maintained its leading voice, video, and data networks.
But even though its profits continue to grow, the telecom giant is trying to use the current recession as an excuse to squeeze its workers out of the benefits they've earned.
Do your part to make sure that doesn't happen. Write your members of Congress now, and tell them to ask AT&T to do its part to keep our economy strong:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/triplehealthcare/8kebi72a7x7dnnn?
If companies like AT&T don't step up in this recession -- and instead hide behind it to squeeze their workers even more -- we will never be able to turn our economy around.
But if we work together with strength, unity, and solidarity, we can reach a fair agreement that protects benefits for workers at AT&T and their families.
Thank you for standing strong.
In solidarity,
Beth Allen
Online Mobilization Coordinator
CWA e-Activist Network |
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April 23, 2009
 Today, AT&T released its latest earnings report. Despite the bad economy, the company's first quarter profit of $3.3 billion beat expectations because of strong growth in video and data services and wireless, keeping the company on track for continued solid gains.
CWA also released a report today. It's called We Are The Network, and it shows how AT&T's success comes directly from the hard work of the company's 180,000 union employees.
Take a moment to read this important report and pass it along to everyone you know:
www.wearethenetwork.org
Right now, AT&T is trying to cut quality jobs, wages, and benefits in contract negotiations with CWA. But these are the workers who have built AT&T into the strong company it is today, and they deserve better from the telecom giant.
As our report shows, AT&T is outperforming its competitors, and its stock is beating the Dow Jones average. Analysts are optimistic about the company's future growth prospects, as it continues to introduce new technologies and bring together its customers' voice, broadband, video, and wireless services.
In the emerging telecommunications landscape where wireless and wireline technologies are thoroughly interconnected, so are all the workers who build and support them. But in the current atmosphere of economic crisis, AT&T is pursuing shortsighted goals. The company wants to shift more health care costs to employees—a move that will save only a fraction of one percent of operating costs and one that has a great cost to AT&T in terms of employee morale, because it lowers workers' standard of living at a time when the company posted a $3 billion profit this quarter.
Get the facts about AT&T workers' role in the company's success. Read our brand new report, and share it with your friends, family, and coworkers:
www.wearethenetwork.org
Employees are looking to AT&T to set the right priorities so that working together, we can continue to build the digital economy that is so critical to the economic growth and future of our country.
In solidarity, Beth Allen
Online Mobilization Coordinator
CWA e-Activist Network
p.s. CWA will be holding an AT&T National Unity e-Meeting tomorrrow, Thursday April 23, at 9 pm EDT. All CWA members and supporters are welcome to participate. Visit www.cwaunion.tv to register and learn more. |
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April 21, 2009
Here's this week's news from the CWA Health Care Campaign:
CWA's 2009 health care campaign: 'An extraordinary moment' when there's a chance to fix the system
We have a rare opportunity in 2009 to provide affordable, quality health care for all, achieving a goal that has eluded American progressives for a century, CWA coordinators were told at a training session this month. The training launches a new phase of CWA's Health Care Campaign. Last year, we built a political movement that helped elect a president and a Congress committed to fixing the health care system and passing the Employee Free Choice Act. This year, we need to hold those elected officials accountable, and make sure that health reform includes our priorities for a better and fairer system.
Newt Gingrich, critic of public plan and (well-compensated) friend of insurance companies
One of the hottest topics in the health reform discussion is whether there should be a public
health insurance plan, similar to Medicare for people under 65. CWA believes it is important for people to have a choice between public and private health plans. The insurance companies want to
keep things the way they are. One of the critics of the public health plan option has been Newt Gingrich, the Republican former House Speaker. It turns out that Gingrich is, in effect, a paid
lobbyist for the insurance companies.
A scary tour of the American health system
A woman who had her health insurance "rescinded" three days after leaving the hospital from cancer treatment. Her story -- and lots more -- are told in a new documentary from PBS's Frontline, called "Sick Around America." It's a compelling hour that leaves you with the belief that our leaky health system is in need of serious repairs. |
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April 15, 2009
Here's this week's news from the CWA Health Care Campaign:
The public plan and consumer choice
We may see another round of insurance companies gobbling up each other. Fewer and bigger insurance companies will face less competition, leaving them freer to jack up premiums, refuse to cover sick people and generally act more like monopolies. Because the insurance companies are getting even more powerful, we should focus on the current debate about health reform including an option for a public health insurance plan, similar to Medicare for people under 65. A public plan can provide competition to insurance companies.
The need for data and for data systems
All sides in the health care debate support more and better use of electronic medical records. Electronic records are seen as a way to reduce errors and duplication, meaning they'll improve the quality of care and save money in the long run. That fits perfectly with one of CWA's five priorities for health reform legislation this year -- to control costs without compromising quality.
Recession adds 3.7 million to uninsured, report says
The recession has pushed an additional 3.7 million Americans into the ranks of the uninsured, according to estimates in a report from the University of California at Berkeley. And, even when the economy recovers and the jobs come back, the health insurance won't, the authors predict. If there's no health reform, and if premiums continue to rise at the current rate, there will be 4.2 million more uninsured in 2012 than there were in 2007, before the economy began its decline, they estimate. |
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April 15, 2009
CWA Members Make Sure Their Representatives Get the Message
CWA members have continued to keep the pressure on for the Employee Free Choice Act during the April Congressional recess. From deliveries of Million Member Mobilization cards to marches, rallies and meetings with Senators, CWA has anchored or participated in events in over a dozen key states.
 The April recess coincided with the expiration of the CWA/AT&T contract, but Local 3108 in Orlando Florida was ready to act on both issues. With the assistance of the CWA Employee Free Choice Act Field Activist Joy Edery and Local President Dave Skinner, over 100 Local 3108 members wrote letters thanking Senator Bill Nelson for co-sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act. Then, 25 members from CWA, other unions, and members of the Democratic Party continued the campaign by hosting a 2-day event to thank Senator Nelson and deliver thousands of Million Member Mobilization cards and handwritten letters. After the AT&T contract expired, President Skinner kept members up to date during a strike watch party and encouraged more activity in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.
 In Pennsylvania, CWA members participated in events across 7 cities. Last week, a mobile billboard featring Local 13000 member John Pezzana circled the Comcast headquarters during a rally in Philadelphia. John spoke at that rally and the mobile billboard traveled onto Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre, and the Lehigh Valley. Just today, over 500 people marched through Pittsburgh to demand that Senator Arlen Specter change his position and support the Employee Free Choice Act. Steelworkers' President Leo Gerard addressed the group, as did District 13 Administrative Director Marge Krueger.
In North Carolina, Coordinator Bill Burton from Local 3611 organized a meeting with Senator Kay Hagen to thank her for her support of the Employee Free Choice Act, and to talk about why this legislation is so critical for working men and women. Curtis Shew, President of Local 3601 shared his experience with cable tv workers being fired after approaching CWA to help them organize. During the meeting Senator Hagen received a CWA lobby packet with 50 letters from members as well as a large box of signed Million Member Mobilization cards.
Other great work around the country included:
- California: Workers marched in Los Angeles to encourage Senator Feinstein to support the Employee Free Choice Act.
- Louisiana: CWA members organized a letter-writing luncheon to generate more handwritten notes to Senator Landrieu.
- Colorado: CWA members partnered with other groups to hold over 20 events around the state--such as editorial board meetings and workplace leafleting.
- Arkansas: CWA members organized a key face-to-face meeting with Senator Lincoln and delivered Million Member Mobilization cards.
- Virginia: CWA members countered the rallies in Richmond and Roanoke by the anti-worker Chamber of Commerce and various front groups.
Small Business Owners for Employee Free Choice
It's not just workers who see the benefits of the Employee Free Choice Act! Small business owners from across the country recently participated on a conference call to show their support for the bill and explain why a strong middle class is the key to a healthy economy. Darren Horndasch, the owner of Wisconsin Vision described the benefits of a union workforce:
With our employees, we've had an opportunity to develop policies and procedures that benefit the company. It's been an entirely positive experience.
Horndasch says that without a strong middle class, small businesses like his won't be able to function--and making sure people have good union jobs ensures that they can be part of a strong middle class.
Horndasch's sentiment is shared by Jim O'Malley, the owner of Print and Copy Center of Pittsburgh. He describes the positive impact of seeing your employees as allies working towards the same goal:
My employees offer good, productive ideas, and we all work together. We have common goals we work towards.
I look at my employees as a partner. They understand that if the company is successful, they share in that.
These small business owners know that passing the Employee Free Choice Act isn't just critical for workers, but for businesses and the larger economy as well.
New TV Ads Released this Month
American Rights at Work released two compelling new television advertisements this month. "Fabric of America" and "Greed" help remind lawmakers that a majority of the public demands passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Check out the ads at http://www.freechoiceact.org/index.php/petition/pages/our_ads and make sure to share them with your friends, family members and co-workers.
Specter vs. Specter
Last month we noted Senator Arlen Specter's (R-PA) disappointing decision to support a filibuster this year in an attempt to block the Employee Free Choice Act from coming to a Senate floor vote even though he previously supported -- and even co-sponsored -- the bill. Check out this terrific video which shows exactly how much Senator Specter has flipped...and flopped.
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April 7, 2009
 It's happening again. Another big corporation is looking out for its executives and big investors at the expense of workers.
This time, it's AT&T. In contract negotiations with CWA, the company keeps pushing for cuts in quality jobs, health care benefits, and standard of living increases.
The contract has expired, and CWA's bargaining committees are working nonstop to try to reach an agreement with AT&T. But the company won't budge. We need 10,000 signatures on our petition of support in the next week to show AT&T that the whole union is mobilized behind our bargaining teams.
Will you sign?
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/attdowhatsright/8kebi74h7wbn8dd?
AT&T claims that these cuts are necessary because of the poor economy. They've even had the nerve to compare telecom to the auto industry, even though telecom continues to expand and remain profitable. Just last year, AT&T made $12.9 billion in profits -- almost a billion more than the previous year.
AT&T can and should be a leader in supporting quality middle class jobs and benefits. That makes communities and our economy stronger. Instead, AT&T wants to increase profits by taking money out of the pockets of its workforce and even its retirees.
We've shown the company how to save money without massive cost-shifting; yet their only objective is to make workers pay more. Clearly, AT&T is looking for scapegoats, not solutions.
Tell AT&T to do the right thing -- sign our petition urging the company stop trying to cut jobs and benefits:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/attdowhatsright/8kebi74h7wbn8dd?
Fortune Magazine recently named AT&T the world's Most Admired Telecom Company. In response, the company's chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson said, "This honor is a real tribute to the competitive drive, the passion to serve and the innovative spirit that defines the people of AT&T."
But the company's actions speak louder than its words. If it really cares about its employees, AT&T will stop trying to squeeze the wage increases and benefits they've earned out of them, and start supporting more quality jobs, a better standard of living, and real health care reform.
The current contract negotiations with AT&T are a critical moment for our union, for workers across the country, and for the U.S. economy. In these tough times, the best thing we can do is strengthen American workers and the middle class -- and that means ensuring there are more quality jobs with good wages and health care for all.
Show AT&T that CWA is standing strong -- sign our petition right now:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/attdowhatsright/8kebi74h7wbn8dd?
In solidarity, 
Annie Hill
Executive Vice President
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Feb. 25, 2009
This Sunday's PARADE Magazine asks readers: Does America still need labor unions?
Please take a minute to vote YES in their online poll – and ask your friends, family members and coworkers to vote too.
As a CWA member, you already know that labor unions build stronger workplaces and protect workers' rights. Unions like ours give workers a real voice for better pay, health care, workplace safety and retirement security.
Now we need your help to make sure that folks across the country know that too.
This online poll may seem unimportant, but it plays a big role in shaping public opinion. 470 Sunday newspapers nationwide carry PARADE Magazine -- reaching nearly 73 million Americans each week.
Tell PARADE Magazine that America still needs unions. Vote YES in their poll – then forward it to your friends, family members and coworkers.
CWA is fighting each and every day to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which will makes it easier for workers to decide for themselves whether to join a union to bargain for better benefits, wages and working conditions.
Voting in this online poll is just one way to build the nationwide movement for working families. American workers need unions and they need the Employee Free Choice Act.
Let PARADE Magazine's readers know just how much your union means to you.
Vote YES in PARADE Magazine's poll now.
In Solidarity,
CWA e-Activist Network |
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February 16, 2009
Welcome to the Employee Free Choice Act Update.
As you know, passing the Employee Free Choice Act is one of CWA's top priorities. The Employee Free Choice Act will help make the economy work for all of us again by ensuring that workers have a free choice and a fair chance to join a union. Today's workplaces are tilted in favor of lavishly-paid CEOs, who get golden parachutes while middle-class families struggle to get by. The Employee Free Choice Act gives us a chance to restore the balance, giving more workers a chance to form unions and get better health care, job security, and benefits.
This bi-weekly update will provide you with the latest news about our efforts to pass the Act and tools that you can use to make a difference. You can also find in-depth material in the Resources section at www.freechoicecwa.org.
4,000 Rally for Employee Free Choice
In early February, thousands of workers from across the country came to Capitol Hill to show support for the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. The event also featured remarks by workers who have faced resistance and even been fired during their efforts to organize their workplaces. Among them was CWA's Sara Steffens, who was fired from her job at the Contra Costa Times in retaliation for helping form a union at the paper. She explained her support for the bill:
We need the Employee Free Choice Act so we can feel empowered to step up and help solve problems in our workplace, and not be scared that if we stick our necks out that we're going to be the next ones laid off. Check out our video of Sara speaking at the Rally and hear more of her story.
Rally participants also began the process of delivering 1.5 million cards to Congress from supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act, including more than 110,000 from CWA members. The names of those supporters are being displayed online in a continuous scroll. You can show your support for the Employee Free Choice Act by placing the scroll on your own website or blog. Learn more at: http://www.freechoiceact.org/cwa/pages/web_widget
Letters to the Editor Get the Word Out
A New York Times editorial in late December made a powerful case for the Employee Free Choice Act, referring to it as "vital legislation." The Times endorsement was impressive, but members of Congress often look to newspapers, radio and TV stations, and blogs in their home states to get a sense of support for legislation among their own constituents.
That's why CWA members are busy writing letters to the editor to their local papers in order to get the word out about the Employee Free Choice Act. In North Carolina, Bill Burton saw a letter from an opponent of the bill in the News and Observer and wanted to make sure readers got the full story:
Employees DO keep secret-ballot rights under the Employee Free Choice Act. They would simply gain an additional way to seek a contract and union representation through card check. The bill still provides for a secret-ballot election should employees opt for it. Kilpatrick Stockton lawyer Richard Haygood rightly assumes that most working men and women will use the card check method to avoid the coercion, threats, intimidation and even firings that companies use to discourage employees from forming a union.
Get involved! Our online tool makes it easy to write your own letter, or you can download a sample letter to edit and send yourself. |
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