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1998 Legislative-Political Conference Activists Gear Up to Battle 'New Class Warfare' from Labor's E

A year from now, life could be getting better for America's working families - or it could be taking a nasty tumble. More than 600 activists who attended CWA's Legislative-Political Conference in Washington, D.C., April 19-22, headed home with a firm resolve to work for the best life possible by talking up the importance of 1998 state and local elections.



They applauded resoundingly as Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) and other CWA friends on Capitol Hill and in the Clinton administration painted a bright picture of what they would like to do for working families.



But, warned CWA President Morton Bahr, "There is a new class of warfare in America, brothers and sisters, and you and the members back home are the target."



Bahr and CWA Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling listed bills that would substitute comp-time for overtime, end government enforcement of safety standards, allow employers to discriminate against hiring union supporters and allow the return of company unions.



Concerning the so-called "Paycheck Protection Act" in Congress, California Proposition 226 and similar measures advancing in about half the states, both were adamant:



"The corporations have their lobby. The small businesses have their lobby. We have the right and, indeed, the obligation to participate in the political process and to let our elected leaders know what we are thinking," Bahr stated.



Denouncing all such "paycheck protection" legislation, he stressed, "Our COPE contributions fuel labor's resurgence in politics and our ability to move legislation that benefits working families. It is so important for our members to understand the connection between politics, legislation and our collective bargaining power."



Warned Easterling, "It's not enough for Big Business to spend hundreds of millions of dollars - not only in PAC contributions, but issue ads and other political action funded from corporate treasuries. Don't buy their snake oil about just wanting a 'level playing field.' They want the whole playing field to themselves."



"If Prop. 226 passes and workers are silenced," she added, "extremists will be free to treat the California legislature - and ultimately Congress - as their own private goody bag."



Bahr warned of additional attacks on working families. For example, the House is gearing up to work on a so-called "American Competitiveness" bill that would lift immigration limits to allow employers to import thousands of workers with computer backgrounds. Bahr, who chairs the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees, said CWA and the department, with the backing of the Clinton administration, are taking the lead to combat the measure.



"We need to have a nationwide training program to give U.S. citizens first opportunity to fill these positions," he stated.



All eight Republicans on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education recently signed onto a letter questioning National Labor Relations Board Chairman William Gould on two board rulings. Bahr described it as "a clear case of intimidation," as the board is poised to make decisions on cases that could determine whether so-called "independent contractors" qualify under the law as employees, eligible for union representation.



Many of labor's enemies do not reside on Capitol Hill, but much of their money goes there, Bahr noted. He pointed to attacks on workers by Pat Robertson and the Christian Coalition, the National Right-to-Work (for less) Committee, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its chairman, Tom Donohue, who has referred to union leaders as "thugs in blue suits."



With Social Security and Medicare reform, health care, pensions, and funding for education on the table, while privatization threatens thousands of union jobs, Easterling pointed to the importance of working to elect senators and governors who will work for working families. She challenged delegates to sort through an avalanche of political rhetoric as representatives of both major political parties seek their support, with 36 governors' seats, all of the House and one-third of the Senate up for grabs this fall.



Addressing the 1998 elections, Steve Grossman, co-chair of the Democratic National Committee, and Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.), urged participants to work for a return of Democratic majorities in the House and Senate this year. Katie Whelan, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, pointed out that the gubernatorial elections will affect life in 75 percent of the nation.



Republican House member Peter King of New York made a special plea to conferees to give support to union-friendly Republicans whenever possible. But he acknowledged that GOPers make it hard on themselves when it comes to gaining labor support.



"I feel distressed that my party doesn't support organized labor's goals," he said.



King, who said he considers CWA President Bahr and AFL-CIO leader John Sweeney among his friends, declared that union members should have "an absolute right to strike, without fear of retaliation," and that labor should not be singled out for restrictions on its political activities.



Easterling urged members to stand up for a "Worker Bill of Rights" passed by the CWA Executive Board and to increase their contributions to CWA-COPE, already on course to achieve its goal of "$2 Million by 2000."



"We remain at war with the forces of greed - a war whose stakes continue to grow higher," she warned. "It is up to us to respond with the courage, creativity and commitment that win wars."