One Nation: A Sea of CWA Red

Union workers and activists fill the mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

CWAers had a great day on Oct 2 at the One Nation Working Together March in Washington. CWA red was the dominant color --it was everywhere.

There were more than 10,000 of us at the Lincoln Memorial, listening, cheering and standing up for jobs, justice and a government that works for all.

CWA members traveled by bus - about 142 of them, 75 from New Jersey alone - from as far south as Jacksonville, Florida and as far west as Chicago and throughout the Midwest. Others carpooled from Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and other closer-in areas.

President Larry Cohen and Barbara Elliott, a member of Local 1102 and a Xerox/EZ Pass worker, told the crowd about the two-year fight for bargaining rights at Xerox/EZ Pass, where workers face intimidation, harassment, and even firing to get their union. Barbara and 11 of her co-workers got on the bus for One Nation, to take a stand for economic justice.

Above, CWAers led a crowd of LA union members in the One Nation march. Below, in Austin, members of Local 6186/TSEU stand up for good government and good jobs.

Mario Morgan, a steward with Local 4320 in Columbus,Oh., came with his wife Rosalinda and daughters Veronica and Nephatina. "My daughters will remember this experience and will know that they're not alone, that they're always going to have people right beside them fighting for what is right. They'll know that they have to be activists, not spectators."

Stephen Couckuyt, an AFA-CWA member who came from Anchorage, Alaska, said: "I'm here for my son, I'm here for my grandchildren because I don't like the direction our country is going and how we're treating workers."

Across the country in Los Angeles, about 300 enthusiastic CWAers attended the One Nation rally, carrying banners, and signs that read, "Stop Whitman," "CWA Activist," and "Reclamando Nuestrol Derechos!" -- "Reclaiming Our Rights!"

About 200 members of CWA Local 6186/Texas State Employees Union held a One Nation rally and march at the state capitol in Austin, where they called for support for critical state services and public workers.

And more than 5,000 CWAers participated in labor walks across the country on Oct. 2 as part of One Nation. CWAers and other union activists who live too far away to attend the D.C. event were encouraged to show their solidarity by walking their neighborhoods for candidates who support working families.