Members Join Cohen for Wide-Ranging Online Discussion

October 10, 2008

CWA President Larry Cohen met online with members across the country on Wednesday to answer a wide range of questions about the election, the economy, workers rights, outsourcing, health care, retirement security and the future of the union movement.

A transcript of the chat is available online on the CWA Votes website at http://www.cwavotes.org/cwavotes/content/cwa_debate_chat_transcript.

One participant asked about helping people make the connection between today's economic crisis and the need to rebuild America's union movement.  "For 80 years policy makers have understood that collective bargaining means a better deal for workers and creates demand for goods and services," Cohen said. "The U.S. has been moving in the opposite direction making it nearly impossible for working Americans to gain collective bargaining coverage. More union workers means more bargaining power and better pay.  This in turn raises our buying power and stimulates the economy far better than another rebate."

One member, working hard for Obama, asked, "How do we keep from demobilizing after Jan. 1 and getting the disappointments we had with Clinton on things like NAFTA."  Cohen responded that, "We keep organizing.  We are building a political movement, not a movement for one election.  We stay focused on our four core issues" and keep organizing in our workplaces and communities.

An airline worker asked what Obama, if elected, will do to help especially hard-hit workers in the airline industry, which has slashed jobs and wages in recent years. Cohen said one of the many critical things a president does is appoint board members, such as those on the National Labor Relations Board and the National Mediation Board, which oversees bargaining law for airline employees. The president's authority also extends to the FAA, an agency vital to safeguarding airline workers and passengers.

The chat concluded with a question about what CWA members can do between now and Election Day.

"Talk to our coworkers," Cohen said. "This is most important since it makes no sense to fight at the bargaining table for our rights, our jobs, our health care and our retirement and not fight for these same issues when we elect candidates to office. Second we can get on the phones and walk our neighborhoods making sure that these issues are the key ones when union members and friends and neighbors vote."