A lead inside organizer who continues to face a tough fight for a voice at work will be among the speakers, musicians, poets and comedians who will inspire and entertain hundreds of thousands of progressive Americans under sunny skies Saturday at Washington’s One Nation rally.

Appearing at the Lincoln Memorial with CWA President Larry Cohen, Xerox/EZ Pass worker Barbara Elliott will describe her company’s vicious campaign against employees fighting for bargaining rights at their call center in New York. Eighteen of Elliott’s co-workers also are making the trip.

Like Cohen and Elliott, One Nation speakers will appear in pairs. Five pairs will get brief slots each hour from noon to 4 p.m., with music and entertainment in between.

Members of CWA Local 2222 leaflet D.C. residents about the big One Nation Rally. From left: Tim Firebaugh, Don Lewis, Al Hadid Rollins and Tracey Duffin.

CWA will have 10,000 people at the rally, with 154 buses bringing members from a dozen states. More than 400 progressive groups are sending people, from the NAACP and the Sierra Club to churches and student organizations. MSNBC’s Ed Schultz has heavily promoted the rally and had Cohen as a guest on his show Wednesday. Click HERE to watch the clip.

Forecasters promise perfect weather: sunshine and comfortable temperatures in the mid- to upper-60s.

Call the Local at: 212-633-2666 to reserve a seat on the bus.

Eight days to go! CWA is counting down to the Oct. 2 One Nation Working Together rally in Washington, where thousands of CWAers will gather at the Lincoln Memorial with hundreds of thousands of others to call for good jobs, bargaining rights, government that works and other issues critical to working families.

Why are CWA members making the trek to Washington? Kenneth Landau and his wife, both Local 1040 members, are coming despite health problems. “This rally is too important to miss,” Landau said. “This country was founded by and built by working men and women who risked all for a better life. It is time that the politicians learned to honor the hard laborers of the past and respect the hard laborers of today.”

Corporate greed is Kevin Eizmann’s reason. A victim of Verizon layoffs, Eizmann, from Albany, N.Y., says CWA is fighting hard to get him back to work. But such greed “is being repeated at companies all over this country. I am going on the bus to let our politicians know that I am mad as hell at their catering to the rich and corporate interests while the rest of the working class gets abused.”

One Nation Working Together is a coalition of more than 200 unions and progressive groups fighting for real change. Learn more online at www.cwa-union.org/onenation and www.onenationworkingtogether.org.

Call the Local 212-633-2666 to reserve a seat on the bus.

For years, China has been spitting at American manufacturers and workers, running up our trade deficit and making it impossible for American manufacturers to compete. By manipulating the value of their currency to illegally subsidize their export industries, China is killing U.S. industry and destroying U.S. Jobs.

Some members of Congress are ready to take action to stop China’s rogue behavior.  Make sure your member of Congress is one of them:

Take Action Here!

Earlier this year, the Obama Administration took the high road, politely asking the Asian giant to allow its currency value to float up naturally on international markets. They said they would. They did not.   

Bipartisan groups of lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate have proposed legislation that would force the U.S. Treasury Department to even the score and to call China out for what it is: a currency manipulator and an international outlaw.

Congress will begin debating this legislation today. Make sure your member of Congress knows that you think it is time to pass the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act and let American manufacturing compete on a level playing field.

Click here to let Congress know what you want!

CWA’s COPE contest is challenging locals to take on the frontrunners: District 4, with the most new contributors and greatest number of members increasing their donations, and District 6, with the highest amount of money raised, so far.

“We’re doing great but we can do even better,” said CWA Executive Vice President Annie Hill. “This is a perfect time for local activists to talk to members about COPE because we’re already talking to them about the critical midterm elections.”

New COPE contributors and those who increase their contributions by $1 a week or more are eligible for District/Sector drawings that will give away a trip for two to Las Vegas, including airfare and two nights’ accommodation. Everyone who signs up or increases his or her contribution by at least $1 a week will receive CWA’s cool COPE t-shirt.

Who’s leading right now? Local 4900, and not far behind, Locals 6215, 2001 and 1168.

Hill called on all CWAers to “use the next 50 days to ask as many members as possible to contribute or increase their contributions to COPE or Flight PAC. Let’s really focus on doubling our efforts and doubling our results. I know together we can make a big difference.” The deadline to submit cards is Oct. 26.

Today’s the day that important health care reform changes begin to be put in place, under the legislation signed by President Obama six months ago.

There’s no question that health care reform will result in peace of mind and big improvements for all working people, whether we’re workers covered by insured plans or self-insured plans, whether we’re facing the threat of layoff, whether we have adult children who don’t have a job but need health care, or whether are retired.

For new plans, (those set up after March 23, 2010) changes will take place immediately. For plans already in effect, changes will take effect as of the first plan year beginning after September 23, 2010. For many CWA members covered by employer-sponsored plans that operate on a calendar year basis, the effective date will likely be Jan. 1, 2011 for some of these immediate changes. These changes apply to plans covering active employees.

Some of the big improvements taking place soon:

• Children and dependents can continue health care coverage under a parent’s plan until age 26. Dependents don’t have to be students, they don’t have to live at home, and they even can be married and still be eligible for health care under a parent’s plan if it offers dependent coverage.
• Insurance companies can’t exclude children from health care coverage because of pre-existing health conditions.
• Insurance companies can’t drop health care coverage because they discover some “technical mistake” on a person’s application. This was one way insurance companies used to deny claims and stop paying the bills of long time customers who needed cancer treatment, for example, or other costly care. Now that’s illegal.
• Dollar limits on lifetime coverage will be eliminated. This includes coverage of essential health benefits like emergency care, maternity and newborn care, hospitalization and more. In addition, annual dollar limits on coverage will be phased out over the next few years and must be completely eliminated by Jan. 1, 2014.
• New preventive services and screenings are to be covered without deductibles or copayments in order to encourage utilization of those important wellness services. For retirees, Medicare will cover preventive care and screenings with no deductibles and no co-pays, beginning Jan. 1, 2011.

Want to know more? Check out this presentation by the CWA Research Dept.

Just 16 days ’til hundreds of thousands of union members and progressive activists fill the mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial for the One Nation rally.

No question, CWAers are getting on the bus, on 140 buses, actually and are traveling from the Midwest, New Jersey and New York, and up and down the East Coast to rally for jobs and working families with our allies.

Our voices will be loud and strong and can’t be ignored. Check out www.cwa-union.org/onenation and www.onenationworkingtogether.org/.

CWA activists also have been organizing events in other locations, including Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif, where an Oct. 2 rally will focus on workers with stories to tell: the tough search for a good job, the hardship of losing a home to foreclosure, a lack of healthcare, returning home from Afghanistan, and more.

In Austin, members of CWA Local 6186, the Texas State Employees Union, will rally around the One Nation banner on Oct. 1, at TSEU’s general assembly.

Call the Local (212-633-2666) to reserve a seat on the bus.

Don’t Miss The Bus For Historic ‘One Nation’ Rally In Washington!

More than three months after walking out, the 300-plus workers at Mott’s upstate New York applesauce plant declared victory after ratifying a new contract Monday. The workers will return to work on Monday, Sept. 20, on what would have been the 121st day of the strike (Mott’s Strikers Take A Stand For American Blue-Collar Workers 7/6 UC). The members of Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union/UFCW (RWDSU/UFCW) Local 220 walked out on May 23 after earlier rejecting a concessions-laden contract from Mott’s, a subsidiary of the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group food and drink conglomerate, which made a $550 million profit last year. The new contract restores wage levels and continues the defined-benefit pension plan. “The RWDSU members at Mott’s have a message for working people everywhere,” said RWDSU President Stuart Applebaum, “Stand up for what you believe in, and stay united.” – James Parks, AFL-CIO Now blog; photo: Mott’s workers are seen on the picket line in July; photo by Chris Garlock

By Neal Tepel

Nine years after the September 11th attacks, the long-delayed redevelopment of Ground Zero finally has gained momentum. There are now tangible signs of progress with thousands of tradesmen working on the completion of the World Trade Center buildings. The steel framing of One World Trade Center is now visible. “All you simply have to do is look outside and see what is happening,” Said Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward. “There is long and difficult work ahead, we will look back and say this was the beginning,” Continued Ward. While aspects of the development, including four additional towers and a transit hub won’t be finished until 2014, progress can be seen throughout the 16 acre site. After languishing for years, the project received a financial boost this year. The Durst Organization announced a $100 million equity stake in the $3.2 billion project. The World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan is bounded by Vesey, West, Washington and Fulton streets. Read more…