The unanimous vote by the Federal Communications Commission to reform the Universal Service Fund (USF) is a first step toward bringing the promise of high speed broadband to communities, residents and businesses in rural and underserved areas.

“For five years, the Communications Workers of America’s Speed Matters campaign has been pressing for modernization of the USF, to move it from its successful support for ‘plain old telephone service’ to helping build the 21st century communications systems that are critical to economic and community development, especially in underserved areas. The FCC’s decision will help close the digital divide and help achieve world class broadband in the U.S.,” said CWA President Larry Cohen.

Universal broadband deployment and adoption are not yet a reality in the United States, and some 24 million Americans have no home access to broadband. The United States continues to lag behind other nations in high-speed networks, falling to 15th in the world in broadband adoption and 25th in broadband speed. Despite modest gains in broadband adoption rates this year, the digital divide persists. All Americans must have access to affordable high-speed Internet so they can realize the economic, educational, and social benefits that this 21st century communications network provides.

Following through on our continuing efforts to redirect the union’s resources to where they are most needed in these critical times, the Executive Board is recommending that the position of executive vice president be eliminated, effective at CWA’s 73rd Convention in July.

Cutting the EVP position would put CWA in line with the operating structure of most international unions, with two international officers, and most staff and resources directed by the 13 district, sector and division vice presidents. To do so, convention delegates must approve an amendment to the CWA Constitution.

The Board’s action follows elimination of two vice presidents approved by convention delegates last year: the merger of CWA Districts 2 and 13 and combination of the C & T and Telecommunications sectors effective at the 2011 convention.

Other changes are possible as CWA works with Printing Sector locals to reorganize since Bill Boarman retired last month to accept President Obama’s appointment as head of the Government Printing Office.

Last weekend in Baltimore, local Printing Sector leaders met with CWA President Larry Cohen, Secretary-Treasurer Jeff Rechenbach and District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton to discuss options for reorganizing without filling Boarman’s job at this time. Cohen praised the local leaders for their willingness to accept new responsibilities and financial realities, saying, “They stepped up for this discussion as committed unionists in a devastating time.”

The changes being made in CWA’s leadership structure and organization continue the work started in 2005 with “Ready for the Future.” Now in its sixth year, the plan is helping CWA capture much-needed savings while keeping the focus of the union’s resources and decision-making closer to members.

President Obama’s visit last Friday to an IUE-CWA-represented GE factory in Schenectady, N.Y., left workers optimistic about efforts to create and restore American manufacturing jobs.

In a similar vein to his State of the Union address five days later, the president told Local 81301 members that, “We’re going back to Thomas Edison’s principles. We’re going to build stuff and invent stuff.”

After years of GE outsourcing and plant closures, IUE-CWA President Jim Clark said the company has started to add union jobs at U.S. plants. In Schenectady, for instance, a new $100 million battery plant will employ 350 people, in addition to 1,200 Local 81301 members who build turbines and generators. Currently they are at work on $750 million in exports to India.

“We’ve made some headway,” Clark said. “We’ve got a long way to go, but lately, we’ve had some success bringing back some of the jobs that GE sent offshore when Jack Welch was CEO.”

Obama announced in Schenectady, the birthplace of GE, that he would name current CEO Jeffrey Immelt to chair the new White House Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, news that pleased Clark and 81301 leaders. “The president made it very clear that he wants to grow jobs in this country, he wants to export more than we import, and fortunately our CEO agreed with him,” said Local Business Agent Carmen DePoalo, who got to speak briefly with Obama afterwards.

More than half the president’s audience was made up of 167 members of Local 81301. They were selected by lottery to attend, along with GE managers and community leaders. “I think the thing I enjoyed most was the expression on people’s faces, the excitement that ‘the president of the United States is in our workplace.'” DePoalo said.

The Senate’s failure to adopt meaningful rules changes last week has real consequences for working families and our democracy.

What we saw in the 111th Senate was a shocking manipulation and abuse of rules. Reforms that would help working families, like the Employee Free Choice Act, were never allowed to come up for debate, despite the fact that a majority of senators supported the measure. There were more than 400 bills that passed the House of Representatives that never had a hearing on the Senate floor.

A package of reforms championed by Senators Harkin, Merkley and Udall and strongly supported by CWA would have provided the real change that the American people deserve by restoring debate and deliberation and ending the stalling tactics used to block nominations and keep legislation from full Senate consideration. Without these changes, partisan gridlock will remain the hallmark of the U.S. Senate.

CWA President Larry Cohen said he was proud of CWA’s work with a coalition of nearly 60 progressive organizations, including Common Cause, the Sierra Club, Alliance for Justice and others in support of rules reform.

“It will likely be years before we have a Senate that can pass bargaining and organizing rights legislation under the current rules. No progressive legislation can be passed under these current rules. But we will keep building the coalition, add campaign finance to our democracy agenda and make this a key test for all senate elections in the future.”

CWA commended the efforts of Senators Harkin, Merkley and Udall and pledged to continue to work with them and fight in the 112th Congress for the legislation that working families need.