2010 Proceedings
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Proceedings and Index of the 72nd Annual Convention Communications Workers of America Hilton Washington Hotel Washington, D.C. July 26-27, 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS MONDAY MORNING July 26, 2010 Page Call to Order - Temporary Chair Letha M. Perry, President, CWA Local 2001 1 Invocation - Rev. Dean Snyder, Foundry United Methodist Church, Washington, DC 1 Opening Ceremonies - Presentation of Colors, National Anthems 2 Greetings - Fred D. Mason, Jr., President, Maryland State & Washington, DC, AFL-CIO 2 Welcome Remarks - District 2 Vice President Ron Collins 14 Performance by Si Kahn & Elise Bryant - "Eyes on the Prize" 5 President's Address - CWA President Larry Cohen 5,11 Guest Speaker - Hon. Bill Halter, Arkansas Lieutenant Governor 9 Use of Microphones, Introduction of Parliamentarians and Platform Observers 13 Credentials Committee - Preliminary Report - Marge Kruger, Chair 15 Convention Rules & Hours of Convention 16 Constitution Committee Report: Amendments 1 thru 4 17 Roll Call Results (see Appendix D) 42,82 Recess 42 MONDAY AFTERNOON Call to Order - 43 Constitution Committee Report continued - Amendments 5 & 6 43 Secretary-Treasurer's Report - Jeff Rechenbach; Introduction by Vice President Edward Mooney 50 Guest Speaker - Julius Genachowski, Chair, FCC 55 Finance Committee Report - (see Appendix A) 59 Defense Fund Oversight Committee Report 67 Guest Speaker - Hon. Mark Gaston Pearce, NLRB Member 76 Retired Members' Council Report 79 List of RMC Chapters (see Appendix B) Announcements & Voting Procedures 82 Recess 84 TUESDAY MORNING July 27, 2010 Call to Order - 85 Invocation - Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block, Director, PANIM 85 Recognition of Platform Observers 85 Election Results; Installation of Officers 86 National Committee on Civil Rights & Equity Report 86 Resolutions Committee Report: 72A-10-1 - CWA Supports "One Nation" Movement 99 Guest Speaker - Hon. Luis V. Gutierrez, U.S. Congress, D-Illinois 106 National Women's Committee Report 109 Resolutions Committee Report (cont.) 72A-10-2 - Building Sustainable Communities 115 72A-10-3 - Ready for the Future - Combining Districts 2 & 13 118 72A-10-4 - Renewing Support for Constituency Groups 119 i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Guest Speaker - Congressman Sander M. Levin, Chair, Ways & Means Committee 121 Resolutions Committee Report (cont.) 72A-10-5 - Renegotiate South Korea Trade Agreement 124 72A-10-6 - Senate Procedural Changes Needed to End Legislative Gridlock 126 72A-10-8 - Support Iraqi Labor Rights 128 72A-10-9 - Support the Troops - Bring Them Home 129 72A-10-10 - Public Employee Pension Protection: Stop the Race to the Bottom 132 72A-10-11 - Tear Down the Wall at Verizon 136 72A-10-12 - American Red Cross: Labor Disputes and Blood Safety Problems 137 Pediatric AIDS Foundation Presentation - by Executive Vice President Annie Hill 140 Remarks by: Jake Glaser 140 Awards by Vice President Jim Weitkamp 143 Recess 144 TUESDAY AFTERNOON Call to Order 145 Announcements: Trial Court Representative Elections 145 Raffle Winners 145 Installation of Officers - Arnold Amber, Director, CWA-SCA Canada 145 Organizing Awards - Presented by Vice Presidents Seth Rosen & Pat Friend 146 Remarks by Toni Weinfurter, Delta Airlines 147 President's Annual Award for Organizing Excellence 148 Remarks by Tim Strong, Local 4900 149 Special Award for Union Building 150 Remarks by Vice President Andy Milburn 150 Guest Speakers - Ado Wilhelm, Mobile Communications Divisional Director, ver.di, and Kornelia Dubbel, Works Councilor, Deutsche Telekom Customer Service 152 Resolutions Committee Report (cont.) 72A-10-7 - Support T-Mobile Workers 156 Report of the Next Generation Committee - Introduction by Vice President Clark 158 In Memoriam 163 Appeals Committee Report - Appeals Nos. 1 thru 10 167 Additions to Memorial List 190 Points of Personal Privilege 190 Announcements 193 President's Closing Remarks 194 Adjournment 195 Appendix: A - Finance Committee Report B - List of RMC Chapters C - COPE Honor Locals D - Roll Call Vote Results ii MONDAY MORNING SESSION July 26, 2010 The 72nd Annual Convention of the Communications Workers of America, meeting July 26-27, 2010, at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, DC, convened at 9:00 a.m., Letha M. Perry, President, CWA Local 2001, Temporary Chair, presiding. TEMPORARY CHAIR LETHA M. PERRY (Local 2001): Good morning. Good morning, delegates, retirees, friends, family and allies. Please take your seats. The official clock here in Washington, DC, indicates that it's 9:00 a.m. I ask everyone to please be seated as I call the 72nd Annual Convention of the Communications Workers of America to order. (Applause) We have very important business to take up this week here and on Capitol Hill so again, I ask that everyone be seated so that we can get underway. My name is Letha Perry, and I am President of CWA Local 2001 in Charleston, West Virginia. (Applause) As our Convention theme suggests, these are challenging times for our members and our union. I am very proud of my members who, with other CWA locals in West Virginia, waged a tough fight to protect workers and our communities in the wake of the Verizon sale to Frontier. On behalf of Local 2001 and all of CWA District 2, I welcome you to Washington, DC, and the 72nd Convention of the Communications Workers of America. (Applause) Now it is time to open our Convention as we traditionally do with a prayer. It is my honor to introduce Reverend Dean Snyder, the senior Pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church, just a few blocks from here. Foundry is one of Washington's oldest churches and the spiritual home of a long list of elected leaders, from Abraham Lincoln to Bill Clinton. Please join me in welcoming Reverend Snyder. (Applause) REVEREND DEAN SNYDER (Foundry United Methodist Church, Washington, DC): May we rise for prayer. And as we pray, let us be aware that we, our brothers and sisters, who share a common heavenly parent and who are part of one family on earth, O God, you reside in the space between persons, as the great Rabbi Martin Buber taught us. When persons meet in true communication, you are the place of meeting and knowing and understanding. So we pray your blessing upon the Communications Workers of America. They are priests of your grace through which we meet and connect and understand and love. We pray for all the members of this union; that their work might be fulfilling and satisfying; that the compensation for their work may be fair and generous; and that they may enjoy balanced lives of work and Sabbath. We pray for the officers of this union and all of its locals. We pray for the right of all workers to organize on their own behalf and on behalf of their families. We pray for our government, that it may always be on the side of the people. We pray for communications corporations, that they may treat their employees well and serve the public well. May they do well and reward their workers well. Bless now this 72nd Convention of the Communications Workers of America. Bless all the union business done here. Bless the times of tension so that it may be creative tension. Bless the meetings with legislators on Capitol Hill. Bless the conversations in hallways and bars and cyberspace. And we 1 remember our neighbors who are unemployed, our neighbors who are homeless, our neighbors without access to cell phones or the internet. May the work of this union bless them as well. You, O God, reside in telephone lines and in optic fibers and in air waves and satellite dishes, wherever and however two persons truly meet. Bless, O God, the workers of this union, priests of the holy space of human meeting. Amen. TEMPORARY CHAIR PERRY: Thank you, Reverend Snyder. Please remain standing for the presentation of the Colors followed by the National Anthems of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. This year all flags are carried by CWA members. Presenting the American flag is Dale Waldroff, President of the Anne Arundel Detention Center Officers and Personnel, CWA Local 2911. (Applause and cheers) Luis Rufo, Secretary-Treasurer of CWA Local 30400, will present the Canadian flag. And Rafael Castro Torres, President of CWA Local 3010, will present the Puerto Rican flag. "The Star-Spangled Banner" will be sung by Jeanette Spoor, President of Local 1103's Chapter of Retired Members Council, followed by the Canadian and Puerto Rican anthems. The delegates arose for the posting of the Colors and the singing of the national anthems . (Applause) TEMPORARY CHAIR PERRY: Thank you, Jeanette, and our CWA Honor Guard. Now, let's welcome a great labor leader and activist. Fred Mason has served as President of the Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO for the past nine years. He has been a steelworker, an auto worker, and officer in the Service Employees local here in Washington and, of course, a lifelong activist for economic and social justice. I am pleased to introduce Fred Mason. (Applause) FRED D. MASON, JR. (President, Maryland State and Washington, DC, AFL-CIO): Good morning, CWA members, delegates and friends. And an especially good morning to President Larry Cohen, certainly one of the most dynamic, courageous, and strategic-thinking labor leaders of our time. And I really thank you for the invitation and opportunity to offer remarks at this your 72nd Convention. Welcome to the District of Columbia, the nation's capital, and indeed Labor's capital. I am honored to bring you greetings on behalf of our Secretary-Treasurer Donna Edwards, our Executive Board, and the 350,000 union members that we so proudly represent in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Now, I would be somewhat remiss if I began my remarks without acknowledging my thanks and appreciation for the friendship and the great work of Ron Collins, Jimmy Tarlau, Alfonso Pollard, and Dennis Serrette.