65Th Convention
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Proceedings and Index of the 65th Annual Convention - 2003 Communications Workers of America Navy Pier Chicago, Illinois August 25-26, 2003 MONDAY MORNING SESSION August 25, 2003 The Opening Session of the 65th Annual Convention of the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, meeting at Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois, August 25-26, 2003, convened at 8:30 a.m., Elizabeth Van Der Woude, Executive Vice President, CWA Local 4250, Temporary Chair, presiding. TEMPORARY CHAIR VAN DER WOUDE: Good morning. We have a very busy morning and a full schedule. So at this time, I would like to ask the delegates to please take their seats as soon as possible so we can begin. Good morning. I am Elizabeth Van Der Woude, and I am the executive vice president of CWA Local 4250, right here in Chicago. (Applause) I have the distinct privilege of serving as your Temporary Chairperson as we begin this Convention in the Windy City. On behalf of the officers, members and retirees of District 4, I welcome you to Chicago and the 65th Annual Convention of the Communications Workers of America. As is our custom, we will begin our Convention with a prayer. At this time, I would like to call upon Father Brendan Curran from St. Pius V Church who will deliver our opening invocation. Will the delegates please stand. And after the invocation, please remain standing for the presentation of Colors and the singing of the National Anthem. Now please give Father Curran a warm welcome. (Applause) FATHER BRENDAN CURRAN: We are mindful for the gift of a new day. Let us pause and bow in prayer, and let us call to mind the gift of life on this day. We are gathered here together from myriad states, myriad traditions and cultures. We are thankful to God this day that we stand together in this space, for the opportunity to reconnect one with the other. God, we ask Your blessings on this space for our time together. We ask Your blessings on each of us as we continue to do Your work here on this earth. We are mindful of our limitations at times; we are mindful of our inability to continue to grow and to foster Your presence among us. But we are here nonetheless. Guide our thoughts, guide our comments, guide our actions these days as we gather in convention. We ask You to touch our work, as You do always in all ways with each and every step we take, as we continue to walk that road, as we continue to grow one with the other in this wonderful group that we call union. We ask You to touch us, to touch our hearts, to touch our minds, our thoughts, and our actions as we continue to do Your work, as we look for Your blessing on each of us this day. We ask this as we do all things, in the name of the God who created each and every one of us in God’s very own image, Amen. TEMPORARY CHAIR VAN DER WOUDE: Thanks, Father Curran. Please remain standing as we prepare for the presentation of Colors and the singing of the National Anthem. The Colors this morning will be presented by the Chicago International Association of Fire Fighters Honor Guard, Local No. 2. The Pipes and Drums Emerald Society of the Chicago Police Department will provide the escort for the Colors. Laura Lynn Misener, Secretary-Treasurer, CWA Local 4252, will be singing the National Anthem of the United States; Debbie Thomas, Executive Secretary of The Newspaper Guild- CWA, will sing the National Anthem of Canada; and the National Anthem of Puerto Rico will be sung by John Concepcion, a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists, who is currently engaged with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. I want to remind the delegates to please remain standing until the Color Guard has left the hall. We will now have the presentation of Colors and the National Anthems of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. ... The delegates arose as the Colors were presented by the Honor Guard of IAFF Local 2, escorted by the Pipes and Drums of the Chicago Police Department Emerald Society, followed by the singing of the "Star-Spangled Banner" by Laura Lynn Misener, Secretary-Treasurer, CWA Local 4252; "O Canada" by Debbie Thomas, Executive Secretary, TNG-CWA; and the National Anthem of Puerto Rico by John Concepcion of the American Guild of Musical Artists ... (Applause) TEMPORARY CHAIR VAN DER WOUDE: Welcome to Chicago. I want to thank the Color Guard, the Emerald Society, and our singers for their wonderful renditions. Please give them another round of applause. (Applause) Before we get down to the real work of the Convention, I want to take just a moment and officially welcome you to Chicago and District 4. Frank Sinatra once sang, “Chicago is my kind of town.” As you are no doubt discovering, Chicago is without question one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Chicago is a hard-working city. Chicago is a labor city. When you go out onto the pier and look back at the Chicago skyline, I want you to know it is 100 percent union built. (Applause) Chicago has had its share of writing labor’s history, controversies and strikes, the Haymarket affair, the Pullman strike, the Eastman tragedy and the Republic Steel Memorial Day massacre just to name a few. If we are to learn from past history, we have learned that if we stand together in solidarity we can face any obstacle put before us. We stand together when we go to the bargaining table. We stand together when we organize. We stand together when we fight corporations that out-source our work to foreign countries. We stand together when we vote to elect political candidates with the interests of hard working union men and women in mind. We stand together for Jobs with Justice. We stand together wall-to-wall. We stand together because we understand an injury to one is an injury to all. This, fellow delegates, is the true meaning of solidarity. It’s a bond that requires no verbal communication. It’s a trust which requires no written agreement – just an understanding that comes from deep within each and every one of us. When we stand together, it is a sign of our solidarity which is indisputable, and one that will last forever. We are proud to be your host for this Convention. Many hours of work and planning have gone into our efforts to make this Convention enjoyable for our delegates, our retirees, our alternates, and our guests. Although I serve as the Chair of the District 4 Host Committee, the work was not done solely by me. At this time, I would like to recognize the members of the District 4 Host Committee who have been working for months to ensure the success of this Convention. Will the delegates, retirees and volunteers please stand when your local is called? ... As each member of the Host Committee was introduced, the delegates responded with a single clap of recognition... TEMPORARY CHAIR VAN DER WOUDE: First and foremost, my favorite President from Local 4250, Steve Tisza; Local 14408, Steve Berman, President; and my number one Typographical man, George Zaucha, Secretary-Treasurer; Local 4217, Bryon Capper, President; Local 4215, Joanna Gerrib, President; and Heather Cunningham, Vice President; Local 4998, Dan Danaher, President; and Lee Thomsen, Vice President; Local 4202, Gayle Gray, President; Local 14434, Joe Kelly, President; Local 4260, John Lukasik, President; and Chip Stevenson, Treasurer; Local 14430, Bob Maida, President, and Phil Terran, Secretary-Treasurer; Local 4290, Dennis Woods, President; and Paul Mandrik, Vice President; Local 34071, Jerry Minkkinen, Executive Director of the Guild; Local 4252, LaNell Piercy, President; and Angel Minnick, Vice President; Local 4214, Betty Moore, President; and Local 54041, Ray Taylor, President. And last, but not least, Jerry Schaeff, CWA District 4 Staff Representative. Thank you, Jerry, for doing your job right. Our next speaker is Dennis Gannon, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor and Industrial Union Council, AFL-CIO. The history of the Chicago Federation of Labor dates back over 100 years. The CFL is the central labor body for over 300 unions whose membership exceeds 500,000. One of the first unions established in Chicago was Typographical Local 16, now CWA Local 14408, which received its charter in 1852. Dennis Gannon currently serves as president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, a position he has held since May of 2002. Please give a warm welcome to the President of the Chicago Federation of Labor, Dennis Gannon. DENNIS GANNON (President, Chicago Federation of Labor and Industrial Union Council, AFL-CIO): Thank you and good morning. I would like to welcome you on behalf of our Executive Board and the 500,000 working men and women of Chicago who belong to the Chicago Federation of Labor. Behind me is Margaret Blackshere, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, and I am proud to say that we work in conjunction with each other on politics linking to organizing. When you look around this building, everything in this building was built 100 percent union. (Applause) When you look around this building, the workers that work inside this building are 100 percent union. (Applause) But it didn’t come easy. It didn’t happen by accident. And it was not a mistake. When they came to the State legislators to reinvent Navy Pier and McCormick Place and looked for $900 million to build these structures, labor was there.