Proceedings and Index of the 59th Annual Convention - 1997 MONDAY MORNING SESSION June 30, 1997 The Opening Session of the 59th Annual Convention of the Communications Workers of America, held in the Convention Center of the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, June 30-July 1, 1997, convened at nine o'clock, a.m., Temporary Chair Val Afanasiev, Executive Vice President, Local 9423, presiding. Prior to the Official Opening of the Convention, the delegates were shown a dynamic video depicting the unity of the workers at various solidarity rallies across the U.S. TEMPORARY CHAIR AFANASIEV: We have a very full agenda this morning, so I want to ask all of you to take your seats at this time, please. Will all of the delegates please take their seats. Will the delegates take their seats and please clear the center aisle. The 59th Annual Convention of the Communications Workers of America now comes to order. Good morning. The delegates responded with "Good morning" . TEMPORARY CHAIR AFANASIEV: Welcome to Las Vegas and District 9. My name is Val Afanasiev and I am Executive Vice President of Local 9423 and President of the Northern California/Nevada Council. I have the honor of serving as your Temporary Chair for this morning. Some of you may recognize me from the previous two conventions that were held in District 9, where I also served as Temporary Chair. It is a great pleasure to once again open our Convention. As is our custom, we will begin our convention with a prayer. I would like to call upon Reverend Father Daniel Reardon of the Guardian Angel Cathedral to lead us in the invocation. For our District 4 delegates, Father Reardon is proud to note that as a member of an Irish Catholic family from Chicago, he was baptized Roman Catholic, Democrat, and Cub fan in one single ceremony. (Laughter) Will the delegates please rise. REVEREND FATHER DANIEL REARDON (Guardian Angel Cathedral, Las Vegas, Nevada): Let us be silent, and make ourselves aware of the living presence of our God in our midst. Wonderful Creator of all the Universe, You who exist beyond time and space, from the first second of time You began to interact with Your creation. You drew order from the chaos of created matter and energy. The patterns of existence we have come to recognize as the laws of time and motion evolved under Your loving care, blessed with Your gift of freedom, the freedom that allows order and chaos to co- exist. From this dynamic interaction came forth this planet that we now call our earth. And on this earth, You called forth in the same gift of freedom the mystery we call life. And from the first instant of life's beginning You entered fully into the process of communication with Your living creatures. In the course of time, one species emerged which faintly received Your communication and feebly responded or attempted to respond. These feeble efforts and attempts have marked the significance ofour very being, and have given meaning to our human lives. Today, we, the members of this species, after eons of painful change, have begun to know that discovery of our mystery is hopelessly beyond us if we do not seek You in each other. The men and women assembled here are dedicated to the practical art of communication, the only way we human beings hope to come to know, understand and ultimately love one another. We are just beginning to grasp that this is the essential way for communication with You, for in our love, we come to know You. O God, Who loves Your creation, we call upon You today to be present with this assembly in all its deliberations. The work these men and women engage in today is multifaceted. We ask You, therefore, to bless them with Your wisdom. May they discern that the communication between human beings serves Your purpose directly, and today more effectively than any other time in history. May the men and women of this union see in all it does today and always the guiding presence of Your reality. Hear us, O Lord, our God, and bless us this day. Amen. TEMPORARY CHAIR AFANASIEV: Thank you, Father Reardon. Please remain standing as we prepare for the presentation of the Colors and the singing of the U.S. and Canadian National Anthems. Donna Ludolph, secretary of the Printing, Publishing and Media Workers Sector, will lead us in singing The Star Spangled Banner and O Canada. Our Colors this morning will be presented by the Boy Scouts of America, Boulder Dam Area Council. We will now have the presentation of the Colors and the national anthems. I would remind the delegates to remain standing until the colors are retired. The delegates arose as the Colors were presented and they were led in the singing of the National Anthems by Sister Donna Ludolph . TEMPORARY CHAIR AFANASIEV: Please remain standing until the Color Guard leaves the hall. Let's give a big round of applause for the Boy Scouts and to Donna for doing a great job this morning. The delegates applauded as the Colors were retired . TEMPORARY CHAIR AFANASIEV: Thank you. The delegates may now be seated. A great deal of planning and hard work have gone into making this convention enjoyable and productive. In a moment we will recognize the members of the District 9 Host Committee. But I want to remind you that the Host Committee will be available throughout the week to answer your questions and to make sure your stay in Las Vegas is as pleasant as possible. Now it is my pleasure to present to you the leader of District 9, Vice President Tony Bixler. Tony was elected Vice President of District 9 at our convention in Detroit last year. He has been a member of CWA for 34 years and has served as an officer of Local 9400 since 1968. He was president of Local 9400 for nearly 20 years until his election to District 9 Vice President. Join me in welcoming the Vice President of District 9, Tony Bixler. (Prolonged applause) VICE PRESIDENT TONY BIXLER (District 9): On behalf of all the members, locals and staff, I welcome you to District 9. The convention Host Committee has worked diligently to ensure that your stay here in Las Vegas is both productive and enjoyable. Please join me in extending a warm CWA thank you to the Host Committee. As each member of the Host Committee was introduced, as follows, the delegation responded with a single clap of recognition . VICE PRESIDENT BIXLER: Rose Bernal (Local 9588); Jim Shultz (Local 9408); Barbara Welling (Local 9413); Carol Whichard (Local 9411 ); Ellen West (District 9). It is a great honor and privilege to introduce an individual who is not only one of the great CWA Presidents, but who is also one of the most influential labor leaders in America and in the world today. Some of you may ask: Why is CWA involved in global affairs? Who cares? A quien le imports. The answer is that we, our members, live in a global economy. This is a time when not only does capital flow out of the United States, but our members' jobs can leave just as easily. Who is to stop a company from relocating our work to other countries, countries that pay low wages, no benefits, no pensions? The answer is us, you and 1. Each and every one of our members when we support the work that our union and our President, Morty Bahr, has done, is doing and will continue to do, to protect our jobs by helping workers in other countries develop strong, independent and free unions that will raise their standards of living. Morty has created an international strategy for CWA built on joint actions with unions from many countries from all parts of the world, establishing worker-to-worker exchanges to help one another understand how we can assist each other in organizing and collective bargaining. With Morty, it is no longer Quo Vadis but Jacta Est Alea. The most recent breakthrough that Morty guided into reality is the Atlantic Alliance with the unions in Great Britain. This Alliance, which we will be acting on at this convention, will help all of us as we fight the global giants like British Telecom/MCI. This historic alliance is unprecedented in labor union history. Under Morty's leadership, CWA has become a significant international force that is recognized all over the world. An example of Morty's influence is the fact that he was the only labor leader who was a member of the U.S. delegation to the G-7 telecommunications meeting last year. In February, Vice President Gore asked Morty to accompany him to a meeting of South Africa's trade union leaders. Morty was the sole labor representative on President Clinton's Pacific Basin trade panel. CWA filed the MaxiSwitch case under the NAFTA labor accords which paved the way for truly independent unions in Mexico. Morty is a Union Builder and a visionary. He is an idealist who believes that our fight is still about basic human dignity, a living wage, job security, benefits, a decent pension. Whether it's a fight to organize Latino truck drivers in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, or to save the jobs of state welfare workers, or to take on the giant corporate media bullies in Detroit, Morty is always in the vanguard of the battle. He brings to the presidency of our great union personal prestige, enormous political influence and the huge respect of all who know and work with him.