News

Major Mobilization for a Major Election

Months of preparation, organizing, and political action trainings have all led up to this moment, as hundreds of CWA members throughout District 1 got to work over the past several weeks to make an impact on what we know will be a historic election.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14

Philadelphia, PA: CWA Districts 1 and 2-13 came together in Philadelphia, PA for a massive Labor Walk to knock on union household doors and speak with fellow CWA members and other union members about Kamala Harris for President. We had over 200 members, retirees, and family canvassing throughout West Philadelphia, and knocked on nearly 5,000 doors in conjunction with the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.

CWA Districts 1 and 2-13 canvassing in Philadelphia

“We’ve got a lot at stake,” said CWA District 2-13 Vice President Mike Davis, speaking to the crowd before canvassing began. “We have to turn out the vote for our champion, Kamala Harris. She is a champion for Labor; she’s always been for Labor, and she knows what it is to struggle. She knows what it’s like to fight for the people who are unheard. She gets out there, and she works for us every day.”

“You know what’s at stake,” said CWA Local 1036 President Adam Liebtag to the crowd. “You know that we’re fighting against a SCAB billionaire who’s the kind of boss that we fight against in the workplace every single day. We cannot let this guy get elected. And on the other hand, we have Kamala Harris, we have Tim Walz - people who walk the picket line; people who believe in the same values that we believe in. The choice is CLEAR.”

Rahway, NJ: Several CWA locals teamed up with other NJ unions for a Labor Day of Action for one of our priority endorsed candidates, labor champ Sue Altman, running for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District. After holding a massive rally, members knocked on hundreds of doors to speak with voters about this crucial election and what it would mean to win a pro-worker Congress for NJ’s working families.


 

“Sue has fought to protect the rights of working families,” said Anthony Mitchell, CWA Local 1037 Political Director. “And she will continue to do that when we send her to Washington! There’s a lot at stake in this election. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that this race can help shape the future of our nation.”


 

Buffalo, NY: Members from several Western New York CWA Locals rallied to support labor candidates up and down the ballot, including Rep. Tim Kennedy, who has been a close ally to CWA over the years and was recently elected to Congress in a Special Election over the summer.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18

Members of the CWA Local 1103 Legislative & Political Action Team hosted a People’s Town Hall to bring together members of the Westchester County community as well as elected officials to discuss what’s at stake in this election, and the importance of electing pro-worker candidate Mondaire Jones to Congress in New York’s 17th Congressional District. Panelists also spoke about the significance of New York’s Proposition 1: The Equal Rights Amendment, on the ballot this year.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

A van full of CWAers traveled several hours from Western NY to Erie, PA on September 21st to knock on doors and speak with Pennsylvania voters about Kamala Harris, having dozens of good, positive conversations that will be crucial in helping win the election for working families.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's—

Actually, it is a plane!

Rep. Thomas Kean, Jr., currently representing New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, has a ZERO on CWA's Congressional Scorecard, because he has never once voted with us on any one of our issues, so CWA is part of a coalition of labor and community groups this year standing together to help elect challenger Sue Altman, and call attention to Kean, Jr's ineffective representation and unwillingness to fight for the working families of this state.

On September 22, we flew a banner over Westfield, NJ to let voters know who Rep. Kean, Jr. REALLY stands with - and it's not workers.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

The CWA Local 1101 Retired Members Council devoted their afternoon to writing postcards to fellow CWA Retirees reminding them to vote!

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

CWAers throughout New Jersey turned out in major numbers to canvass in Linden, NJ for Sue Altman for Congress - over 100 members of 1036 and 1037 knocked on 2,600 doors!

Over in Bergen County, CWA Locals 1036, 1037, and 1038 rallied with hundreds of other union members alongside Rep. Andy Kim, running for U.S. Senate in New Jersey, before knocking on doors to talk to voters for candidates up and down the ballot.

TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY PHONEBANKING

CWA members, retirees, and family have been hitting the phones three days per week throughout August and September to call voters in key districts about our endorsed candidates - Tuesdays and Thursdays for Harris/Walz, in conjunction with the PA AFL-CIO, and Wednesdays for Sue Altman in NJ’s 7th Congressional District. Since the start of October, we've also been phonebanking in several key Congressional Districts in New York.

UPCOMING VOLUNTEER EVENTS

Visit cwad1.org/cwavotes to sign up for a volunteer shift!

ELECTION 2024: WHAT'S AT STAKE FOR LABOR


 

Hae-Lin Choi, CWA District 1 Area Director, joined leaders from the NYC Central Labor Council and 32BJ SEIU for a roundtable discussion on the season premier of CUNY TV's City Works.

The discussion touched on how CWA and other union members are feeling about the election, the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, and post-electoral strategies to keep organized labor on the offense.

Check out the full episode here!