Welcome | Feb 2017
by Rafael Navár, CWA National Political Director
The Modern Day Labor at a Crossroads: Which Side Are You On?
Welcome to Building the Movement, a bi-monthly e-newsletter for CWA Political Activists!
Sisters and brothers of the movement,
Many of you have been in the trenches of the fight for working people for many years now; some of you just joined the fight in the past couple of months. No matter how long you have been struggling for justice and dignity for working people in this country, it is clear that we have some of the biggest and most intense fights in front of us in the coming years. Kentucky and Missouri just became a Right to Work (for less) state and New Hampshire might soon follow. It has never been clearer, never has this question been more relevant to us and all workers, “which side are you on”? Are you on the side of corporate power or worker power? Do you support fair wages? Do you support a job that provides a life of dignity, or a life of poverty and exploitation? Do Black lives Matter, or don’t they? Do we stand up for women’s rights or allow women to be violated at work, at home and in our communities? Which side are you on?
Some of you are Political Boot Camp graduates, and through this training have gotten involved in the political fights of the union. Many of you asked that we continue to provide resources and readings to deepen our analysis and understanding of the current crisis that we are facing as labor. It is clear that we cannot simply educate members around elections affairs, but that we have to mobilize year-round with articles, movies, events, and analysis of lived circumstances that will help inform our members.
That is precisely why we created the CWA Political Activists Newsletter, Building the Movement.
Building the Movement is to meant equip you with more tools to help you engage in key political issues in our community. We want you to make it your own and share the entire newsletter or articles at your worksite or in your neighborhood. You can easily share each article and video on social media and we envision this newsletter as a two-way conversation where you can submit letters and are vocal about what you would like to see in upcoming issues or how you are using it at your worksite.
In our first issue, we are focusing on Labor at the crossroad: The rebirth of the modern day Labor Movement. This first edition is all about the state of labor, and where we need to go from here to rebuild, expand, and refine our movement. I look forward to hearing from you, and again welcome to Building the Movement.
On the Move,
Rafael Navár
CWA National Political Director
Follow @Rafael_Navar
