About the UWUA
A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT D. MICHAEL LANGFORD
 Providing Members the Tools to Build the Union
Building a 21st Century Union is the cornerstone of everything we do here at the Utility Workers Union of America. Across the country, from coast to coast, border to border, the UWUA and our local unions are working day and night to power our nation's economy. Our growth and success for the future rests directly with rank-and-file members like you who understand the challenges we face, support our goals and take the initiative to participate in your Union.
The UWUA recently held two very successful Regional Conferences. The turnout at these conferences demonstrates that UWUA members want to get involved and do their part to build a stronger Union. Over 300 members attended the UWUA Region 2-3 and Region 5 Conferences — a record turnout at a time when participation is needed the most. This level of interest was also evident during our Constitutional Convention and accompanying training sessions last summer. Your participation was also very strong at our 2008 Legislative Conference.
I believe the prime reason UWUA members are getting involved as never before is because of one word: commitment. Utility workers recognize that the National Union is committed to working for them, and so members are responding by making a commitment to work more closely with the UWUA. The National Union does not just talk about the problems we face at our jobs and in our industries. We are committed to providing the training, resources and strategies to help resolve problems and advance our agenda. We want to give members the tools to build UWUA pride and power where it matters most — at their worksite and in their local union.
Whether you have been active in the Union for a number of years, or you are relatively new to the UWUA family, you have undoubtedly heard about the challenges facing America's utility industries. Studies point out that during the next five years, we could potentially lose up to half our national workforce through retirements. While this will test our Union, it raises serious issues for our employers and the overall strength and stability of America's infrastructure.
Training the next generation
This is why the UWUA is pressing ahead with skills training. We feel it is vitally important to expand our training programs to address the impending worker shortage. One component of this work is the establishment of a national training trust for the UWUA and our affiliated local unions. We're calling it the Power for America Training Trust. Our goal is to satisfy the manpower needs of the utility industries for both current and future technologies. Funded with assistance from employers, the Trust will provide state-of-the-art training for the entire range of needs in our industries. The UWUA is 100 percent committed to making sure that participants in this training become the safest, highest skilled and most productive utility workers in the world.
The bottom line in all this is that the UWUA understands the challenges ahead, and is taking steps now to meet them. We are determined to promote our members as the foundation of a safe, reliable and effective utility system. The UWUA is proud of who we are, what we stand for, and the skills that our members have to offer our employers and the public. Looking to the future, we remain optimistic that with proper planning and preparation, the challenges facing the industries can, and will, be met with creative solutions to enhance our economic strength and national security.
Organizing for growth and strength
Another way we are looking ahead is by growing our ranks and the strength of our Union through organizing. We recently embarked on a partnership with the AFL-CIO to beef up our capacity to organize and are now developing a strategic plan to leverage our strength to organize new members. In May, the National Union also affiliated with the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO. The DPE is a coalition of unions that collectively represents more than four million professional and technical workers employed in over 300 occupations. It is the largest association of professional and technical workers in the country.
By joining with the DPE, we are sending a powerful message to professional workers everywhere that we are a Union for all the professionals in the utility industries.
Obama will bring people together
Another area in which we are beginning to flex our muscles is in the political arena. The people who get elected to office have a direct and lasting impact on our lives through the kinds of legislation they enact, appointments they make to key Boards and Commissions (such as the NLRB), and on workplace issues such as health and safety and workers' rights. If we elect the right people, then workers, and this country, have a fighting chance to prosper. However, if the wrong people get elected, working families lose big.
This is why, when evaluating the candidates, we really need to look beyond personalities and examine the issues that are most important to us. Where a candidate stands on jobs, health care, pensions, the mortgage crisis, and other pocketbook issues, is important. Our nation's economy is suffering from a lack of presidential leadership. Good paying jobs are disappearing. Health care is in crisis. Pensions are evaporating. The mortgage crisis is growing. And bankruptcies are rising. A lack of leadership got us to where we are today, and this is why I believe our nation – especially working Americans — cannot afford four more years of the Bush agenda in any way, shape, or form.
When you consider where the presidential candidates stand on our issues, the Employee Free Choice Act, health care, right-to-work laws, workplace health and safety, energy, the environment, and education, the clear winner in our book is Senator Barack Obama. That is why the UWUA endorsed Obama for President, and why we encourage our local unions across the country to mobilize their members behind his campaign.
Obama is not just talking about "change" as if this is just another political buzzword to sway voters. Obama's campaign truly is one of historic change. Obama will bring people together behind a set of common goals to build our nation after eight years of divisive politics that have torn us apart. It is not an easy task, but it is one Obama has courageously undertaken because he knows this is what our nation needs to grow and prosper in the 21st Century.
Looking at all the candidates of both political parties, Obama is clearly the winner for working Americans. The Republican nominee is certainly a patriot who served his nation well in military service, but coming on the heels of George W. Bush, he is not the best person to sit in the Oval Office. While no one disputes Senator McCain's military service, we are troubled by his support for the Bush agenda which has brought our economy teetering on the brink of recession; job, health care and pension losses; rising home foreclosures; and skyrocketing gasoline prices.
Senator Obama co-sponsored the Employee Free Choice Act and would sign it into law. Obama believes the principles of democracy should also apply to working men and women on the job.
By contrast, Senator McCain calls EFCA ill conceived and opposes it.
The National AFL-CIO wants to present the incoming president with at least one million signatures supporting EFCA. Please contact your local union leadership for a card to sign and send in.
Take Action: UWUA.net
As election day approaches, I ask all local unions to examine their membership ranks to make sure members are registered to vote. If you are not registered, you can't vote. Historically, UWUA members vote in higher numbers than the national average, and that is something to be proud of. Yet many of our members are still not registered to vote. You can do so by going onto the Take Action section of our website's home page — www.uwua.net. There you can also sign up to become one of our e-activists. We want to have as many of your e-mail addresses as possible so we can build a powerful database of active and retired members who can stay informed and get involved in union events, rallies, political action and other activities.
You have demonstrated your interest in getting involved in union activities. We at the National have heard you and are pushing the wheels of our Union to make that possible.
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