By Michael Langford, UWUA National President

As we prepare to chart a course for the next four years at our 29th Constitutional Convention, there is a growing sense that the American people have just about reached their limit on how far they are willing to go along with those who seek to roll back the clock to a time when working people did not have the right to join unions and bargain collectively for better pay, hours and working conditions.

A lot of people are saying that attacking workers and cutting such popular programs as Medicare, is not what they voted for in last November’s elections. The right-wing politicians are over reaching and the people are waking up. We saw this in Madison, Wisconsin, when thousands of people occupied the state capitol for days on end to protest Governor Scott Walker’s attempts to take away the collective bargaining rights of state workers. Popular protests against draconian legislation limiting the rights of workers have also taken place in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Florida and elsewhere.

Efforts to recall elected officials who work against the interests of their constituents are gaining steam. Voters in a recent Congressional election in upstate New York chose a Democrat for the first time in years after the Republican nominee came out in favor of privatizing Medicare, a long sought goal of the right-wing and their corporate backers.

War on Workers

Make no mistake, class warfare is being waged by a powerful elite against those of us who go to work every day to earn a living, pay our taxes and send our children off to defend our nation. They want to force us to compete with China, India and other developing nations where people make five dollars a day. They want to take away our pay, health care, pensions, Medicare, Social Security; you name it and they want to take it away. They want to create the “you’re on your own” society. That’s not the America that we know.

This is not just about weakening unions, the only organized force that can stand up to corporations. The attack on our rights, livelihoods and services so many depend on go beyond anything we have ever experenced.

As trade unionists, we have faith in working people to see through the propaganda that’s broadcast into our homes 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The American people have awakened to the ploys of the new crop of conservative politicians. Lead by the labor movement, we are defending the hard fought gains made over the last century and more, and want to pass them on for future generations to enjoy. This awakening hasn’t come a day too soon.

We will celebrate the revival of our movement, address the many difficult issues we face, and decide how best to move forward at our June convention.

As president, my main goal is to get our members involved in the work of the union. We’ve done a good job of that since our last convention. Attendance at regional and sector meetings is up. Our social networking tools are expanding our ability to communicate and dialogue with our members, elected leaders, and staff.

Shaping Our Future

Open communication between, and among, all parts of the union allows us to be proactive as we encourage members to work together to reach our common goal of fair representation at work and in the larger society. We are doing everything we can to make sure that UWUA members are involved and part of the decision making, the organization building, and the direction we are moving.

This is the way we can make a positive difference in the lives of utility workers, our communities and our country.

We are taking charge of our own destiny. Despite a terrible economic climate and employers who are dead set against union organizing, we are negotiating good contracts and adding members to our ranks. This is the bread and butter of our union. That’s why the National Union puts resources into contract campaigns and organizing drives. Despite record profits, utility companies continue to come after our pay and our hard earned health and pension benefits. We are investing our resources in fighting back and I can proudly say that the UWUA is now known as a fighter throughout the industry.

We made organizing a priority at our last convention and, because of a lot of hard work by a number of people, we are having real success in bringing union representation to unorganized workers. We recently won union elections among nuclear technicians in Michigan, municipal utility workers in Florida and Pennsylvania, and electric workers in Massachusetts. A number of other campaigns are ongoing.

We are integrating organizing into everything we do. We are activating member organizers to talk to their co-workers in unorganized departments of their facilities. We envision our Human Rights Committee advisors as part of our organizing, as well as the members of our Young Workers Initiative. We believe that any worker that wants a union should have one, and we’re doing all we can to make that possible.

We are active at every level of government that impacts our working lives. We are at the table when decisions are made that affect the utilities we work for, be it regulatory, health and safety, or training. We function as the eyes and ears of the ratepayers and are recognized for our role in ensuring the public is well represented in regulatory cases.

Building Our Industries

Unfortunately, utilities have become profit-making machines. Despite being regulated for the public good, utilities are now more and more about executive pay, shareholder value and squeezing as much profit out of ratepayers as possible. Meanwhile, our infrastructure is falling apart. This is wrong. It makes no sense. The services we deliver are too important to be left to the drive of CEOs and shareholders for more profit.

As we are expanding our influence, we are raising concerns about the direction our nation’s utilities are heading. We believe that the services we deliver — gas, electric, water — are a human right. Everyone deserves affordable, dependable water, gas and electricity and access to these basic things should not be determined by corporate profit.

To begin to make that possible, we are strong advocates of the need for responsible energy legislation to address climate change. This will help create hundreds of thousands of new manufacturing and utility jobs. With no legislation to guide them, utilities are not investing in the energy of the future. We have an opportunity now to shape our future and we are doing everything to make that happen.

First Responders

In closing, let me reiterate something I have been saying that is now getting some recognition: we are first responders. We are the people on the front lines. We come in on every disaster to cut power, cut water, cut gas, to ensure safety. And we are the last ones to leave. We are proud of the work we do, we look out for each other and the people we serve.

The recognition we are beginning to receive is part of a larger awakening now taking place in communities across the country. People are stepping up and making their voices heard in the streets and at the ballot box. The attacks on utility workers, police, firefighters, and teachers have awakened a slumbering giant, the labor movement. It’s now up to us to set a course for the future that will benefit the many, not just the few.