Talking the Talk, Walking the Walk

We set an ambitious course of action at our last Constitutional Convention four years ago. And I am proud to say that we have stayed the course and exceeded many of our expectations, even during these tumultuous economic and political times. Despite the never-ending corporate attack on working people – as if workers are responsible for putting our country and the world at risk of a complete meltdown – the Utility Workers are holding our own, negotiating and vigorously enforcing good contracts, organizing new members, playing a much bigger role in politics, preparing the future workforce, and laying the foundation for growth. Utility Workers produce and deliver the resources which are the bedrock of our neighborhoods, offices, hospitals, factories, stores and businesses. Because of our unique position delivering the resources, people listen to what we have to say when it comes to jobs, utilities and the environment. Over the last four years, we have tapped into this strength; and we are seeing significant results from the bold course we set for ourselves.

Strengthening our Locals
We are investing the UWUA’s resources as never before to support our Locals and their members in their battles against corporate aggression. We have developed the capacity to fight back in coordinated and strategic ways not only to defend our gains, but also to grow our density in core industries.

Our ability to take on employers, from municipalities to multinationals, is increasing. And we are winning: SoCal Gas, Covanta, Vectren, and Lakeland are just some of our employers who mounted ruthless campaigns against our members, and lost. The strength of our union is the ability of UWUA locals to bargain good contracts and represent members. That is at the core of what we do, and we will never lose sight of that mission.

Becoming a National Player
In 2007, we said we would need a seat at every table where decisions are being made that affect our members, our industries and our issues. We want to ensure that whatever policies are adopted and whatever laws are passed that impact our members bear the mark of the UWUA. As president of the UWUA, I was elected to the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO, and I am the Vice Chair of the AFL-CIO’s Strategic Approaches Committee. This is an historic first for the UWUA which allows us to play a significant role in the policymaking decisions of our nation’s largest labor federation and which gives the UWUA additional clout in our campaigns against anti-union corporations.

Our bigger profile and better clout go hand-in-hand with our efforts to develop a vibrant and powerful voice in local and national politics. The UWUA was a major force in every battleground state in the national elections in 2008 and again in 2010. And we will need to be a major political voice again in 2012.

Today, the UWUA also reaches into every federal and state agency that impact our industries and the working lives of our members: the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Labor, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Commerce, and state Public Utility Commissions around the country. We now have greater input than ever before in the regulatory decisions that shape our future.

Building on our Name
Four years ago we adopted a motto that defines who we are: UWUA members are the best trained, highest skilled, safest and most productive utility workers in the world. We are living up to that motto. At this year’s convention, we’ll be taking that theme to the next level. Utility workers are first responders. We are the people who make sure that reliable water, gas and electricity are there for our communities. We are on site before, during, and after every natural and man-made emergency and disaster. And we make sure that the power stays on after the headlines disappear. Our jobs are more challenging than ever. Corporate America has put profits ahead of the needs of communities that depend on utilities and the workers who provide them. As a result, our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling. It is up to us, as Utility Workers, to represent the interests of the public when it comes to the maintenance, operation and safety of our nation’s utilities.

We accept and embrace this responsibility.

We are first responders.

Training and Retooling the Workforce
To ensure that jobs in the utility industries continue to be good jobs that provide decent wages and benefits and a safe workplace, we are closely involved with training and recruitment. As our membership ages and our industries change and new technologies emerge, the UWUA is making sure that our current and future members are prepared to operate and maintain the utilities of the future.

Through our public-private partnerships, the UWUA is putting in place our commitment to train the workforce of the future and to build a culture of diversity at every level. We have established the UWUA Power for America Training Trust (P4A) to partner with industry leaders and educational institutions in order to create careers and provide on-the-job training and continuous skills enhancements.

Our success as a union depends on our ability to innovate. That requires us to listen to ideas percolating from every member and every corner of our industries. In June 2009, we sponsored the first P4A Conference to do just that. Hundreds attended to participate in workshops that tapped into our talented membership. They also heard from a number of prominent labor and government experts, including Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.

Organizing Global Industries
The quality of jobs in the utility industries is dependent upon our ability to protect the gains we have made and to continue to organize new members. Even in this time of incredible corporate aggression, the UWUA has been successful in organizing for greater strength. While our nation suffers from an under 12% unionized workforce, 34% of utility workers are organized. We must continue to build on our industry density.

Organizing requires solidarity between locals, between unions, across regions, and with communities and groups that share our core values. To that end, we are now participating more in global labor federations, such as the International Federations of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Union (ICEM) and Public Services International (PSI). We have also become an active player in the BlueGreen Alliance – a strategic alliance of labor unions and environmental organizations with over 14 million members who are dedicated to expanding the number and quality of jobs in the green economy.

We have worked hard on building relationships inside and outside the UWUA and reached across borders to leverage our organizing efforts.

As recent events in the Arab world show, communication is key to organizing. That is why we have been using every form of communication that is available today. We expanded our website, launched an interactive forum, utilitze Facebook and Twitter, and now distribute a weekly E-News to every UWUA member who has furnished an e-mail address — 15,000 and growing. Covanta, Allegheny, and Lakeland are a few of our recent organizing victories that required acts of solidarity at every level and relied on our ability to communicate. At our 29th Convention we will celebrate our victories and continue to build on the groundwork we have laid for future success.

Four years ago, we mapped a course of action between our Constitutional Conventions. It was an ambitious course designed to guide us through today’s challenges. I am happy to report that we are on course and well prepared for Shaping Our Future and Building Our Industries.

In Solidarity,

D. Michael Langford
UWUA National President

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