America's Second
Bill of Rights

Pressing DirecTV to respect workers

Ind. refinery puts hundreds to work

With carmakers' renaissance, IBEW jobs

Verizon layoffs hit
members

AT&T agreement
extended

North of 49°
Flash Mobs and YouTube:
Creative Tactics Win
Fair Contract for
Manitoba Local

Au nord du 49° parallèle
Les mobilisations éclairs et You Tube : des tactiques créatives qui ont contribué à la négociation d'une convention collective équitable pour une section locale du Manitoba

As our calendars begin their countdown to fall, the blistering heat of summer will be matched by its political equivalent as the contest for the U.S. presidency and control of Congress enters its final stage.

The Republican Party holds its convention in Tampa, Fla., on August 27. Democrats will convene in Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 3.

After Labor Day, millions of Americans will begin paying closer attention to how candidates for office would address not just the immediate problems facing the U.S. economy, but the future of our society.

Once again, thousands of IBEW members will proudly contribute to our nation's democracy by participating in grassroots, on-the-job, door-to-door, neighbor-to-neighbor campaigns for candidates who we feel best represent our interests.

Tradition has its place. But this year — before we kick off our campaigning — the IBEW, along with dozens of other unions and thousands of our allies, will gather in Philadelphia to send a powerful message to both political parties, to our friends and adversaries alike.

There, on Aug. 11, in the city that gave birth to the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the words "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," we will take a stand for restoring our nation's most basic values.

We will call public and media attention to how our politics, society and economy have become skewed beyond recognition — geared almost entirely to the well-being of the top 1 percent while everyone else, especially the people who work, is left behind.

Despite our collective disgust at this situation, Aug. 11 in Philadelphia is not a protest. Nor is it an alternate political convention.

We are gathering to assert the values and the opportunities that Americans have fought for over generations — on foreign battlefields, in our workplaces and in our communities.

Workers and our families already know we have nothing in common with elite Wall Street bankers who have gambled with our nation's economy. Neither are we on the same side with corporate CEOs who have bankrupted companies and outsourced good-paying jobs, or politicians who seek to destroy our unions and collective bargaining.

Time to Change the Conversation

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Mary Harrigan

Thanks for the Assist;
Party of the 1 Percent?;
Calling All Republicans

May 2012

IBEW Instructor Helps Give Disadvantaged Workers New Lease on Life