The Re‐election of President Barack Obama

In the last year, we’ve seen the start of a growing movement to take back our country and to end the control of corporations and the wealthy that truly threatens our democracy.

We need elected leaders who support this movement to restore democracy. President Obama is that leader.

Our nation needs to move forward, not backward. We need good jobs, not dollar store jobs, unregulated and 19th century capitalism. We need more progress on health care for all, not efforts to repeal the health care reforms that now are in place. We need leaders who recognize that income inequality and wage declines are serious problems that must be resolved, not “envy,” as presidential candidate Mitt Romney sees it.

President Obama is moving our nation forward, and the Communications Workers of America endorses his re‐election as President of the United States.

Over the past year, the Republican field of candidates, including candidate Romney, made clear their position that when it comes to losing a job, contracting a serious illness, sending a child to college or looking forward to retirement, in today’s United States, working families should be on their own.

This is especially true when it comes to workers’ rights. No Republican candidate stood up for the rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively. All jumped on the right‐to‐work bandwagon, with Mitt Romney calling President Obama’s appointments to the National Labor Relations Board “union stooges.”

On the issues that matter most to working people, President Barack Obama is on our side.

On jobs: Mitt Romney had quite the career heading a venture capital firm that parachuted in to take over companies, take some big profits for Bain Capital and put average Americans out of work. Romney says “I like to fire people.” Given the record of Bain Capital for shutting down companies and putting people out of work, that’s not so surprising.

President Obama has worked to support job creation, through government support to fund jobs for police, teachers and fight fighters, and to hire workers to repair bridges, highways, schools and other critical infrastructure. The Obama administration supports green manufacturing and other new industries, and his support for the auto industry, which Romney opposed, has meant thousands of good‐paying jobs for American workers.

On health care, Romney thinks people should be able to “fire” their insurance companies. This demonstrates a complete lack of understanding about how insurance companies have treated workers and their families: dropping coverage, refusing to provide needed services and refusing

coverage to anyone with a “pre‐existing” condition. President Obama’s health care plan promises initial improvements in our health care system. We need to move forward, not backward.

On workers’ rights: The track record of Romney and the rest of the Republican field is clear: they support anti‐union "right‐to‐work" laws and back efforts in Ohio, Wisconsin and other states to strip public workers of their bargaining rights. Judge Romney by the company he keeps: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who set out to strip CWA public workers of their bargaining rights, is one of Romney’s biggest supporters.

RESOLVED: The Communications Workers of America supports the re‐election of President Barack Obama. We will work to re‐elect him and to elect members of Congress who support the growing movement to restore democracy in the U.S.

RESOLVED: Campaign materials will be provided to locals, and locals are strongly urged to reach out to members and activists through meetings, worksite leaflets, e‐mail, websites, and newsletters.

RESOLVED: CWA activists know what’s at stake in Election 2012, and will work to get our members to the polls on November 6, 2012. The issues in this election are too important for anyone to sit on the sidelines.

Adopted by the CWA Executive Board Jan. 31, 2012