Currently, Verizon is building its newest and best technology, FiOS, everywhere but DC. While the company is bringing cutting edge technology, good jobs and quality service to consumers in Montgomery and Fairfax Counties, it’s leaving the District behind. At the same time, the quality of internet and phone service in DC is getting worse each day because Verizon is no longer investing time or money in its existing cables. Verizon is leaving its own workers behind as well, moving jobs out of DC and into areas where Verizon is profiting from FiOS.

Everywhere Verizon installs FiOS, communities gain jobs. Everywhere that Verizon neglects to install FiOS, communities lose jobs. We see booming job markets for technicians in parts of Maryland and Virginia, while the number of technicians who both live and able to work in DC shrinks.

On Sunday, April 27, 2008, CLUW’s Annual "Gloria Johnson Award" luncheon was held at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Gloria Johnson Award is given each year to trade unionists who have "shattered the glass ceiling" by their work and involvement in the labor movement. This year’s recipients (pictured above) were CWA Secretary/Treasurer Barbara Easterling and Susan Holleran, one of the founding members of CLUW. The family of Ms. Holleran, who passed away in 2007, accepted the award on her behalf.

Congratulations to our own Local 2336 Secretary/Treasurer Brenda Savoy (who is also President of the DC Chapter of CLUW) and her committee for a job well done.

May 11-17, 2008 is National Women’s Health Week. This week is a tool to encourage women to make their health a top priority and take steps for a longer, healthier life.

Be a part of the CLUW Team in the fight against Cervical Cancer. "Walk To Beat The Clock DC 2008" on Saturday, May 17^th, 8 a.m. to noon, around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Donation amount is $30.00.

Meet at West Potomac Park (Ohio Dr. between Independence Ave. and West Basin Dr. SW) for the 8 a.m. walk ceremony. For further information contact Brenda Savoy at 202 291-1500.

Tickets are on sale for the annual St. Mary’s Car Raffle. The cost is $5.00 per ticket. The drawings, for five 2008 automobiles, will take place on Saturday, May 17, 2008 at the St. Mary’s Burgundy Room on Route 450 and Ardwick-Ardmore Road in Landover Hills, Md. There will be a drawing every hour beginning at 12 noon.

Anyone interested in purchasing tickets, should contact the Local office on 202 291-1500.

On April 25^th and 26^th Executive Vice President Mike Harris and Steward Valerie Matthews-Monroe attended a Conference and Prayer Breakfast sponsored by Howard University and The KingMaker Foundation. The theme of the conference was "Civil Rights, Civil Duties in the Pursuit of Family, Happiness and Peace." It evokes a time of change, urging young leaders of today to become empowered to take the lead and take this country to a new level.

Indeed, we are living in the time of "the winds of change," where the betterment of humankind can happen in a shorter amount of time. This generation of young African-Americans born in the 21^st century lives in a time when iPods and cell phones are commonplace instruments. From an early age they are technologically savvy and literate. They will hold higher positions than any of their predecessors in American history.

Guests (pictured above) at the conference were prominent civil rights leaders that were friends, and partners in the struggle, of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who strive still today in making Dr. King’s dream a reality. They attended this conference to pass on the efforts and fruits of the Civil Rights Movement to the new emerging young leaders of today. This will mark an era of moving past the struggle for civil rights to an era of the fulfillment of "civil duties."

The Conference concluded on Saturday with a Prayer Breakfast held at the University followed by a Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Service, which was held at the site on the National Mall where a memorial will soon be erected in honor of Dr. King.

CWA’s National Health Care Agreement negotiated with AT&T Mobility will expire on June 30, 2008. This expiration does not change the Health Care Plan benefits during 2008, but it does mean that we must bargain the plan beyond 2008.

Please go to the web address http://www.cwa-union.org/survey/att-healthcare.html and complete the online Health Care Survey by May 9, 2008 (not from a Company computer please).

Your participation will help guide our bargaining committee in the development of proposals and counter proposals that may be necessary during negotiations. Your answers to the survey questions will also help us to identify any problems with the current plan and what is most important to you.

"Orioles vs. Pirates"

Tickets are now on sale at $5.00 per person for the Annual Union Night at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Md. Game time is 7:05 p.m. on Friday, June 13, 2008. There will be a fireworks display after the game.

Tickets will be sold on a first come—first serve basis. To purchase tickets, contact the Local office on 202 291-1500.

This will be a night out at the new union-built stadium to support the Community Services Agency of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO. Game time is 7:35 p.m. on Friday, July 11, 2008—gates open at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets are $10.00 each with $1.00 from each ticket sale going to support the Community Services Agency. To purchase tickets on a first come—first serve basis, contact the Local office on 202 291-1500.