SEATTLE - Union women from across the country and across the globe gathered in the great Northwest with one goal in mind, to build the labor movement. CLUW's 12th Biennial Convention, held October 9-12, helped women find ways to use their vision, voices and votes to rebuild the labor movement and to elect worker-friendly political candidates in 2004.

CLUW President Gloria Johnson told the Convention's 900 delegates and guests that the best way to build the labor movement is also the easiest. "Talk to union women about what unions are doing and about the economic issues we know they care about," she said.

According to a 2003 AFL-CIO poll, although all net growth in union membership is from women, their attitudes about unions are eroding. "Women don't understand the value of unions or know what unions represent them. They also think that unions speak for women instead of helping women speak for themselves," Johnson explained.

	CLUW President Gloria Johnson presents the Mother Jones Award to Addie Wyatt.

However, CLUW is proof positive that women are empowered through their unions and CLUW. Throughout the Convention, delegates listened to the success stories of CLUW women who have reached new heights. One of those women is United Association of Nurses President Cheryl Johnson. She spoke of her journey from a person who refused to join a union all the way to her present seat on the AFL-CIO Executive Council.

"All along the way, CLUW members have encouraged my activism. They told me 'you have to do this. You have to do that.' It was the support of union women that gave me the confidence and willingness to take on new tasks."

One of CLUW's founding goals, organizing the unorganized remains as relevant as ever and a special program was held to reach out to young women workers. But young or old, legislative policies that can harm working families are on the rise with conservatives controlling both houses of Congress and the White House.

CLUW's Convention was held on the 200th anniversary of the day when Lewis and Clark, led by a woman Sacajawea, first entered what is now Washington state. "Imagine how they felt when they saw the huge mountain passes to climb and the raging rivers to cross. Not unlike those explorers, we too are entering a new frontier and have our own set of obstacles to overcome," Gloria Johnson said.

Chief among those obstacles, according to AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson, is the nation's commander in chief. Chavez-Thompson explained how President Bush has launched numerous attacks on working families including his latest on overtime pay. [Read remarks by AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson.]

To make matters worse, Chavez-Thompson said, "George W. Bush is the only President in my lifetime that has destroyed more jobs than he has created." She talked of the importance of the 2004 election and said. "It is our job to make our voices heard. I want to make the sacrifices we've made count."

The importance of the women's vote was also emphasized by other Convention speakers including US Senator Patty Murray and WA State Attorney-General Christine O. Gregoire.

CLUW's primary focus for the remainder of 2003 and 2004 will be educating and mobilizing voters. Johnson announced that all of the National Executive Board meetings and conferences will be focused on Election 2004.