Thanks to State Senate Candidate Justin Wagner's office for sending this press release:
Mohegan Lake, NY – State Senate candidate Justin Wagner formally accepted the endorsement of the Communications Workers of America today at a large rally with CWA Local 1103 members and allies near the Verizon Wireless store on Route 6 in Mohegan Lake, NY. The endorsement is yet another boost to Wagner’s campaign on the heels of an impressive July financial filing. It also comes as Wagner’s opponent, incumbent Republican Senator Greg Ball, is attempting to distance himself from his former, avowedly right-wing image with a surprisingly early television ad buy.
“Working men and women in the Hudson Valley are going to know who’s with them and who’s not this November,” said Joe Mayhew, CWA New York State Political and Legislative Coordinator. “Both on the issues that affect us on the job, and in his common-sense approach to government, Justin Wagner gets it – he knows that the key to a stronger economy is a stronger middle class, with a fair playing field, strong consumer protections, support for employers who play by the rules, and accountability for those who don’t.”
“I’m proud to stand shoulder to shoulder today with the men and women of CWA,” said Wagner. “It’s time for the Hudson Valley to have a senator who stands up for common sense, protects New York’s consumers, and works to keep vital middle-class jobs here in New York.”
“Senator Ball’s friends in the Republican majority have repeatedly refused to act to save customer service jobs here in New York State. We need a senator who thinks of the bottom line for New York’s families and for New York State before he thinks of corporate America’s bottom line, and that’s why we’re with Justin,” said Mayhew.
CWA’s Mayhew also took a shot at Ball’s votes on S. 5769, legislation affecting phone service providers who use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), adding: “When Greg Ball voted to permanently deregulate telephone service delivered through VoIP technology, he voted to put thousands of jobs at risk.”
The bill, pushed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), would exempt telephone service provided through “VoIP” technology from regulation governing telephone providers. In many areas, VoIP may be the primary technology by which telephone service is available, but this legislation would bar the state from ensuring that quality telephone service is available to all New Yorkers at affordable rates, and it would prevent the state from holding providers accountable for unjustified service outages.
ALEC, a radical corporate group known for pushing cookie-cutter pro-corporate initiatives in multiple state legislatures, is also responsible for pushing anti-union “Right to Work” laws, “Stand Your Ground” legislation like the Florida law that hampered prosecution of Trayvon Martin’s killer, and the wave of voter suppression measures that swept through state legislatures across the country this year.
“As our district’s next senator, I will fight back against the outside groups and massive corporations pushing to enrich themselves by buying favorable legislation and slashing or outsourcing middle-class jobs here in New York jobs,” said Wagner. “I know firsthand that a strong middle class is the foundation of robust economy. If we want to jumpstart business in the Hudson Valley and throughout our state, we have to begin by protecting vital jobs and services here in New York.”
Justin Wagner is an attorney and activist from the Hudson Valley running for New York State Senate in the 40th Senate District. He lives in Croton-on-Hudson with his wife and daughter.
Local 1103 is part of the Communications Workers of America. CWA’s District 1 represents more than 175,000 working men and women in New York, New Jersey, New England, and eastern Canada, working in telecommunications, healthcare, media, and several other industries.
