Steve Zeltzer for PMWG President
Steve Zeltzer Statement For PMWG President – Make Your Vote Count
Time To Prepare For Fascism & A General Strike
Solidarity Has No Borders!
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I have been a member of our local for more than 6 years and was the past chair of our Human Rights committee. I produce labor media on the show WorkWeek on KPOO in San Francisco and on the Pacifica Network Capitalism Race and Democracy.
I also produce video documentaries about working people including covering this local, the Newsguild and CWA.
I am running for president because I believe we face an existential crisis as journalists and not only in our local, but in the NG, the CWA and all of labor. This crisis affects not only journalists, but it impacts the entire working class as well and has to be responded to by independent political activity. The shutdown of the NLRB, the Labor Board, OSHA and other agencies will have a serious effect for our members and organizing efforts.
AI is already being used to eliminate our jobs and there is a growing threat from our fascist government against journalists, immigrants and all working people with the militarization of cities and brutal attacks on immigrants and workers throughout the country.
Our local, the NG and CWA also need to take a strong position against the use of troops in the militarization of our cities with the use of national guard and raids by ICE and other fascist forces of immigrants and working people.
This is absolutely part of Trump’s game plan to impose martial law and prevent a mid-term election.
The Trump government is also rapidly moving to attack non-profits where our members work for online news and information journals. This agenda is also part of Project 2025 which our members need to be educated about. We need regular educational panels locally and nationally on Project 2025 and how to fight it.
When president Trump called journalists “scum” there was a clear connection between the language of the fascists in Germany and the language of Trump and the techno fascists in the US.
I support the call of AFA-CWA president Sara Nelson for a general strike. We need to educate our members and the public about why this action is necessary to defend unions, working people and the public. The open racist, xenophobic, attacks as well as the attacks on LBGTQ people in this country is a threat to all of us..
At our last convention, the CWA called for our members and locals to embed DEI into our contracts so it cannot be removed by the management of companies we work for. Not only was this not reported to the members of the local by the present leadership but the past president actually dissolved the Human Rights committee which I will re-establish if I am elected.
DEI & The Fight Against Systemic Racism At CWA 2025
https://youtu.be/cbhVp4eEEHM
At the last meeting I proposed that it be re-established and link up with other unionists to build a united effort so our efforts will not be isolated.
I also support linking up with other CWA locals and having an annual conference of CWA members and locals in California. We need more solidarity with our brothers and sisters in other locals. The victory of brothers and sisters at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette came about in large part because of solidarity by the NG, CWA and locals around the country. I interviewed their members at the convention and worked to bring a striker out to the bay area and build a rally of all CWA and other trade unionists to get support for their struggle. This was opposed by the Local leadership. During the Detroit Newspaper strike I helped bring a striker to the Bay Area and we raised support and funds.
As journalists and workers, we must publicly stand up with our brothers and sisters in Palestine. Over 250 Palestinian journalists and their families have been murdered with the support of the US. Our local leadership, without a vote, shut down a motion to introduce a resolution to support Palestinian journalists and against the genocide with one of our leaders calling it too “controversial”. We need to invite Palestinian journalists to PMWG and NewsGuild forums and educate our members about their struggles and issues. Other journalist unions around the world are building real solidarity with our brother and sister journalists in Palestine and we need to do the same.
I also believe the NG, CWA and AFL-CIO need to break relations with the Israeli corporate trade union Histadrut which has discriminated against Palestinians and also is supporting the IDF in Gaza.
The idea that opposing genocide because it is controversial is not only absurd, but it is an idea that should not govern our union or any union. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!
Our union local, NG & CWA should also oppose the continued US government funding of the “Solidarity Center”. This has never been reported to our union about its operations and what it is doing. It has also received over $1 billion from the US government. When our unions refuse to recognize the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the pogroms in the West Bank we have to ask is it because the Solidarity Center has become an appendage of the US government? One important new work on this issue is by Professor Jeff Schuhrke called No Neutrals There, US Labor, Zionism, and the Struggle For Palestine.
One of the key issues for our members is our collapsing healthcare system. The shutdown of medicaid and the elimination of subsidies will throw over 17 million people off healthcare. More of our wages are going to insurance companies and this is escalating. In response to this calamity, I made a motion in our local that we support the national single payer campaign and fight for this in the NG, CWA and the entire labor movement. It was passed by our local and after a debate at the NG convention the resolution passed, but it was not presented to the CWA convention nor has our local leadership informed the members that this resolution from our local body passed the NG.
There will also be a national day of action for single payer on January 31, 2025 which I am urging our local, the NG and CWA to support.
NewsGuild At 2025 Convention Endorses National Single Payer Campaign
https://newsguild.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Resolution-Single-Payer-Medicare-for-All-Legislation-1.pdf
I support our local, the CWA and AFL-CIO development of a labor channel that can include education and reports by our members and all workers.
I have also covered some of the struggles of our members and also the Washington Post SF Bureau who has a national strike action. We have to get more of the issues and voices of our local members out.
SF Chronicle News Guild PMWG Workers Demand Justice & Living Wages
https://youtu.be/VQfZqT-xW10
Striking Washington Post SF Bureau WBNG Journalists Speak Out At Solidarity Strike Rally
https://youtu.be/lFquIkYMQD0
We also face a dangerous political crisis. The Democrats & Republicans are controlled by billionaires and Governor Newsom who has been supported by the CWA has opposed single payer healthcare and refuses to make the billionaires pay for this crisis to provide free public education and healthcare. The Democrats have a super majority in the legislature and could take action to force them to pay for the massive cutbacks. Our local, with the rest of the labor movement, need to take action to use the wealth of California for the people.
The fact that we have no working class political alternative is one of the reasons that Trump and his supporters won the election.
We need to work towards a mass democratic labor party that will have a program for working people and not be controlled by the billionaires. The Democrats will not stop fascism and there is also a real threat of national martial law with the imposition of the insurrection act.
We need a working class political alternative that is based on our unions and a discussion in labor about how to build a united front against fascism, the attack on immigrants, unionists and all working people along with fighting for the protection of journalists.
Despite all the dangers that we face as workers we have tremendous possibilities because we have tremendous power that with the unity of all our members and working people in the country we can shut down the system by organizing a general strike. We have the power.
Please go to my web site for more information about why I am running and how to rebuild the labor movement and defend our local and jobs.
An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!
Steve Zeltzer
zeltzerforpresident.com
labormedia1@gmail.com
Producer of WorkWeek on KPOO &Capitalism, Race & Democracy On Pacifica