By BERRY CRAIG
AFT Local 1360
If you’ve moved from a town to a rural area as we have, odds are you’re less than happy with your broadband access.
The frustration is worse than just battling outages and buffering issues when you’re watching your favorite TV shows. High-speed broadband internet access is unavailable in some places.
“Expanding broadband access will help students learn and the economy grow,” points out an email from Kojak Valentine, a member of Mount Clemens-Mich.,-based Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 4008.
The email adds: “When we make sure the work is done by experienced union members—that means reliable service and good jobs. Tell Congress: Build Broadband Better!”
To that end, Valentine urges recipients of his email to sign a CWA petition calling on Congress "to Build Broadband Better - with high speed access for all and good jobs!"
Valentine also wrote that “Americans need high-speed, affordable broadband to work, learn, shop and succeed in the world today. However, millions of us do not have reliable, affordable broadband access.”
Thousands of us in that boat live outside urban areas in Kentucky.
“Congress is considering investing in better broadband access. Creating good jobs and reliable service means making sure the work is done by skilled union members,” the email concludes.
“We need high-speed, affordable broadband and good jobs in our communities. Any bill that contains funding for broadband infrastructure should also protect good union jobs against outsourcing as well as protect workers’ right to organize a union."
I’m not a politician. The only thing I’ve ever run for is the county line.
But broadband access is a big issue in non-urban areas. If I were running for the state legislature, congress or the senate next year, I’d put it high on my issues list.