On Labor Day, We Are Not Going Back!

 

A message from Communications Workers of America President Claude Cummings Jr.

September 2, 2024

In the labor movement, we honor and learn from our past and fight for our future.

Today, 17,000 CWA members who work at AT&T Southeast are in a fight. They are on strike because AT&T is not bargaining in good faith. When CWA’s Executive Board authorized this strike, we knew that our members would remain strong, and they have. They are standing strong on the picket line because they know that prior generations of CWA members fought for what we have today. They have our union’s full support, including financial support from our Members’ Relief Fund.

Our union started as a movement of telephone workers who joined together to improve working conditions. Those workers struggled to build a union, and AT&T, the primary employer at the time, promoted company-controlled fake unions to successfully destroy the independent union movement in the industry.

It was not until 1935, when Congress passed, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) that communications workers had the freedom to establish lasting unions. The NLRA prohibited unfair labor practices - like establishing company unions - and protected collective action by workers to improve their working conditions. It also established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to enforce the NLRA.

Last month, as our members at AT&T Southeast were preparing to go on strike, Donald Trump laughed with notorious union buster Elon Musk about firing striking workers. Today that would be illegal, but if he’s elected President, Trump will have the plan and the power to take us back to a time when it wasn’t.

Donald Trump’s allies, including many people he appointed to serve in his administration, want to take us back to the days before the NLRA. Their dangerous, extremist agenda, detailed in a handbook known as Project 2025, calls for increasing corporate control over workers. They want to appoint NLRB members who will stop enforcing large parts of the NLRA, including the ban on company unions.

We are not going back.

We are not going back because we have the opportunity to elect Kamala Harris, a true champion for working people, who has a vision for the future where we all have more control over our own lives, not less. Where we have the freedom to join unions and to spend time caring for our families. Where healthcare and prescription drugs are affordable and our retirement plans are secure.

As Vice President, Kamala Harris has welcomed CWA members and retirees to be part of the discussion about policies that affect our lives. As a Senator, she was an original co-sponsor of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act. As Attorney General for the State of California, she fought wage theft, forced unscrupulous big banks to restore millions to pension funds, and won over $230 million from pharmaceutical companies that were misleading patients.

By casting our votes for Senators and Members of Congress who will stand with us, we are declaring that we will not go back. We will elect representatives who will work to pass legislation that expands benefits that our seniors have earned, not strip away those benefits when they’re needed most. We deserve leaders who fight to solve problems instead of fighting one another.

Each of us can, and must, vote. But that, in itself, is not enough. We must also encourage others to learn about what is at stake and who is on their side. We must have conversations at work, make phone calls, send text messages, and knock on doors, spreading the word and making sure every union member’s voice is heard on election day.

This Labor Day, I am asking you to commit to, as Vice Presidential candidate and coach Tim Walz would say, “leave it all on the field.” Support our striking workers by visiting a picket line, signing our petition, or contributing to their strike fund. Work together with other CWA members and retirees by filling out the form at cwa.org/political to let us know that you want to volunteer to elect candidates who will move our country forward, not backward.

Let’s honor our past by fighting together for a more just future.

And see you soon on the picket line!

The Communications Workers of America strike against AT&T in the Southeast is gaining strong solidarity from CWA locals and the labor movement.

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) unfair labor practice strike against AT&T in the Southeast---the union's District 3---is gaining strong solidarity from CWA locals and the labor movement. Here are some photos from the strike and strike solidarity efforts, a link to a petition for you to sign, and a video from The Valley Labor Report.

Photo from AP News

CWA Local 7000 took a moment last weekend to support their local Starbucks Barista's Unions (05505 and 65352) at a 'sip in.'

They say: Support our local unions; we're all family!

They also remind us: Don't forget to also sign the petition for our own CWA siblings on strike in District 3!

https://action.cwa.org/.../support-striking-workers-at.../

CWA Local 7250 in Minnesota held a strike solidarity event.

CWA 7250 Officers and Stewards in Minnesota delivered a petition to AT&T AVP for Credit/Collections demanding the company bargain in good faith with Communications Workers of America District 3 and give the workers in the Southeast great wages with real raises, strong benefits, and dignity on the job. She agreed to convey the message to AT&T senior leadership. Local 7250 has been carrying out daily solidarity actions with the Strike.

A striker met with CWA Staff Marvin Wells and CWA Minnesota State Council President Shari Wojtowicz. The striker came to Minnesota to thank CWA Locals in person for supporting the ULP strike.

An Alabama AT&T Worker Talked With The Valley Labor Report

The union's bargaining report of August 24 says the following:

The parties continue to engage in mediation with a federal mediator, which we agreed to at the company's request. What we have made clear to the mediator through this process is that the CWA bargaining team knows what good faith bargaining with real company decision-makers looks like. While we are now meeting with company labor relations representatives, AT&T has yet to demonstrate that we are dealing with the real decision makers or that they are interested in real bargaining with the intent of reaching an agreement. It is a slow process to begin with, made slower by the company's tactics.

When they are "bargaining" (if you want to call it that), the positions taken by the company on important issues to our members are shocking. One example is the company's refusal to make realistic proposals on wages that reflect the economic reality for our members who work hard for a living or the reality of the company's huge profits. Another is the company's refusal to budge on improving working conditions for Wire Techs, who we now know they think of only as "second-class employees." Yet another is that the company has come to the bargaining table demanding that our members switch to a new healthcare plan. AT&T’s new healthcare plan will jeopardize the livelihood of our members, as it eliminates the prescription copayments we have today, and in place of those copayments, our members would be forced to pay the full price of prescriptions, until they meet an annual deductible of $6,600 for families.

So not only are the company's bargaining tactics shameful, what they are proposing when they are "bargaining" is shameful. Remember that what the company is doing at the bargaining table is happening while CEO John Stankey talks about the company's plans to "grow subscribers and revenues, while deepening customer relationships." Apparently, Stankey has forgotten that CWA members - union members - are the people who are responsible for AT&T's growth in subscribers and revenues, and who are the front line in dealing with its customers. If only Stankey could find labor relations professionals who understand the meaning of the duty to bargain in good faith, all of us -- workers, customers, and company -- would be better off.

Our bargaining team is working around the clock trying to reach an agreement. We met into the evening yesterday, and met with the company again today. We have told the mediator and the company that we are ready to meet at any time. What we hope is that the company will wake up to the reality that it can't continue to bargain in bad faith and expect to get a contract. What we know is that we can count on our members to continue protesting AT&T’s bad-faith tactics until they change. Like all CWA members across the country, we are inspired by the unity that exists within the membership across District 3. District 3 members are united on picket lines across the southeast and are making a difference. We will continue fighting for more in 24!

Strike photo from the AFL-CIO

A strike statement dated August 23 said:

We are CWA members on strike at AT&T Southeast because AT&T is refusing to engage in good faith negotiations for a new contract.

We are a big part of AT&T’s success, but we have been at the bargaining table since June, unable to make any progress because of the Company's bad faith bargaining.

The National Labor Relations Act requires companies to bargain in good faith. We have filed an unfair labor practice charge against the company and are on strike to protest the Company's unfair bargaining tactics.

We want to be on the job, providing the quality service that our customers deserve and getting to work making sure every household and business in the Southeast has reliable high-speed internet service.

Tell AT&T to show us the respect we deserve and get serious about bargaining.

AT&T Southeast workers
Communications Workers of America

California's journalists do not consent to this shakedown

 

August 21, 2024

This afternoon, Google, California Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, California Governor Gavin Newsom and many of California's publishing lobbies announced "a first-in-the-nation partnership with the State, news publishers, major tech companies and philanthropy, unveiling a pair of multi-year initiatives to provide ongoing financial support to newsrooms across California and launch a National AI Accelerator."

After two years of advocacy for strong antimonopoly action to start turning around the decline of local newsrooms, we are left almost without words. The publishers who claim to represent our industry are celebrating an opaque deal involving taxpayer funds, a vague AI accelerator project that could very well destroy journalism jobs, and minimal financial commitments from Google to return the wealth this monopoly has stolen from our newsrooms.

Not a single organization representing journalists and news workers agreed to this undemocratic and secretive deal with one of the businesses destroying our industry. Moments ago, the following opposition letter was filed with the California legislature:

We represent journalists and news workers who provide essential news for millions of Californians in print, digital, broadcast, commercial and nonprofit newsrooms.

The future of journalism should not be decided in backroom deals. The Legislature embarked on an effort to regulate monopolies and failed terribly. Now we question whether the state has done more harm than good.

California’s journalists and news workers OPPOSE this disastrous deal with Google and condemn the news executives who consented to it in our names.

Signed,

Matt Pearce, President, Media Guild of the West, The NewsGuild-CWA Local 39213
Jon Schleuss, President, The NewsGuild-CWA
Annie Sciacca, President, Pacific Media Workers Guild, The NewsGuild-CWA Local 39521
Carrie Biggs-Adams, President, NABET-CWA Local 51
Javad Ayala, President, NABET-CWA Local 53
Kevin Gallo, Regional Vice President 5, NABET-CWA
Frank Arce, Vice President, Communications Workers of America District 9

National Audubon Society Workers Announce 3-Day Unfair Labor Practice Strike Amid Continued Union-Busting and Discrimination

August 21, 2024

Members of The Bird Union/CWA Build Nationwide Solidarity as Audubon Leadership Continues Stalling Two and a Half Years Into Bargaining

Bird Union to Audubon CEO Dr. Gray: “We will not back down.”

NATIONWIDE – National Audubon Society workers with The Bird Union have announced a three-day Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike to start on Tuesday, September 10, in response to the nonprofit’s continued violation of workers’ rights under federal labor laws. The strike comes as members of The Bird Union, represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1180, approach their third year of contract negotiations with the national nonprofit. On Tuesday, negotiations stalled once again, with Audubon refusing to address union members' concerns.

Earlier this month, after years of workers sounding the alarm on Audubon’s toxic culture, the National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against Audubon for violating federal labor laws in contract negotiations with the Bird Union-CWA Local 1180, including by refusing to bargain over minimum salaries and making unilateral changes to healthcare, which raised costs for union members.

In announcing their strike, The Bird Union/CWA released the following statement:

“For two and a half years, Audubon workers with The Bird Union have sat at the bargaining table with the goal of implementing just policies for workers of all backgrounds and securing good pay and benefits that allow us to live balanced lives and do our jobs protecting birds to the best of our ability. In turn, Audubon has broken the law by illegally union-busting and refusing to bargain with us in good faith. On Tuesday, negotiations stalled once again, with Audubon’s negotiators failing to remedy our outstanding ULPs.

“We want to be clear when we say: We will not back down. On Saturday, we held our largest national day of action to date, with support from elected leaders, labor allies, and colleagues across the environmental nonprofit space. We are building solidarity like never before, and on September 10, we will be bringing our movement to the picket line.

“For more than two years, we chose not to strike, but it’s become increasingly clear that we have no other option if we truly want to reform Audubon’s toxic culture from the ground-up. On September 10, we will be walking off the job for us, for our families, and for the birds.”

###

About CWA: The Communications Workers of America represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech, and other fields.

cwa-union.org @cwaunion

Press Contact
CWA Communications
(202) 434-1168
comms@cwa-union.org

From The Front Lines

 

Workers hit the bricks at Cornell University in a historic strike.

The photo is from The Cornell Daily Sun.

A crowd of Cornell workers sing and chant as they march around

the university’s campus on Friday, August 16, days before the union called

 a strike. (Photo: Aaron Fernando) See this article in The Nation.

Starbucks workers continue to organize and win.

AT&T technicians, customer service representatives, and others who

install, maintain, and support AT&T’s residential and business wireline

telecommunications network in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,

Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee

walked off the job at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, August 16, in response to

AT&T’s failure to bargain in good faith.

The workers have set up a petition for supporters to sign.

Please do so at cwa.org/attse-support.

UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA PRESIDENT

ROBERTS SPEAKS AT A PRESS CONFERENCE FOR

THE PROPOSED SILICA RULE AT UMWA’S DISTRICT 2

OFFICE IN UNIONTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

Photo Credit: Department of Labor

Shawn T Moore

New Silica Rule Funding Challenged---

A DIRECT ATTACK ON THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF COAL MINERS

The U.S. House Appropriations committee voted on July 10, along party lines, to advance a bill that would defund the Department of Labor’s efforts to enforce the new silica rule. The bill, which directs funding for the DOL and MSHA, explicitly states that no money can be used to enforce the silica rule limiting allowable levels of silica dust in mines.

Republican-controlled U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2025 funding bill in a 31-25 vote, setting up a vote on the appropriations package by the full House.

“This is an insult to the coal miners who have risked their lives and their long-term health to power our factories and heat our homes,“ said Senator Bob Casey (D-PA). “I am going to make damn sure we continue this funding so that we may keep our promise to miners suffering from black lung disease.

“MSHA’s silica standard was put into place to reduce the amount of deadly silica dust in mine atmospheres, which is crucial for combating the worsening epidemic of black lung disease. It is difficult to understand how certain members of Congress could possibly be supportive of more miners dying a suffocating death as a result of being forced to breathe silica dust,” said President Roberts.

“The actions of those in Congress who support defunding for the new silica rule is a direct attack on the health and safety of coal miners,” Roberts said. “The epidemic of black lung disease is a critical issue that demands immediate action. The union urges all members of Congress to reject this dangerous provision and stand up for the health and safety of our nation’s coal miners.”

“Miners with black lung disease have been fighting for protections from deadly silica dust for decades. The union is grateful MSHA finally took action formulating the new silica standard,” said Secretary-Treasurer Sanson.

“It is disturbing, to say the least, that a handful of politicians, who are supposed to be for the people, have taken actions that are a slap in the face to every coal miner in our nation,” Sanson said. “If this policy becomes law, it will put thousands of miners at even greater risk. Congress needs to do better, and our miners deserve better.”

Text taken from the United Mine Workers of America.

Please help a union brother in great need!

Dear CWA District 7 brothers and sisters,

Our co-worker and CWA member, Scott Goodall, was in an accident on I25 in Casper, Wyoming, and broke about 40 bones in his body. Scott is out of rehab and recovering from his injuries and is unable to get short-term disability with CenturyLink, so he has no money to come in.

His girlfriend has started a GoFundMe for Scott. If you have a few spare dollars, Scott would appreciate it.

https://gofund.me/cb66163e

Thanks,

Mike Rea, Local President 7601
er opeiu30 afl-cio

CWA: App-Based Workers Make Gains in Colorado While Facing Setbacks in California

The following report from the Communications Workers of America highlights a dilemma for workers that has been created by employers, politicians, and those who champion a free market without checks and balances for workers and who are running short on commonsense. The report also underscores why we need national labor policies and planning. Workers stress and often risk a great deal when having to choose between having the protections given to employees and becoming independent contractors and losing those protections and going the independent contractor route. We want a country that guarantees rights for all and has an adequate safety net. Libertarians want a country of small businesspeople exploiting themselves and at the mercy of monopolies. The risk factor is increasing with the spread of artificial intelligence. Most of us know someone who is driving or doing transport and delivery or working in logistics for a living and having to take on the pluses and minuses of whether or not to become an independent contractor. Those working folks are on the tip of the iceberg because corporations are finding it advantageous to contract out and use AI.         

CWA says:

August 8, 2024

In June, members of the Colorado Independent Drivers United (CIDU-CWA Local 7777) in Denver, Colo., won twin victories when Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed HB24-1129 and SB24-75 into law. The bills will require transparency between companies—such as Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash—and their workers, create a driver resource center, and provide protections for both delivery and transportation drivers against deactivation, which amounts to termination but can be entirely driven by artificial intelligence without human oversight.

These laws constitute the first-ever legislation of its kind and may form a blueprint for other states seeking to protect vulnerable rideshare and delivery workers.

Meanwhile, in California, the opposite is taking place, with the California Supreme Court’s recent ruling upholding a state ballot measure allowing app-based transportation companies to classify their drivers as independent contractors. The ballot measure, Proposition 22, received 58% of the vote in 2020 but was overturned in 2021 by a lower court. In 2023, the law was upheld by the state's 1st District Court of Appeals and has now been upheld by the state’s highest court.

Opponents of the California law hold that it disproportionately impacts Black, brown, and immigrant workers and is little more than a cash grab by app-based transportation companies.

While an Uber driver in Denver has workplace protections, access to a driver resource center, and protections against wrongful termination, their counterparts in Los Angeles have none.

Efforts to organize app-based delivery and transportation workers are stymied by the nature of the work, which can be isolating and provide almost no control for workers. Business owners have sought, through challenges to worker rights law, to make app-based transportation workers a permanent underclass with few protections and almost no legal responsibilities for the businesses that employ them. Industry experts put the number of app-based workers in California at approximately 1.4 million.

Members and supporters of CIDU-CWA Local 7777 in Denver, Colo., 

celebrated winning protections for both delivery and transportation workers

for app-based companies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash.

Video game performers strike as their industry is profitable and becomes more complex

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has called a strike covering their union-represented members who are employed by Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Llama Productions LLC, Take 2 Productions Inc., VoiceWorks Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc. The workers most directly affected by the strike do voice acting, stunts, motion-capture work, and other work that appear in video games. They are covered by the union's innovative Interactive Media Agreement.

The extraordinary nature of this strike is such that it is making headlines in industry publications, The New York Times, and the financial and business press. A strong union summary of what is at stake in the strike can be found here. A National Public Radio report on the strike can be found here. A key issue that makes this strike significant and is moving coverage of it into the mainstream press is the matter of A.I. and how it affects the work that the striking workers perform. Absent a national industrial policy on A.I., clear legal and legislative protections for workers whose livelihoods are impacted by A.I., and much-needed special efforts to protect workers and communities of color who are doubly impacted by A.I., unions are left to organize and take action protecting their member's interests.

In this case, then, SAG-AFTRA is leading a strong effort to gain ground at the bargaining table. A SAG-AFTRA press release quotes SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher as saying that “We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse A.I. to the detriment of our members. Enough is enough. When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live — and work — with, we will be here, ready to negotiate.”

Another union leader has been quoted as saying "The video game industry generates billions of dollars in profit annually. The driving force behind that success is the creative people who design and create those games. That includes the SAG-AFTRA members who bring memorable and beloved game characters to life, and they deserve and demand the same fundamental protections as performers in film, television, streaming, and music: fair compensation and the right of informed consent for the A.I. use of their faces, voices, and bodies. Frankly, it’s stunning that these video game studios haven’t learned anything from the lessons of last year - that our members can and will stand up and demand fair and equitable treatment with respect to A.I., and the public supports us in that.”

SAG-AFTRA Video Game Strike Press Conference

The video game industry does indeed generate billions of dollars in profits and I have not heard that the industry is facing a crisis, although A.I. is changing the rules of competition in the video game industry, and in other industries as well. If we look at the industry and those employed in it as a whole, we see widespread and growing interest in unionization there. Moreover, we see video game workers motivated to unionize by many key issues, including fighting harassment and discrimination, protection from encroachments by A.I., winning enforcement of civil rights on the job, and winning parity with workers in other countries. Many unions are involved in organizing and representing these workers. One of the more innovative efforts is Rights & Protections for Gameworkers (RPG-IATSE).

The industry and labor relations in the industry are certainly becoming more complex. A very helpful article on the SAG-AFTRA strike that appeared in The Guardian yesterday said

The last interactive contract, which expired November 2022, did not provide protections around AI but secured a bonus compensation structure for voice actors and performance capture artists after an 11-month strike that began October 2016. That work stoppage marked the first major labor action from Sag-Aftra following the merger of Hollywood’s two largest actors unions in 2012.

The video game agreement covers more than 2,500 “off-camera (voiceover) performers, on-camera (motion capture, stunt) performers, stunt coordinators, singers, dancers, puppeteers, and background performers”, according to the union.

Amid the tense interactive negotiations, Sag-Aftra created a separate contract in February that covered indie and lower-budget video game projects. The tiered-budget independent interactive media agreement contains some of the protections on AI that video game industry titans have rejected.

Meanwhile, the Communications Workers of America is reporting the following victory for some of the video game workers CWA represents:

Video game developers at World of Warcraft and Bethesda Game Studios joined CWA this month, forming the first wall-to-wall units under our neutrality agreement with Microsoft. Over 1,750 video game workers at Microsoft now have union representation with CWA. A group of 60 quality assurance workers at Blizzard Entertainment in Austin, Texas, also joined CWA, and their union has been recognized by Microsoft. Workers at Bethesda Game Studios in Montreal filed for union recognition with the Quebec Labor Relations Board in late June to be represented by CWA Canada.

“What we’ve accomplished at World of Warcraft is just the beginning. My colleagues and I are embarking on a quest to secure better pay, benefits, and job security through a strong union contract. We know that when workers have a protected voice, it’s a win-win for employee standards, the studio, and World of Warcraft fans looking for the best gaming experience,” said Eric Lanham, Test Analyst and member of the World of Warcraft Gamemakers Guild–CWA Local 9510.

“We are so excited to announce our union at Bethesda Game Studio and join the movement sweeping across the video game industry. It is clear that every worker can benefit from bringing democracy into the workplace and securing a protected voice on the job. We’re thrilled to get down to brass tacks and win a fair contract, proving that our unity is a source of real power to positively shape our working conditions, our lives, and the company as a whole,” said Mandi Parker, Senior System Designer and member of CWA Local 2108.

Graphic from CWA

A Great, New, And Necessary Union Resource From Strikers In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Pittsburgh Union Progress is published by people who have been on strike from the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Post-Gazette since October 2022. They are demanding that the Post-Gazette provide affordable health care and follow labor law. They will love it if you can subscribe to their publication (it's free) and donate to their strike fund.

You can read more about the strikers and their on-going strike here. 

This is an excellent publication. Yes, there is a great deal of local and regional news that may not interest everyone who reads our blog, but right off the bat I was taken by an article about an eagle that has been nesting in an abandoned steel works, an article about a company that is trying to create a factory culture that is safe and inclusive for people with autism and other special needs, an especially important article on rail safety, and a thoughtful article on how regional union political action is affected by Teamsters President Sean O’Brien's recent address the Republican National Convention. These kinds of articles touch the lives of people everywhere and are also the kinds of articles that should inform our union activism. This is democratic and participatory journalism done as journalism should be done. I wish that our Mid-Willamette Vally Labor Solidarity Alerts could reach the high bar being set by The Pittsburgh Union Progress. 

Striking workers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and supporters hold signs and listen

to a speaker during a rally, organized by the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, in front

of the headquarters of C-SPAN in Washington, D.C., to demand that the company

removes Allan Block, chairman and CEO of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, from its board 

of directors, Wednesday, March 8, 2023. (Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress)

Support Post-Gazette Strikers With a Pittsburgh Union Progress T-Shirt!

 CWA members at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette (PPG) have been on strike for over 18 months, the longest strike currently running in the U.S. The workers are represented by NewsGuild-CWA Local 38061 and CWA Locals 14827 and 14842.

Donations to the worker strike fund have been keeping these individuals and families afloat and are greatly appreciated. Striking workers have been handing out t-shirts and encouraging donations on the picket line and at events, and now supporters from across the country can get them too! Learn how at cwa.org/pup-shirt.

Letter to CWA Members from President Biden | 2024 CWA Legislative Political Conference

 

On the Strike Line – Steve Rotstein

Name: Steve Rotstein
Local: The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, TNG-CWA Local 38061
Workplace: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Title: Sports reporter
Experience: 5.5 years
Strike Time: 1.5 years

Quote: “I’ve been on strike for a year and a half because my employer refuses to acknowledge our rights as workers."

Inspiration: “I’m inspired by my fellow strikers who have sacrificed their time, money, and well-being to stand up for what’s right and make sure we win this fight."

Support the striking workers at cwa.org/support-striking-pittsburgh-post-gazette-workers.

This post asking for support for the striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers came from the Communications Workers of America. 

 

Some United Food & Commercial Workers Union Staff Strike.

 From the Communications Workers of America:

Last week, NewsGuild-CWA members employed by the union headquarters for United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International walked out on strike for the first time in the unit’s history.

The UFCW Guild (NewsGuild-CWA Local 32035) are dedicated union staffers fighting for the rights of workers in meatpacking plants and grocery stores across the country. But now, they are fighting for their own right to a fair union contract.

The UFCW Guild members have built solidarity throughout their unit through lunch-outs and other actions, enabling the workers to speak with one voice last week when the unit voted unanimously to reject management’s “final” contract proposal. Faced with wage proposals that failed to keep up with inflation and inadequate telework options, which contribute to staff turnover, the Guild members waged a one-day strike.

“We’re glad to return to the critical work we do for UFCW members, but if we can’t reach a deal that gives us fair wages, access to sick leave, and a modern telework policy, we’ll be back,” said Tabitha Niemann, unit secretary.

After 12 hours on the picket line, UFCW Guild members took their renewed strength and solidarity back to the bargaining table to press for a fair contract that enables them to serve UFCW union members.

NewsGuild-CWA Local 32035 members picket outside UFCW headquarters

 in Washington, D.C./Photo from CWA.

Labor Unity Brings Home A Win!

From the Communications Workers of America:

Fifty union members from CWA, Teamsters, and SEIU filled the Denver City Council chambers last week to support an initiative to place collective bargaining rights for city workers on the ballot this fall. CWA Local 7777 Secretary-Treasurer Sandra Parker Murray testified to the council, saying, "I was shocked when I learned that Denver municipal employees didn’t already have collective bargaining. Thank you for your support now in bringing forward this important workers’ rights initiative and standing up for the working people who make our city run."

According to a letter the coalition sent to the Denver Mayor and City Council, “Fire, police, and sheriff deputies in Denver already have collective bargaining. In fact, more than three-quarters of private sector workers and more than two-thirds of public sector workers have bargaining rights across the country, yet workers in the City and County of Denver do not.”

The coalition now has 90 days to collect 63,491 signatures to ensure the question goes before the public for a vote. They have launched an aggressive campaign to secure the necessary signatures. The coalition is also pursuing an alternate path to victory—an amendment to the city charter through the City Council.

A coalition of labor activists from CWA, the Teamsters, and SEIU are pursuing

public bargaining rights for Denver public sector workers. Photo from CWA.

Upcoming Communications Workers of America Union Town Hall on AT&T

Dear AT&T Local Presidents and RMC National Board Members:

As you know, last year AT&T transferred payment and administration of our retirees’ pensions to Athene, a life insurance company. We believe that this transaction threatens the retirement security of our members, and are supporting our AT&T retirees in their class action complaint against AT&T.

We are holding a town hall meeting via Zoom on June 5 at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT so that you, your members, and retirees can learn more about the transaction and the legal complaint. To register, please visit cwa.org/ATTtownHall.

We will be emailing the message below to our AT&T members and retirees, but we know that we do not have contact information for everyone. I would appreciate it if you also reached out to your AT&T members and retirees to let them know about this important meeting. In addition to the email, we are providing a flyer with a QR code and a social media graphic to assist in your outreach efforts.

Thank you for everything you do on behalf of our great union.

In Unity,


Claude Cummings Jr.
President

Some Thoughts On The Labor Movement & The Campus Protests

Student- and youth-led protests supporting a ceasefire in Gaza are sweeping across the United States and the world. In some countries, mass protests supporting a ceasefire and pro-Palestinian demands are being organized by coalitions that are led in part by unions and by popular social movements. This work is being done from many corners of world labor and from many perspectives.

Popular media in the United States often either ignores the protests being held here or so misstates the facts on the ground concerning these protests that media watchers and readers might come away with the mistaken impression that the campus protests are, by their nature and intent, anti-Semitic, violent, and led by people who are not students and who have ulterior motives. I want to encourage readers of this blog to explore counter-narratives concerning the campus protests. You might want to start here and here in order to begin examining counter-narratives concerning the protests. 

I believe that three aspects of these protest movements in the United States are not being sufficiently explored in either our popular or alterntive media and that these points should be of special interest to the labor movement. We should start by acknowledging that most unions in the United States have been strong supporters of Israel since its founding in 1948 and that this support has come with little discussion or debate and that some within labor who have opposed this course have lost their jobs and have found it difficult to find other employment or have faced other forms of censorship. For a broad view on this matter, see this article that appeared in Labor Notes and this article as well.

There is no principle at stake here that says that we cannot or should not take positions on events that are occuring elsewhere in the world and that may not be of immediate concern to the immediate welfare of all union members. Rather, the principle has been that the mainstream labor movement in the U.S. has tended to fall safely in step with U.S. foreign policy goals and has often enlisted in the ideological battle for winning those goals through AIFLD and the ACILS. (There have been notable exception to this principle.) Most union members will not be  familiar with AIFLD and ASCILS and are not aware that their unions are engaged in international affairs.  

In our current moment, on the other hand, we see many unions cautiously breaking with our past and adopting calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. Some perspective on this change in affairs can be found here, here, and here. The February 8 statement by AFL-CIO condemning "the attacks by Hamas on October 7th" and calling for "a negotiated cease-fire in Gaza—including the immediate ingrelease of all hostages and provision of desperately needed shelter, food, medicine and other humanitarian assistance to Gazans" and reaffirming AFL-CIO "support of a two-state solution for long-term peace and security” marked a historic turning point for labor.

This brings me to the first aspect of our present moment that I want to comment on. The campus protests are indeed initiated and led by students, but these protests are increasingly involving university faculty and staff, and to the extent that unionized faculty and staff are involved these protests become union issues. This is particularly underscored when faculty and staff are attacked by the police and counter-protestors, are threatened with firing, or are fired. See this recent post, this recent post, and this recent post that have appeared on this blog for some idea of what this looks like. My points here are that unions that represent workers who are being victimized have a duty of fair representation in many of these cases, whether the unions involved support a ceasefire or not, and that unions such as the United Auto Workers and the United Electrical Workers (UE) have especially large union locals with members that have been facing repression on campuses. UAW President Shawn Fein has been especially forthright in defense of UAW members who are engaging in protests. This post from the UAW tells a story in its own right.   

 

Mainstream media is not telling the story of the campus protests from a labor or working-class perspective. There are wild cards in play here. The media's emphasis has been on whether or not President Biden's reelection is at risk because of these protests and what is taken to be his "pro-Israel" stance and what is generally perceived as being subtle shifts in that stance. The popular line is that Biden is alienating young voters by not supporting a ceasefire and by supporting Israel but also stands to lose at least some Jewish support for his shifts in policy. The other wild card here, at least for the labor movement, is whether or not union support for a ceasefire and for union members who are victimized for protesting will lead to union growth on campuses or not. The UAW, the UE, and some CWA local unions that are engaging in supporting calls for a ceasefire and for defending their members who are attacked look good to large numbers of young people and to many campus workers right now. This feels a bit like the days of the Occupy movement and the early days of the Black Lives Matter movement in some ways. Both of those movements showed the labor movement that we have lots to learn or relearn and they have helped push us in positive directions.

The primary movements for social change in the late 1960s and early 1970s won limited gains or lost in part because they were easily characterized as being youth movements and then isolated. In our current moment, however, there is an opportunity to build solidarity between young people and campus workers and their unions. Union members, as much as anyone else, need to fully understand the demands being raised in the protests.

Photo from Hussein Malla / AP/ People's World. See this article for an analysis of 

what is at issue in the campus protests. 

Another aspect of the moment that we're in has to do with what Labor has to teach the pro-ceasefire movement and the protesters and activists. We understand the discipline needed in striking and winning while other social movements may not, or these movements may see things differently than we do. Striking is not only about getting your sign, marching in a circle for a few hours, and picking up strike pay. The recent Portland Association of Teachers strike (see here and here) reminds us that strikes are also about forming transformative new relationships, pitching in to help coworkers cover childcare and rent and car payments, and winning public support. Most of go into strikes knowing that we have to define what a victory is and with the patience that gives us the strength to fight for what we didn't win when we return to work. Doing this right takes discipline and experience. We can teach this to others if we stop to take a breath and use our critical thinking skills to analyze what has and has not worked for us in the past.

In line with this, we need to carefully study and adopt/adapt passive resistance and the intricate psychology of confrontational non-violence. Our labor history is full of useful examples of us using non-violent civil disobedence, and it would be hypocritical and wrong-headed for us to criticize others for following our example. Here is a great labor video to help us start understanding this:

One of the many remarkable features of the strike shown in the video above was that the strikers and their families and closest supporters stayed on message despite police brutality, hostile courts and other violence. The company was the primary target and the goal was a strong union contract and the union remained on message throughout the strike. This won strong public support and support from many prominent progressive people who would not have otherwise engaged with coal miners in Appalachia. I know this because I was there. 
 

My last point here builds on something that the labor movement knows and carries in our DNA but that we do not often acknowldge. We know from union organizing that we do not begin an organizing campaign with puttng forward maximum demands. We find core issues that unite most people and we become the living voice of those demands and we win over people who are neutral or sitting on the fence by listening to them and creating safe space with them and including what they want in our demands if that's possible. It's a slow and steady step-by-step process that can suddenly accelerate. In some sense, then, we organize on the basis of loving our co-workers more than we do on hating our bosses.

The movements for a ceasefire and for the liberation of Palestine do their best work when then start with demands for a ceasefire and peace and use those to split their opposition and win over or neutralize some who oppose them. By doing this they put the fence-sitters in the positon of having to choose between what is human and good and what is pro-war and pro-genocide. So long as the movements have been doing that they have been winning against all odds and are building a pro-peace majority before the November elections. 

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Chapter or the Oregon AFL-CIO. Other opinions from union members in our region on this subject are welcome and will be appreciated.     

CWA Local 7065 Defends The Right To Protest & Models Solidarity

 

An example of corporate disrespect for workers

The following comes from an internal communication being shared throuygh the Communications Workers of America (CWA) regarding layoffs at Lumen. I think that we can see from this that the company is badly managed and that company leadership has little respect for the workers. Union leadership will be protestng this mistreatment to the company, but I hope that Lumen workers will back them and join together to protest as well and that other communications workers will support them. This is daily life in corporate America right now.

The communication reads in part;

Yesterday, the Company sent emails to 178 represented employees announcing that there would be an involuntary force adjustment and reduction in the Michael Bell, Tara Robinson, and Bonnie Bell Organizations. The various titles impacted by this announcement are:

• Customer Care Specialist- 8 employees
• Facilities Specialist- 25 employees
• Sales and Service Consultant-7 employees
• Sales Support Specialist- 12 employees
• Screen Consultant / RSA- 18 employees
• Switch Consultant- 11 employees
• Customer Ambassador- 38 employees
• Facilities Specialist- 12 employees
• Service Assurance Tech- 44 employees
• Inventory Specialist- 3employees

The company held four separate calls with its employees yesterday (Many employees hadn’t received the email yet and had no idea what the call was about). During these calls, the company turned off the camera and read from a scripted message while having everyone on mute, which prevented employees from asking any questions. After the meeting, employees were instructed to submit an HR ticket if they had any questions. I informed the company that our members felt frustrated and disrespected, which is unacceptable. The communication was poorly handled, and our members deserve better than this!

I have raised the issue of the amount of contracting in all of these titles and the fact that the company is required to follow the provisions of Article 19, which requires them to discontinue the contracting and/or return the work to the bargaining unit to the extent it prevents the layoff. The Company Bargaining Agent is required to provide the Union with a list of contractors who are performing the work in the perspective areas 15 days prior to the resolution date; however, the employer has no obligation to return work to avoid the involuntary layoff of employees until then. The company is also required to provide the CWA Executive Work Council (EWC) contracting reports quarterly, and we will be having conversations about the contracting throughout the 90 day period. Locals must aggressively pursue any contracting going on in each organization under a surplus situation by submitting grievances and RFIs requesting information about the contracting going on in their impacted areas.

We have lots of great labor news to report!

From Portland DSA:

Organizing for Power: Core Fundamentals
(training by Jane McAlevey, author of "No Shortcuts" & "Rules to Win By")
Thursdays, May 9 - June 13, 9-11am (PT) or 5-7PM (PT)
Groups of ten or more (get your co-workers lined up now!)
O4P's Core Fundamentals is a six-week intensive training program composed or weekly sessions divided into lectures and practice time, plus campaign assignments that organizing groups are expected to complete on their own time.
Each session runs twice each Thursday to accommodate our global audience.
The registration deadline is May Day, 2024, so begin assembling your group of 10+ now, because we're only going to win if we're in this together, disciplined and committed, and ready to build our skill sets to ORGANIZE FOR POWER. Please contact O4P Coordinator Ethan Earle (earle.ethan@gmail.com) with any questions.
REGISTER: http://tinyurl.com/O4PCoreFundamental

Universal City AMC Workers Vote to Unionize With IATSE

From IATSE:

Ushers, cooks, bartenders and all other non-management employees at the Universal Cinema AMC at CityWalk Hollywood have officially voted to unionize with IATSE! In an election that took place March 15, workers overwhelmingly voted in favor of joining together in union. The Universal Cinema AMC is the second location of the theater chain to unionize with IATSE, after the AMC Dine-In South Bay Galleria 16 in Redondo Beach.

“We are incredibly happy that the workers at the AMC Citywalk theater banded together to join IATSE with an 86 percent majority yes vote in the recent union election,” Universal Cinema AMC crewmembers Savannah Copeland and Maria Lubanovic said. “These past few months have shown how dedicated the crewmembers are not only to improve the workplace for themselves, but for everyone around them. It is truly inspiring to see how much they care for each other.” Full story ➔

Meet today’s Womens History Month spotlight, Mykaila Williams. Williams is a proud Local728 member who is not only a champion in the labor movement but a leader in her community. Talk about Union Strong! Mykaila is currently working on commercials, music videos and day playing on television shows as a Set Lighting Technician. Since joining IATSE in February of 2023, Mykaila has worked on several projects, volunteered in mutual aid efforts and was selected to represent Local 728 at the 2024 Young Workers Committee Conference. "While working on projects has been fun and extremely fulfilling, nothing has quite yet topped how proud I felt to successfully get my union card in the mail."

From the National Union of Healthcare Workers:

More than 400 NUHW members struck Seton Medical Center in Daly City on March 25 and 26, demanding that the hospital restore their health benefits.

Every Bay Area news station covered the strike as workers shared their experience of working at the community hospital for decades only to no longer be able to access health care for themselves or their children.

“I’m worried about my family, my kids not having basic insurance that works,” Julia Vinogratsky, a respiratory therapist at the hospital with three children, told KQED. ”The closest doctors are about 45 minutes to an hour’s drive.”

Rachelle Ortua, a materials management technician at Seton, told KPIX-5 that she recently had to delay vaccinations for her then-four-month-old daughter because her doctor wouldn’t take her new insurance and that the nearest hospital available to treat her daughter is more than an hour’s drive from her Sunnyvale apartment.

In violation of their union contracts, AHMC Healthcare changed its health plans on Jan. 1, forcing all workers at Seton, including NUHW members to either pay up to $6,000 a year to keep access to their doctors and hospitals or accept a new health plan with very few participating doctors mostly based in San Francisco and only two participating hospital systems: John Muir Health and Seton, which doesn’t offer pediatric or prenatal care. READ MORE HERE.

Important Note: The National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) website has an important interview with Sandra Leal-Lopez, LMFT concerning upcoming contract negotiations between the union and Kaiser. One subject that is driving these negotiations and making them contentious is the matter of Kaiser cutting patient management time. Another is working conditions and working time. Sister Leal-Lopez gave a credible and interesting interview in which she explains her union's position as bargaining begins. I highly recommend reading this and considering how it impacts workers here in Oregon and what it has to teach us. Please read it here.

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 brought home a victory:

And in California:

Starting April, California fast food workers will earn $20/hour. $20 an hour is good for California’s fast food workers and employers.

See the California Fast Food Workers Union for details and analysis.

From the Union of Southern Service Workers:

Hit this link and this link and this link to learn more.

From More Perfect Union:

From CWA:

CWA Members Reach Landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement at SEGA

CWA Local 9510 members at SEGA of America voted to ratify their first collectively bargained contract on Tuesday. The contract covers 150 full-time and temporary employees across a range of job titles, including designers, translators, editors, producers, quality assurance testers, marketing managers, and more.

"This is a watershed moment for workers in the video game industry. We've proven that a collectively bargained contract with substantial improvements and protections is possible even when management takes an initially hostile stance toward worker organizing. We’re hopeful that in the midst of extensive layoffs, workers across the video game industry will see organizing as a pathway to improve working conditions for all of us,” said Local 9510 member Jasmin Hernandez, a Short-Form Animation Production Manager at SEGA.

The ratified contract includes raises that ensure equitable compensation across titles and departments, layoff protections, requirements to provide notice of planned use of AI, and more.

"Workers in the video game industry have contributed to the success of multiple games and companies that have become household names. Yet, that hasn’t translated into the fair wages, job stability, or career trajectories they deserve. Workers at SEGA of America have just shown what is possible by standing together to demand the respect their hard work has earned," said CWA Local 9510 President Peter O'Brien.

NewsGuild-CWA Members at Law360 Stage 24-Hour Solidarity Walkout

NewsGuild-CWA workers at LexisNexis-owned Law360 (TNG-CWA Local 31003) took to the streets last week with a 24-hour work stoppage in protest of recent layoffs that violate labor law. Despite the company showing impressive revenue growth, management announced the termination of 26 union members. CWA Unit Chair Hailey Konnath said, “This walkout is an unequivocal demonstration of solidarity for our co-workers who lost their jobs. The success of Law360 is due in no small part to us and the work we produce. Today we are showing the company that we—including those who lost their jobs—are Law360.”

CWA Workers at Law360 have been without a contract since 2022, and negotiations have been ongoing since then to finalize a new collective bargaining agreement. Changes to workplace terms and conditions after a contract has expired, including layoffs, must be negotiated and agreed to by the NewsGuild. Failure to maintain the workplace status quo is a violation of labor law and is the basis of an unfair labor practice charge filed by The NewsGuild of New York on behalf of Law360 Union earlier this month.

“Our entire union stands in solidarity with the workers who have been laid off,” said Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York. “If management continues to refuse to bargain in good faith and reverse these unlawful layoffs, labor peace will be difficult to come by at Law360.”