NEWSLETTER
September 8, 2022
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Organizing Update
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Apple
On the eve of Labor Day weekend, a majority of Apple retail workers at the Apple Penn Square store in Oklahoma City filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to join CWA. Their union, OKC Apple Retail Union/CWA, includes Apple salespeople, genius admins, technicians, creatives, and operations specialists. Earlier this year, workers in Atlanta became the first Apple retail store to seek formal union recognition. Since their announcement, the multi-trillion dollar company has responded by launching a national anti-union campaign to prevent its employees from exercising their rights to stand together such as circulating anti-union talking points, as well as hiring a notorious union-busting law firm. CWA has filed several Unfair Labor Practice charges with the NLRB in response to Apple’s national campaign designed to intimidate retail workers and prevent them from choosing to join the union. The workers are determined to follow the precedent set by workers in Maryland, who became the first certified Apple union in the United States this past June.
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Defenders Union of Colorado
The Defenders Union of Colorado launched last week as part of CWA Local 7799 to represent workers at the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender. The workers – including attorneys, paralegals, investigators, social workers, and administrative staff – describe a broken system where crushing workloads, insufficient pay, and soaring attrition undermine their ability to effectively represent and serve their clients. The workers are frustrated that these problems continue to go unaddressed by management, while once-committed workers quit every day. Even though Colorado law doesn’t offer judicial employees a legal avenue to collectively bargain, the workers are determined to build enough political momentum to pressure the state legislature to pass a law rolling back that prohibition and codifying the right to organize. Read more here.
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Mobi
Workers at Mobi, Hawai’i’s largest regional wireless company, have formed a union with CWA after the company voluntarily recognized the union, a monumental step forward for an industry overrun with union-busting and retaliation. The Mobi workers union is wall-to-wall, representing all 36 frontline and digital workers at the for-profit telecommunications company, including its retail store workers on O’ahu, customer service representatives, and tech workers. Mobi’s decision to voluntarily recognize its workers’ union is rare and contrasts with major tech companies’ rampant union-busting across the industry. In conjunction with the union win, Mobi CEO Justen Burdette joined CWA President Chris Shelton to speak to the importance of labor standards in the telecom industry at CWA’s annual District 9 Leadership Conference in Honolulu.
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United Campus Workers Colorado-CWA
Members of United Campus Workers Colorado (CWA Local 7799) and organizers held an organizing blitz last week. Over almost four days, they conducted an important organizing drive at four campuses including UC Boulder, UC Denver, UC Colorado Springs, and UC Anschutz. The goal of the organizing drive included increasing membership and political action fund contributions, collecting data and assessments, building momentum at the start of the semester, and spreading awareness about the union and the various campaigns in which members are engaged. Sixteen members participated in the blitz, along with 21 staff members. They also received solidarity and support from other union organizers, including a group of NewsGuild-CWA staff, members from TNG-CWA Local 37074, and Ski Patrollers from CWA Local 7781.
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The Atlantic
Business and tech workers at The Atlantic won formal recognition of their union, after a card count confirmed supermajority support. The workers announced their intent to form a union back in July with the New York NewsGuild (TNG-CWA Local 31003), joining their editorial colleagues at The Atlantic, who formed a union nearly a year earlier in June 2021. The 100-person unit covers data scientists, analysts, software engineers, product managers, project managers, assistants, designers, and the in-house creative studio. Workers in the union are calling for more equity and diversity in the workplace, fair compensation, and meaningful professional development and growth opportunities for employees, particularly junior staff. Their win is the latest sign of growing support for unions among both tech and administrative workers in the media industry.
Bargaining Update
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CWA members at Frontier Communications in California are ramping up their mobilization efforts to build their strength at the bargaining table as they continue to negotiate a fair contract with the company. Last month, as part of CWA’s nationwide campaign to expose Frontier Communications’ dangerous use of subcontractors, members from CWA Locals 9588 and 9586 participated in the first ever “Stop Frontier Subcontracting” training held at the CWA District 9 office in Santa Fe Springs, Calif.
Worker Power Update
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California Legislature Passes CWA-Supported Bill to Protect Call Center Workers
Last week, the California State legislature passed critical legislation, sponsored by CWA District 9, that will protect call center workers by putting in place serious financial disincentives for employers who move jobs out of California. The legislation faced fierce opposition by various groups including the California Chamber of Commerce, California Retailers Association, California Bankers Association, CTIA-California Wireless Association, and others. However, the legislation was able to move forward thanks to the activism of CWA members, who mobilized to build support for the legislation, and the CWA District 9 Legislative and Political team, who continuously engaged in prolonged and intense negotiations with the Governor’s office, state representatives, numerous organizations, employers, and state entities.
The bill also received support from other labor organizations including the California Labor Federation, California Federation of Teachers and United Steelworkers District 12. The legislation is now on the Governor’s desk, who has until the end of the month to either sign or veto it. CWAers across the state are continuing to mobilize to ensure that the bill moves over the finish line and is signed into law, providing critical protections for call center workers in the state.
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CWA Member Testifies at Senate Banking Subcommittee Briefing on New Consumer Financial Products and Their Impact on the Dignity of Work
Cassie Pennings, a nurse and a member of UC Health Workers United (CWA Local 7799), testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs as part of a panel of consumers and workers who spoke about their experiences with new consumer financial products and their impact on the dignity of work. Her testimony focused on a program called the Training Repayment Agreement Plan (TRAP) which has become a prominent tool by major employers to force new workers to stay on the job until an arbitrary date set by the employer or be subject to repay training costs plus sky high interest.
Cassie’s testimony details her experience as a new nurse who quickly got overwhelmed by the poor working conditions such as unsafe staffing ratios and inadequate resources which made it difficult for her to continue working. But after making the decision to resign, Cassie was told that she needed to pay $7,500 because of the TRAP she had to sign to get the job in the first place. “That’s two months of my salary. That’s more than six months rent. Suffice it to say, we certainly did not receive $7500 worth of benefits through the program. Hospitals have demonstrated they would rather trap their employees with the threat of debt than incentivize them to stay” said Cassie. She concluded her testimony saying, “As you consider policy moving forward, I ask you to remember my patients, think of your loved ones, and to prioritize empowering and protecting the people at bedside with them by banning abusive practices like TRAPs.
Watch Cassie Pennings, a nurse and a member of UC Health Workers United (CWA Local 7799), who testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
CWA and Microsoft Help Atlanta Residents “Get Connected” to No-Cost Internet Service at Labor Day Festival
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On Labor Day, volunteers from CWA and Microsoft participated in a first of its kind “Get Connected” event at the Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council’s annual Labor Day festival to help residents who need it receive no-cost internet service. CWA and Microsoft coordinated with EveryoneOn, a non-profit organization, and the Atlanta Housing Authority to pre-qualify residents for the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program, a part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that increases high speed internet access and affordability.
U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, who is running for re-election in Georgia, spoke at the event and encouraged eligible participants to enroll in the Affordable Connectivity Program. The partnership between CWA and Microsoft builds on a groundbreaking labor neutrality agreement announced in June, which includes a commitment to collaborate on technology adoption and skill building programs. Additional sign up events are planned for October in Detroit, Mich.; Memphis, Tenn.; New York City, and rural North Carolina.
On Labor Day, U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock joined volunteers from CWA at the Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council’s annual Labor Day festival and encouraged participants to enroll in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program to receive no-cost internet service.
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