More AT&T In Home Expert (IHX) Workers Join CWA and other news

AT&T In Home Experts

Last week, AT&T In Home Expert (IHX) workers in Ponce, Puerto Rico, voted to join CWA. The workers, who will be a part of CWA Local 3010, join IHX workers across the country who are protected by a good, union contract. Their addition to CWA is the latest victory by the growing number of AT&T IHX workers building power with hundreds of thousands of workers at AT&T to organize and fight for a fair collective bargaining agreement.

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Telemundo (Chicago)

In Chicago, a majority of workers at the Spanish-language network Telemundo’s local outlet voted to join NABET-CWA at the end of last month. The group includes producers and senior producers who will join NABET-CWA Local 54041, which currently represents broadcast technicians at Telemundo in Chicago. The local also represents workers at NBC, which owns and operates Chicago’s Telemundo station. The workers will continue their push to receive the same protections as their colleagues by being included in the existing collective bargaining agreement.

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Lowell Telecommunications Corporation

Workers at the Lowell Telecommunications Corporation, a non-profit media center and public access TV station in Lowell, Mass., who voted in favor of joining NABET-CWA last December, were officially certified by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in February. They joined NABET-CWA Local 51018 and have already begun mobilizing to build strength and unity ahead of contract negotiations. The workers are working closely with NABET-CWA staff and local leaders to not only win a fair contract but also support worker organizing efforts at other public access TV stations in the state.

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Activision Blizzard

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will be moving forward and prosecuting Activision Blizzard for the corporation’s attempt to punish organized workers at Raven Software by denying them raises that were provided to non-organized workers across the country. This comes on the heels of the NLRB’s announcement at the end of last month that they will also be prosecuting Blizzard for surveilling organized workers in Irvine, Calif., and Albany, N.Y. The NLRB has now found merit in multiple Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges, filed by CWA on behalf of the workers, and is pursuing 10 individual allegations of illegal union-busting brought forth through various ULP charges.

CWAers in New York Fight to Raise the Minimum Wage

CWA members, including CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor (pictured left, center), along with a big crowd of other union members and community activists, participated in a rally outside of New York City Hall to demand that the state legislature raise the minimum wage and adjust it to the inflation rate to meet the needs of workers who continue to be crushed by skyrocketing cost of living.

Hundreds of CWA members from across District 3 gathered for their annual meeting last week in Orlando, Fla. They shared ideas in workshops, breakout sessions, and committee meetings and heard from guest speakers.

CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt addresses the District 3 Conference in Orlando, Fla.

Vice President Richard Honeycutt spoke to his members about the many inspiring people he has met in his years with CWA and the value of coming together in person to strategize, learn, build new relationships, and celebrate victories. “Our members have met tough challenges thrown at them over the past few years,” he said. “But we’re all still here, working to secure a better future for ourselves and our kids.” Honeycutt called on everyone in District 3 to keep fighting and keep asking, “What kind of union do we want to be?”

CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens thanked District 3 activists for their tireless work to re-elect Senator Raphael Warnock and preserve a pro-worker Senate majority and said that this is no time to hold back. “CWAers love to say that when we fight, we win. And lately, we have been fighting and winning and organizing and winning like crazy.” She added that the next challenge is to double down on efforts to sign up more nonmembers, including workers in Florida’s public sector, and to stop attacks on public sector workers by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

During the conference, participants also heard from Steve Wisniewski, President of CWA Local 3108 in Orlando; CWA District 2-13 Vice President Ed Mooney; CWA District 4 Vice President Linda L. Hinton; CWA District 6 Vice President Claude Cummings Jr.; Public, Healthcare, and Education Workers Sector Vice President Margaret Cook; IUE-CWA Division President Carl Kennebrew; NewsGuild-CWA President John Schleuss; Vice President of Telecommunications and Technology Lisa Bolton, and other guest speakers.

In the last nine months, the number of lead activists in the CWA Next Generation program has doubled, expanding the program’s reach across the union. The activists are spearheading a gathering planned for May that will bring together more than 50 young members and a dozen mentors from across the country to learn about organizing and plan projects in support of local and district priorities for 2023 and beyond. The young members attending the gathering have been nominated by their locals to bring fresh energy and commitment to grow our union and build alliances with other unions and community members.

“We are all so energized by the explosion of organizing among young workers across the country. And I am proud of the incredible work our new leads are doing with amazing support from their locals, districts, and sectors. It’s a privilege to help guide these young people who are absolutely the future of our movement,” CWA Telecommunications and Technologies Vice President and CWA Next Generation Director Lisa Bolton said.

For more information about the CWA Next Generation program, visit http://cwanextgen.org/.