CWA Member Honored by the FBI

Avaya

CWA members at Avaya have voted to authorize a strike if the company does not meet their demands for a fair contract that provides fair wages, protects benefits for active and retired members, and preserves crucial programs. Instead of respecting our work, the company has been demanding across-the-board cuts and offering insufficient proposals on titles and wages.

The contract was set to expire on September 24, but has been extended for a month as talks continue.

Last week, CWA members and allies in North Carolina, Colorado, and Oklahoma City held a day of action in support of a fair contract at Avaya.

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Piedmont Airlines

Passenger service agents at Piedmont Airlines are mobilizing for a fair contract. Bargaining between the CWA bargaining committee and Piedmont began on September 26, and members participated in bargaining kickoff events at stations across the country.

In a bargaining priorities survey, passenger service agents at Piedmont ranked base pay, paid time off, and safety as their top concerns to address in a new contract. On December 31, 2022, Courtney Edwards – a Piedmont passenger service agent in Montgomery, Ala., and a valued member of CWA Local 3645 – died in a tragic on-the-job accident. Following advocacy from CWA members, OSHA found Piedmont guilty of a serious breach of safety and fined the company the maximum amount allowed by law. Together, passenger service agents at Piedmont stand united and ready to fight for a contract that will provide the safety, fair wages, and work-life balance they deserve.

CWA Members at DCA and CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. are all in for a fair contract at Piedmont!

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New York Times

Last week, members of the Times Guild (NewsGuild of New York, TNG-CWA Local 31003) said goodbye to the award-winning New York Times Sports Desk. Guild members held a vigil in the newsroom, displaying and distributing a ceremonial last edition with submissions by Sports colleagues, then exited the newsroom accompanied by a brass band to rally with supporters.

The union has filed a grievance against the company for unilaterally reassigning union jobs to non-union Times employees at The Athletic, a website acquired by the Times in 2022.

“We are standing up today to remind the company that we will not allow them to subvert the contract we fought so hard to win, nor will we stand for their attempts to pit workers against each other,” Jenny Vrentas, Times Sports Reporter and Local Chair of the NewsGuild of New York, said.

CWA Local 2019 Secretary-Treasurer John W. Smith Jr. was honored by the FBI for his role in identifying a serial killer preying on elderly veterans at a VA hospital in Clarksburg, W.Va.

Last week, John W. Smith Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of CWA Local 2019/West Virginia Troopers Association and a retired West Virginia State Police Corporal, received the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence in Criminal Investigation.

John helped identify a serial killer responsible for an alarming number of deaths of elderly veterans following unexpected crashes in blood sugar levels at the VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, W.Va. The investigative team spent months reviewing tens of thousands of medical records, conducting interviews, and cataloging evidence.

As a result of this painstaking work, the case they assembled was so impressive that after a series of meetings with the defense, the staff member pled guilty to multiple counts of second-degree murder.

Earlier this week, leaders and activists from across CWA District 9 gathered for their annual Meeting and Leadership Conference. This year’s theme was “Up for the Challenge.”

On the first morning of the conference, the CWAers joined UAW Local 2162 members on the picket line outside the General Motors distribution facility near Reno, Nev. CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. addressed the crowd, saying, “Let’s make sure we all understand clearly what this is about – corporate greed. Workers in this country are just tired of working every day to make millions and billions of dollars for these corporate leaders. But workers that are actually doing this work are not getting anything in return.”

In his remarks to the conference, President Cummings said, “It is our responsibility as leaders and activists to build on this incredible momentum and secure a better future for workers and the labor movement. We must focus on our shared values. That is the only way we can rise to the challenges we face as a union, as a movement, and as a country.” He stressed the importance of showing up for one another’s fights and pledged to do more to break down the walls between districts and sectors and celebrate our successes.

CWA Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam reiterated her commitment to “moving our union to greater fiscal accountability and responsiveness to the needs of our local leaders and members.” She noted that “our unity – the feeling that so many of us in this room have – that we are family – is what motivates members to get more involved, despite their already busy schedules. It is a beacon of hope for workers who do not yet have union representation, inspiring them to join our ranks.”

Conference participants also heard from AFA-CWA International Secretary-Treasurer Dante Harris, Western Region At-Large Executive Board Member Keith Gibbs, and Nevada AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Susie Martinez. They participated in workshops to learn more about CWA’s apprenticeship programs; build their organizing, mobilizing, representation, and communications skills; and develop a deeper understanding of workers compensation and labor law.

Nevada AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Susie Martinez, CWA Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam, Nevada AFL-CIO President Liz Sorenson, and CWA President Claude Cummings (upper left), CWA Public, Health, and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook (upper right), and CWAers from across our union joined the UAW picket line outside of Reno, Nev.

United Campus Workers

Earlier this month, graduate student workers, staff, participating faculty, and undergraduate workers at Marquette University announced their decision to officially organize with CWA as members of United Campus Workers of Wisconsin. They are fighting for improved working conditions, including issues such as health care plans and increased stipends for graduate workers, and stable contracts for non-tenure-track faculty members.

On September 14, University of Colorado Boulder campus workers belonging to UCW Colorado (CWA Local 7799) staged a walkout to rally for better treatment of student workers, non-tenure-track faculty, and contracted staff. Workers asserted their demands for improvements, including cost of living adjustments, raises, and minimum guaranteed rates for classes taught by non-tenure-track faculty. While universities like CU Boulder rely heavily on the labor provided by these workers, they continue to fail to provide working conditions commensurate with the immense burden shouldered by their student workers, non-tenure-track faculty, and contracted staff.

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More Organizing News

Workers at GE Appliances/Haier in Florida voted to join IUE-CWA Local 83712.

Customer service workers at Rove Pest Control voted to join CWA Local 7250.

Wall Street Journal Photo Editors voted to join CWA Local 1096 (IAPE).

Workers at Denver Urban Gardens won voluntary recognition to be represented by NewsGuild-CWA Local 37074 (Denver Newspaper Guild).

Producers, engineers, and artists of Snap Studios, the production company behind the award-winning radio program and podcast Snap Judgment and the chart-topping podcast Spooked, have formed Workers of Snap Studios as part of NABET-CWA Local 59051.

Last week, CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. joined a White House Black Workforce Development Roundtable to highlight the work of CWA members and locals who are training the workers of tomorrow.

“Unions are vehicles of racial justice,” President Cummings told the gathered elected and administration officials. “We know that Black workers get a wage boost from being covered by a union contract and that union membership helps close the racial income gap.”

CWA locals across the country are committed to an ambitious workforce development strategy across our sectors, and we’re seeing results as we build out apprenticeship programs and partner with other organizations to incorporate information about the benefits of union membership into their curriculums. CWA will also be offering an OSHA-10 Construction course for broadband technicians taught by CWA broadband technicians. President Cummings made a forceful case for why elected officials should make sure that unions have a seat at the table to ensure that underrepresented populations have access to good, union jobs and invited attendees to partner with CWA.

President Cummings continued raising CWA’s profile with elected officials by hosting a reception for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 52nd Annual Legislative Conference at CWA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. Special guests at the event included Representatives Al Green (D-Tex.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.).