CWA Mourns the Loss of Local 2108 Member Osmar Chavarria

It is with deep sadness that we report the death of Osmar Chavarria, a Verizon worker and member of CWA Local 2108. Osmar is survived by his wife Carmen and his sons, Junior, Alex, and Damien. Osmar suffered fatal injuries when the bucket of his bucket truck came into contact with high-voltage electrical lines.

Those who knew Osmar personally speak of his deep love for his wife and children and his friendliness. If you wish to help support Osmar’s family during this challenging time, please consider making a donation through the following link: https://gofund.me/c8407821.

Our deepest condolences go out to the family, friends, and community left to mourn this tragic loss.

Osmar Chavarria (second from left) passed away due to injuries suffered during a work accident while working for Verizon. Osmar was a member of CWA Local 2108 and will be sorely missed.

Busloads of CWA members from New York (CWA District 1), Alabama and North Carolina (CWA District 3), and across CWA District 2-13 gathered in Washington, D.C., last week for the historic “Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington D.C. & to the Polls.”

This event united a diverse and passionate crowd, with thousands of marchers from various unions joining in solidarity. CWA Chief of Staff Sylvia J. Ramos attended the event in person, and CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. welcomed participants virtually via Zoom.

CWA member Audrianna Lewis, who is a federal call center worker, addressed the crowd, speaking on behalf of low-wage workers at her employer, Maximus. Audrianna gave a shocking account of the callousness of the company, saying, “We are given low wages and high medical costs that keep all of us living paycheck to paycheck. Last fall, Maximus sent out an email asking us to donate clothing to our co-workers in need.

“Let me say that again. A massive company that is paid billions of dollars by the federal government asked ME to donate clothing to my coworkers because they know that people cannot afford new clothes on the wages they pay us. This is not right, and it’s not acceptable in the wealthiest country on earth, and it must stop now.”

Also at the mic was Association of Flight Attendants-CWA International Secretary-Treasurer Dante Harris, who educated the crowd on the differences, both in pay and respect, between Flight Attendants on smaller carriers doing the same job as their counterparts on mainline carriers. Harris asked the crowd, “How many of you think that [Flight Attendants] who do the same job, have the same federal qualifications, wear the same uniform, should get the same pay!?”

Harris also introduced 17-year veteran Flight Attendant and AFA-CWA Steward, London Lester. “Airline corporations have built huge profits on the backs of workers. We wear the same uniforms and do the same work, but our corporate bosses have created tiers between regional and mainline so they can pay a huge part of their workforce poverty wages. AFA-CWA is proud to be a part of the Moral March on Washington. We are stronger together, and together we have the power to create change!”

CWA’s Director of Human Rights and Education, Angie Wells, also spoke, saying, “CWA is proud to be here today to demand that our elected officials address the immoral reality of mass poverty and low wages in the richest country on the planet.”

To watch a video of the event, please click here. CWA members begin speaking at the 2-hour mark.

Top: Members of the CWA Human Rights Committee led the way as CWA activists arrived in Washington, D.C., for the Poor Peoples’ Moral March.
Middle Left: CWA’s Director of Human Rights and Education, Angie Wells (middle), and CWA member Audrianna Lewis prepare to address the crowd.
Middle Right: AFA-CWA International Secretary-Treasurer Dante Harris spoke at the podium and also introduced AFA-CWA Steward London Lester (left).
Bottom: CWA Chief of Staff Sylvia J. Ramos (right) joined marchers at CWA Headquarters before heading to the National Mall.

Late last month, members of the Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees (IAPE) Local 1096 of the NewsGuild-CWA ratified a new, four-year contract with Dow Jones.

Over 81% of eligible IAPE voters cast ballots, and the contract was ratified by a 97% margin. The new contract will guarantee wage increases both immediately and over the course of the contract. The agreement will also freeze health insurance premium rates, enhance mental health coverage and parental leave benefits, as well as add an additional paid company holiday.

Congratulations to the members of IAPE TNG-CWA Local 1096.

There can be no doubt that heat is a major threat to workers both outdoors and indoors. Many members of CWA continue to work outdoors through dangerous heat waves and on shop floors where heat-producing machinery can lead to heat-related illnesses, including heat stroke and death, if not properly protected. Last week, President Joe Biden announced a new, proposed Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard on excessive heat in the workplace that will save lives.

The proposed standard requires employers to create a plan to evaluate and control heat hazards in their workplace. It includes common-sense remedies for heat exposure: access to cold water and rest away from sunlight and heat. As if to prove the adage “common sense isn’t that common,” some Republican governors have moved recently to halt the creation of heat guidelines. In Florida, Governor DeSantis signed HB 433, blocking municipalities from requiring employers to provide heat exposure abatement, such as cooling areas and cold water.

The Biden Administration also plans to release $1 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for Federal Emergency Management Agency projects to help communities prepare for natural disasters and hazards, including heat and wildfire smoke.

Yesterday, CWA President Claude Cummings Jr., along with other members of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, met with President Joe Biden to discuss what is at stake for working families and retirees in the upcoming election. Following Biden’s visit, the group unanimously voted to reaffirm its commitment to re-electing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. “President Biden and Vice President Harris have kept their promises, and our country is headed in the right direction thanks to their unwavering leadership,” President Cummings said in a statement released earlier this week.

AT&T In-Home Experts

Following an impressive win in South Texas last month, organizers ended June with another two historic wins for AT&T In-Home Experts (IHX). These wins occurred in Southern California and Louisiana, which saw 430 and 94 new IHX workers, respectively, joining CWA.

The joint effort involved members from CWA Districts 3, 4, 6, and 9 working together to build strong organizing committees and make sure workers had all the information they needed to make informed decisions about joining. These wins bring the total IHX membership nationwide to approximately 2000 members.

Special thanks go out to CWA District 9 Organizing Coordinator Rose Gonzalez and CWA District 3 Senior Campaign Lead Akeyia Johnson.

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Organizing Roundup

These workers have also joined CWA this past month:

Alamo Collective (CWA Local 7777)
GoNetSpeed (CWA Local 1122)
Democracy NC (CWA Local 3611)
Sightline Media Group (TNG-CWA Local 32035)

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.

Tiffany Rivera (right) at the CWA Convention in St. Louis with former Next Gen Lead Activist Megan Simpson of IUE-CWA Local 83761 (left) and fellow Next Gen activist George Kerr (center).

Name: Tiffany Rivera
Local: IUE-CWA Local 81102 in Long Island City, N.Y.
Workplace: Final Voicer at Steinway & Sons
Title: IUE-CWA Lead Activist
Time with NextGen: Less than a month.
Mentorship: Michelle Smith and Dennis Morales from the Mentorship Program and fellow Next Gen activist Christian Gonzalez, who has shared advice on how to shape her future as an activist.
Inspiration: My experiences as a minimum-wage worker. I had to fight to get more money and benefits from people that didn’t see the value in what my peers and I were doing. After months of back and forth, we were able to win what we deserved. That sparked within me the motivation to get more involved because, although it was a small win, there is and always will be so much more we can do.
Current Work: Uplifting my peers and assisting in anything that they need.
Future: Being involved in the NYC labor and renters’ rights movement.

For more information or to get involved in the CWA Next Generation program, either as an activist or mentor, visit https://cwa-union.org/nextgen!

CWA’s weekly radio show, Hour of Power, is now available as a podcast! Listen in as members of CWA’s Human Rights Committee talk with workers and union leaders about the issues they are facing and the exciting things they are doing to build power for social and economic justice at work and in their communities. Click here for links to subscribe or search for “CWA Hour of Power” on your favorite podcast player.

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