NABET-CWA Members Join Showdown On Sesame Street

CWA members at AT&T Southwest continue to show support for their bargaining team with creative signs. Members used St. Patrick’s Day and April Fools’ Day to send messages to the company that they remain unified and ready to fight for a fair contract. Messages included “AT&T, we won’t be fooled!” and “Don’t hoard all the gold, AT&T!” Members have also voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike, demonstrating their determination and support for their bargaining team.

Last week, NABET-CWA members held rallies in Boston and Washington, D.C., and submitted congressional testimony to deliver a resounding message that funding for local, independent public TV and radio stations is essential to providing trusted, important local news and weather, beloved children’s programming, and much more. The House Oversight Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee held a hearing in support of the Trump administration’s DOGE efforts to cut off federal funding.

“In my community, our station is more than just a source of news,” said Alyssa Micha, a Senior Creative Producer at WSKG Public Media in New York, in testimony to the congressional subcommittee. “We are here to ensure that every family—regardless of background or income—has access to the knowledge and opportunities they need to thrive. That’s the power of public media, and that’s why this work matters to me.”

Public TV and radio stations reach nearly 99% of Americans, and, in many areas, they are the only locally owned and operated sources of news available. Shutting down funding could force some stations to go dark, particularly in smaller communities that rely on independent, not-for-profit media to stay informed. NABET-CWA members who work at these locally owned stations play a crucial role in keeping communities informed.

Above: NABET-CWA Local 51018 officers and members rally in Boston to save public media.
Below: NABET-CWA President Charlie Braico (second from right) joins union members and supporters for a rally in Washington, D.C.

Last week, President Trump issued an illegal executive order targeted at workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain contracts. The order prevents workers at over 30 federal agencies from exercising their fundamental right to join together to improve their working conditions. It specifically targets these workers and their unions because they have filed grievances against President Trump and members of his administration over illegal layoffs and other actions they have taken to violate union contracts and federal law.

CWA members and retirees have joined with the rest of the labor movement to fight back against this attack, which threatens all of us. With this executive order and other attacks on our rights, President Trump and his billionaire backers are sending a clear message to our employers: if you want to ignore union contracts and labor laws, we have your back.

Protecting workers’ collective bargaining rights isn’t a partisan issue. It’s about whether or not you want to hand even more control over our jobs and our lives to CEOs and hedge fund managers.

On Tuesday, Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, along with a group of other Republican members of Congress, sent a letter to President Trump asking him to reconsider the executive order and restore federal workers’ collective bargaining rights. Rep. Fitzpatrick also joined with Maine Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat, to introduce a bill to reverse the executive order.

Click here to send a message to your members of Congress asking them to stand up for our right to form unions and bargain contracts.

Marking one year until their contract expires, workers at Lumen in CWA District 7 have kicked off a mobilization campaign designed to keep members informed, unified, and active during bargaining. The “All In” campaign began last week with a call for members across the district to post photos of themselves and their coworkers wearing red, sporting red sunglasses, or holding up their index finger to signify the one-year countdown.

Five rank-and-file members will serve as Regional Mobilization Coordinators, working directly with locals to ensure accurate, rapid communication and to help coordinate mobilization actions.

“CWA District 7 members,” said CWA District 7 Vice President Susie Mcallister, “are already preparing to show Lumen that they will do whatever it takes to secure a fair, equitable contract that reflects the contributions they make not only for Lumen but for their customers as well.”

Members are seeking enhanced job security, wages to keep pace with rebounding inflation, and a neutrality agreement to facilitate future organizing of unrepresented workers.

To stay up-to-date on mobilization news, you can reach out to your local officers or stewards or follow the CWA District 7 “Solidarity Seven” Facebook page.

Manufacturing workers at GE Aerospace are ready to fight for a fair contract. Last week, members from IUE-CWA Local 81201 in Lynn, Mass. (pictured), participated in an “Unfreeze COLA” National Day of Action in solidarity with IUE-CWA-represented GE workers from Local 81301 in Niskayuna, N.Y., Local 83701 in Madisonville, Ky., and Local 86004 in Strotherfield, Kan.

The more than two thousand workers covered by this contract are ready to fight for increased wages, retirement security, improved healthcare costs, an end to offshoring of jobs, and for the company to remove its freeze on cost of living adjustments (COLA). Negotiations begin June 2, and their current contract will end on June 25.

Last week, telecommunication workers at Brightspeed of Northcentral Ohio, Inc., represented by CWA Local 4370, voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new, five-year contract. Workers install and repair fiber optic cables and copper wiring to connect semi-rural and rural communities to the Internet.

Bargaining lasted for four days and resulted in pay increases, restrictions on mandatory overtime, and stronger successor language to ensure that, in the event of a sale, the purchasing company would be obligated to uphold the existing contract with workers.

“The bargaining team did a great job, pushed where they could, stood their ground where they had to, and got everything they could for their members,” said CWA District 4 Staff Representative Dustin Robinett.

In March, journalists, federal workers, and their unions sued the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), its Acting Director Victor Morales, and Special Adviser Kari Lake to challenge the unlawful shuttering of the agency and silencing of global media. The NewsGuild-CWA is a co-plaintiff in the suit and represents about 100 journalists and other workers at Radio Free Asia (RFA), which receives a Congressionally-mandated grant from USAGM.

The agency stopped paying RFA last month, and the newsroom furloughed about 75% of our members, leaving a skeleton crew to continue broadcasting news into countries controlled by repressive regimes. The NewsGuild-CWA is fighting to turn the grants back on and get members back on the job. On Friday, the Guild won a temporary restraining order to freeze efforts by the Trump administration to continue dismantling the agency.

“The work of journalists at Radio Free Asia, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and other newsrooms ensures that these fundamental American freedoms know no borders,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss. “Journalists across the globe fight every single day to hold power to account, expose corruption, and provide communities with life-saving news. We’ll do whatever it takes to support that fight.”

You can watch a video from the rally here.

Flight Attendants at PSA Airlines (PSA) held informational pickets last week at airports around the country in an AFA-CWA “Day of Action.” PSA is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines, yet workers at the carrier are routinely paid less than half what the company pays its American Airlines employees.

PSA Flight Attendants voted 99.2% in favor of authorizing a strike as negotiations have already dragged on for nearly two years. In the picture above are Flight Attendants from (clockwise, from top left) Dayton International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and Charlotte Douglas International Airport.