Key Senators Hear from Us on NLRB Day of Action

CWA activists and allies rallied outside their senators' offices and delivered petitions with thousands of signatures, calling on the Senate to approve all five nominations to the National Labor Relations Board. Even bigger: CWAers, friends and family made thousands of phone calls from worksites, meetings and their homes calling on their Senators to get these nominations done.

Rallies and actions were held in 26 states, with CWA members joined by Sierra Club, Blue Green Alliance, Jobs with Justice, and AFL-CIO activists. At last count, 3,350 letters were delivered to Senate offices in seven states, and meetings with senators and staff were held in states including Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Wisconsin and others.

Worksite leafleting and our phone campaign went into overdrive, with key Senate offices receiving thousands of calls this week. In states where senators already have committed to supporting an up-or-down vote on the nominations, or where senators won't support working families at all, activists focused on messages to Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Senate leaders like Senator Chuck Schumer.

Some highlights:

• New York CWAers made more than 800 phone calls to Senator Chuck Schumer.


• CWA’s Legislative Political Action Team in Ohio, with State AFL-CIO leaders and activists, delivered 400 handwritten letter to Senator Robert Portman.


• In Indiana, LPAT members delivered boxes of letters to Senator Joe Donnelly.


• In Michigan, CWA activists were joined by workers at Panera, who are in their own fight for fairness.


• Allies like U.S. Action, Citizen Action of NY, Working Family Party and others are emailing their members and urging them to contact their Senators about the need for an up or down vote on the five NLRB nominees.

In Washington, DC, former CNN employee Jimmy Suissa told his story in front of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Nearly a decade ago, CNN illegally terminated a subcontracting agreement with Team Video Services, whose employees were represented by NABET-CWA.

"I was pushed out because I was a union leader," said Suissa, who still doesn't have his job or back pay despite a NLRB administrative law judge ruling in his favor.

We're not stopping now. We'll still have time to make leaflet more worksites, make sure the public knows what's at stake and make more phone calls. Our senators, especially the Democratic majority, need to hear from us.

Sign the petition, and download flyers for worksite and public leafleting here. 

Wisconsin LPAT activists rally outside the office of Sen. Ron Johnson (R).

Members of CWA Locals 3601, 3603, 3607 3611 3640 and 3680 joined the "Moral Monday" demonstration in Raleigh, NC. The NAACP distributed leaflets about why workers need a fully-functional NLRB.

CWAers rally outside the St. Louis office of Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Workers took to Chicago's Federal Plaza and delivered more than 1,300 letters to Sen. Mark Kirk's office, urging Kirk to confirm all five NLRB nominees. Watch their video of the action here: youtu.be/jQ7kwFqlU9w.

Members of CWA Locals 9404, 9410, 9415, 9416, 9423 and 39521 rally in outside Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office in San Francisco.

That same rally, which also protested cuts to Medicare and Social Security, had demonstrators raising their hands to "Give Us Five!"

Nelson Rivera, fired for organizing a union, meets with Sen. Elizabeth Warren's staff on the Day of Action.

Indiana activists tell Sen. Joe Donnelly, "We have always been there for you. Now we need your help."

In Michigan, CWA members and workers at Panera Bread, who are fighting for a union voice, rallied outside the office of Sen. Carl Levin. The group collected about 500 letters to Michigan senators about the need for an up or down vote on all five NLRB nominees.

Former CNN employee Jimmy Suissa says, "A judge has said, 'Yes, Jimmy, you were wronged.' He wrote it out in black and white. But without five members on the NLRB I'll never get my job back with back pay."

Michigan LPAT activists deliver letters and a thank you to Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

Activists thank Sen. Sherrod Brown for supporting the confirmation of all five NLRB nominees.

Local 1103 activists make the call to Sen. Schumer for 5 NLRB members.