News

CWA locals representing members at AT&T across the union kicked off the "one year to a new contract" mobilization with leafleting and workplace actions across the districts in advance of 2009 negotiations. AT&T Mobility members also joined in, to show support for a united CWA at AT&T and to gear up for the AT&T Mobility Orange negotiations; that contract expires in February 2009.

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said this week's merger announcement by Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines moves Delta's flight attendants one step closer to getting union representation and a contract like Northwest's AFA-represented flight attendants. Delta's 13,400 flight attendants filed for union representation with AFA in February and begin voting next week (April 23) in a union election that runs until May 28.

CWA's National Civil Rights and Equity Conference, held in conjunction with the legislative-political conference, had just gotten underway the evening of April 9 as the newsletter went to press. Some 200 participants looked forward over the next three days to hearing from prominent civil rights activists and participating in panel discussions and workshops challenging them to more fully integrate civil rights issues with the union's core work of organizing, political activism and representation.

The battle for fair trade vs. free trade accelerated this week as President Bush sent his Colombia Free Trade Agreement to Congress, two Democratic candidates for president blasted the deal at CWA's Legislative-Political Conference and the AFL-CIO launched a telephone and e-mail campaign to convince lawmakers to reject the deal.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama had CWA members jumping to their feet, cheering and clapping wildly Tuesday morning during speeches in which both candidates pledged support for the Employee Free Choice Act, health care reform, universal broadband and other key CWA issues.