CWA Member Demonstrates the Union Difference in Fiber Cable Splicing at a White House Event

CWA Local 7212 member and splicing technician Jeremy Przybilla and CWA President Chris Shelton were guests of President Biden at a White House event to celebrate commitments made under the administration’s Talent Pipeline Challenge. Przybilla, who works for rural broadband coop CTC in Minnesota, demonstrated the care and skill required to ensure fiber cable is handled correctly, and talked about the highly trained union workforce that will be necessary to meet the broadband buildout needs funded in the bipartisan infrastructure bill championed by the President.

As part of the challenge, CWA announced a slate of new and expanded industry and employer partnerships this week to support technician training and good union jobs.

“With significant investment from the Biden Administration and strong commitments in place from our industry partners, we can make these highly skilled and technical careers within reach for many more workers, including former technicians who are on the sidelines due to years of job cuts,” said CWA President Chris Shelton.

CWA’s initiatives include a partnership with AT&T to explore efforts to attract, train, and retain employees, with a focus on current AT&T employees and recruitment from populations who have not traditionally worked in technician positions; a statewide expansion of fiber technician apprenticeship across California led by CWA District 9 in partnership with Chabot-Las Positas Community College District in San Jose; and a partnership with NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association to make apprenticeship programs accessible to NTCA member companies and offer companies the opportunity to have employees participate in an OSHA 10 training course delivered by OSHA-authorized CWA trainers who are broadband technicians themselves. Read more here.

CWA member and splicing technician Jeremy Przybilla joined CWA President Chris Shelton and CTC CEO Kristi Westbrook at the White House to demonstrate to attendees how to splice and test fiber cable as part of an event celebrating the Biden administration’s commitments to support good jobs and equitable workforce development within broadband and other infrastructure industries.