CWA Next Generation and Human Rights Department Team Up to Include Young Members in Trainings

CWA Next Gen and the Human Rights Department have been collaborating since last spring to expand opportunities for young members to participate in trainings and other activities. Last week, CWA Next Generation activist and Local 4100 member John Hibbs attended a two-day training on “Building an Anti-Racist Union” and “Gender Justice” at CWA Local 4320 in Columbus, Ohio. The training was led by National Civil Rights and Equity Committee members Vonda Wilkins (Executive Vice President, CWA Local 7019) and DeAndre “Dre” Davis (Vice President, CWA Local 4100).

According to John, “Coming into this training, I was fired up to learn as much as I could about confronting bias and becoming a better activist. Dre and Vonda shared powerful case studies that showed how big companies use both union-busting and racism to divide us and drive their anti-worker agendas, from the Delano grape strike to the Memphis sanitation workers’ march. If history has shown us anything, it’s that the time for solidarity is now, the time for mobilization is now, and the time for action is now! I highly recommend this class to everyone in CWA.”

There are more trainings coming up this fall in several locals across the country. CWA members aged 35 and younger who are interested in getting involved in the Next Generation program and/or learning more about the collaboration with the Human Rights Department should send an email message to NextGen@cwa-union.org.