Dec 12, 2019 - AT&T’s New Plan to Cut Labor Costs

At the CWA National Legislative-Political Retreat, CWA President Chris Shelton spoke to activists about how critical it is to take back the White House and the U.S. Senate with pro-union candidates in 2020 if we want the labor movement to survive. Shelton urged CWA members to concentrate their efforts on electing candidates who will focus on increasing the power of working people to join unions and bargain strong contracts in 2021.

At the conference, attendees also discussed why passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act are a foundation for CWA's legislative agenda, and how CWA members and retirees can participate in crucial election campaigns across the country in 2020.

CWA activists gathered in Silver Spring, Md., for the CWA National Legislative-Political Retreat to hear from CWA president Chris Shelton on how CWA members and retirees can participate in crucial election campaigns across the country in 2020.

Outside the UBS Investor Conference in New York City this week, activists protested vulture hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer's plan to extract profits from AT&T by eliminating jobs and divesting critical assets. AT&T has already agreed to some of Singer's proposals, including announcing a plan to buy back $30 billion of its own stock over the next three years.

As they chanted outside the meeting, AT&T Chief Operating Officer John Stankey signaled that the company will continue to give in to Singer's demands, announcing to investors that AT&T plans to cut labor costs in the year ahead and warned that "no place is safe" from cuts.

CWA President Chris Shelton has pledged that CWA members "will continue to oppose Paul Singer's agenda and do what we've always done: fight back against corporate greed by standing up to protect good jobs at the bargaining table and, when necessary, on the strike line."

Outside the UBS Investor Conference in New York City this week, activists protested vulture hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer's plan to extract profits from AT&T by eliminating jobs and divesting critical assets.

As the trial over the T-Mobile/Sprint merger opened on Monday, CWA members and other groups gathered outside the courthouse to express their concerns about the merger and show their support for the 14 state attorneys general who filed the lawsuit to block the merger.

CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor and T-Mobile Workers United (TU) members Mike Godshall from Wichita, Kan., and Mark Jenkins from Bellingham, Wash., thanked the attorneys general for their commitment to protect workers and consumers from the job loss and higher prices that could result from this merger.

Trainor noted that T-Mobile has made many promises to get the merger approved, but that the only way to enforce promises on jobs is through a collective bargaining agreement. "With union representation in T-Mobile workplaces, CWA would be able to track any job cuts after the merger and to hold T-Mobile accountable," Trainor said. "That is why CWA has been clear that T-Mobile must commit to respect its workers' right to organize. This would give workers at the new T-Mobile free choice to join a union, which is a necessary condition to protect good jobs at the company after the merger."

As the trial over the T-Mobile/Sprint merger opened on Monday, CWA members and other groups gathered outside the courthouse to express their concerns about the merger and show their support for the 14 state attorneys general who filed the lawsuit to block the merger. [Photos courtesy of Colin Hull.]

The CWA Executive Board issued a statement this week condemning ongoing abuses of union and progressive activists in the Philippines by the Duterte regime.

"We are united in our support for activists in the Philippines who are seeking to improve the lives and conditions of Filipino workers," the Executive Board wrote. "Workers must be free to exercise their human rights across the globe, including the right to form and join unions."

Recent reports indicate that the U.S. may begin negotiating a new free trade agreement with the Philippines. CWA opposes this action, which would send a terrible message to repressive governments everywhere, giving them a green light to continue suppressing dissent and retaliating against those who dare to speak out.

The Executive Board also called on elected officials and executives of multinational corporations doing business in the Philippines to speak out against the human rights violations that are on the rise in the Philippines and use their voices and influence to call for real reform.

At their December meeting, members of the CWA Executive Board showed their support for union activists in the Philippines.

OCT Workers Alliance

The OCT Workers Alliance (OCTWA) has won voluntary recognition from Our Children's Trust (OCT), an environmental and climate justice nonprofit in Eugene, Ore., joining several other nonprofits in Oregon already represented by CWA Local 7901.

OCT workers decided to form a union in response to an impending organizational restructuring of OCT and instances of discriminatory treatment toward frontline staff members.

IUE-CWA members from across the country, including IUE-CWA President Carl Kennebrew, gathered in Washington, D.C., to meet with their members of congress about the importance of increasing the power of working people by passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and reducing the influence of multinational corporations over our economy.