Jun 22, 2023 - CWA Endorses President Biden for Re-Election and other news

CWA Endorses Re-Election of President Biden and Vice President Harris

Last Friday, CWA endorsed the re-election of President Biden and Vice President Harris, who have been true allies of CWA and the labor movement in the White House. In a video statement announcing CWA’s endorsement, CWA President Chris Shelton said, “Our union enthusiastically supports President Biden’s re-election. Here’s why: when it is time to make decisions that affect working people, he doesn’t ask CEOs how they feel, he doesn’t ask Wall Street investors what they think, he talks to workers. Joe Biden respects who we are, what we think, and is absolutely committed to doing everything he can to support the labor movement. And we're going to do everything we can to support him.”

In their endorsement resolution, CWA’s Executive Board said, “Because of his unquestionable commitment to empowering working people, CWA wholeheartedly endorses Joe Biden for re-election as President of the United States.” The resolution also noted that President Biden has been a true partner for CWA and the labor movement in the White House. It highlighted the Biden-Harris administration’s accomplishments, including an over $40 billion investment in job-creating broadband infrastructure projects, which included the first ever labor standards on any federal broadband funding; badly needed support at the height of the pandemic to prevent layoffs of public sector workers, Flight Attendants, and passenger service agents; strengthening Buy American laws; and investing in American-made computer chips and renewable energy. Read the full statement here.

On Saturday, CWAers, along with thousands of union members from across the country, participated in the Labor for Biden-Harris 2024 Rally in Philadelphia to show their support and endorsement for President Biden’s re-election. CWA Local 13000 member Bill Scott, who spoke at the event, highlighted how President Biden’s leadership on expanding broadband access and strengthening labor protections has made a “huge difference” for him and fellow CWAers. “I am honored to join my extended union family in endorsing our president, Joe Biden. President Biden is the most labor-friendly president of my lifetime, period. He has shown up for working people in so many ways…That is why I look forward to seeing you all over the next year and a half while we do the required work to re-elect our friend, our advocate, and our leader, President Joe Biden, so he can finish the job,” said Scott. CWA District 2-13 Vice President Ed Mooney also attended the event.

CWA’s Legislative and Political Action Teams, made up of thousands of CWA activists around the country, will be fully engaged with CWA members, retirees, and working families across the country to discuss what’s at stake in the election and the importance of re-electing President Biden, Vice President Harris, and members of Congress who support our work to rebuild power for working people. We must ensure that we continue to build on the progress we have made and get the job done.

Frontier (West Virginia)

CWAers at Frontier in West Virginia and Ashburn, Va., are continuing to bargain for a new contract that covers approximately 1,400 members. In the latest round of negotiations, the committees held discussions on the company’s work-at-home proposal. They also met for a presentation by the company regarding healthcare, which included Frontier’s active benefit proposal. The union committee is reviewing the proposal and information provided. The union’s bargaining committee is committed to gathering all of the necessary information needed to bargain a fair contract and ensure the issues that impact workers and their families are addressed. The workers, including those working from home, have continued to mobilize by holding workplace and virtual actions to strengthen their power at the bargaining table. Read more here.

CWAers at Frontier in West Virginia and Ashburn, Va., wore their CWA red to show their solidarity and collective power as they continue to mobilize and bargain for a new contract.

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The Second City

Comedy educators at The Second City in Hollywood, Calif., represented by CWA Local 9400, are mobilizing to fight against the company’s stalling tactics and bargain for a fair contract. Their union, Association of International Comedy Educators (AICE), which also includes workers in Chicago, Ill., represented by the Illinois Federation of Teachers, and Toronto, Ontario, represented by CWA Canada, have been negotiating for a first contract for more than 500 days without any meaningful progress.

The Second City leadership have been no-shows at the last several rounds of negotiations. Earlier this month, the workers launched a petition to pressure the company’s leadership to come to the table and bargain in good faith. Last Tuesday, AICE Chicago members released a video on social media calling on Second City management to respect its workers and negotiate an equitable first contract that addresses the workers’ priorities.

The Second City has been a training ground for generations of Canadian and American humorists. Alumni include Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, Rick Moranis, Joan Rivers, and Amber Ruffin.

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NBC

NewsGuild-CWA members at NBC, who have been fighting for a first contract for three years, are continuing to mobilize to fight back against the company’s union busting. Last week, workers used a light display to call out members of the senior leadership at NBC for illegally laying off workers, slashing union members’ salaries, not showing up for bargaining sessions or responding to emails, striping workers of their union protections, and more. The workers used projections on buildings to shine a light on the executives behind the union-busting behavior. The workers plan to take further collective action against management’s illegal actions to demand justice and respect, and to swiftly reach an agreement on a first contract with the company.

NewsGuild-CWA members at NBC, who have been fighting for a first contract for three years, called out NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde and other members of the leadership team for being union busters using a light projection on the historic NBC Studios building in New York City.

On Monday, hundreds of CWAers participated in the annual celebration of Juneteenth by attending a virtual event to reflect on Juneteenth’s history and this significant day’s impact.

This year’s event, hosted by the CWA Human Rights Department, featured union leaders, organizers, activists, and guest speakers at the forefront of transformational movements within their workplaces and communities. CWA National Executive Board Diversity Committee Co-Chairs IUE-CWA President Carl Kennebrew and CWA District 6 Vice President Claude Cummings Jr. participated in the event and spoke to participants about the history and importance of this holiday as well as the ongoing impact of structural racism and effective ways to combat it. CWA National Civil Rights and Equity Committee Chair Reginald Small (CWA Local 6215) also took part in the event. In addition, invited guest speakers, including Beverly Davis, Vice President of Remembering Black Dallas, and Phyliss Craig Taylor, Professor of Law at North Carolina Central University, gave presentations on the intersection of Black history and the fight for freedom with the fight for worker protections and labor rights. Watch the full event here.

In his Juneteenth statement, CWA President Chris Shelton said, “Eradicating systemic racism in our union, our workplaces, and our communities is not something that can be accomplished in a day. It will take decades of difficult, uncomfortable work. But it is work that we absolutely must continue to do in order to live up to CWA’s values by securing the ‘inherent rights and dignities’ of every member.” Read the full statement here.

Across the country, CWAers participated in various Juneteenth celebrations in their communities. This year, several CWA activists took the opportunity to discuss how to engage with state and local broadband expansion plans as part of CWA’s Build Broadband Better campaign. Black communities have often been left behind by internet service providers, a process known as digital redlining. The CWA activists distributed flyers, held one-on-one conversations, and educated community members about the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a federal program that allows low-income families to afford high-speed internet access.

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In California, CWAers joined celebrations in Sacramento and Oakland over the Juneteenth weekend. They distributed over 500 flyers promoting the ACP in both English and Spanish and led discussions with community members about the need for broadband expansion.

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In Charleston, W. Va., CWAers set up a Build Broadband for All table to promote the ACP and engage with community members about our ongoing campaign to increase broadband access to all communities using skilled union workers.

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In Denver, Colo., a group of CWA activists participated in the Juneteenth festival over the weekend to promote the ACP and engage with community members and several organizations about broadband expansion.

A group of CWA activists from District 7 participated in the CWA Human Rights and Anti-Racism training last week in Denver, Colo. The training is part of our union’s ongoing efforts to live up to the commitment by the CWA Executive Board, in response to the national uprisings following the murder of George Floyd, to create dedicated spaces for open dialogue on race for our members and leaders. The discussions help determine outcomes and clear steps the union and members must take to fight racism in the union, within the industries we represent, and in the community at large. The training focused on recognizing implicit bias, how to actively dismantle racist systems, ideas, and practices, and how to form local human rights committees. The participants, who came from 10 different locals, plan to continue to create similar spaces in their own locals and locals in their area for members to discuss how to build an anti-racist union.