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CWA Joins Call for High Labor Standards in Semiconductor Industry
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Yesterday, CWA, as part of a new coalition of public interest organizations known as CHIPS Communities United (CCU), released a public letter calling on semiconductor companies to ensure that the promised economic and social benefits of federal CHIPS Act funding are realized for the workers and communities where semiconductor manufacturing facilities are situated.
"Rebuilding the U.S. semiconductor industry presents an opportunity to create good jobs in communities across this country," said CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. "But without a conscious effort, we run the risk of replicating the discriminatory structures that have led to the underrepresentation of women, people of color, veterans, and people with disabilities in manufacturing jobs. Industry CEOs must guarantee, in writing, the protection of their workers and our communities before finalizing these deals."
While the CHIPS Act aims to rebuild the U.S. semiconductor industry, it currently lacks explicit provisions to ensure that the benefits of this substantial taxpayer investment reach U.S. workers and communities. The coalition is calling upon semiconductor companies benefiting from CHIPS Act subsidies to commit to comprehensive community benefit agreements to establish these protections.
“We’ve been fighting for a voice on the job at my plant and met with nothing but unethical union-busting,” said Jim Woods, a worker at semiconductor supply chain company Momentive Technologies in Strongsville, Ohio, where workers have been organizing with IUE-CWA. “Our taxpayer dollars shouldn’t go to companies that break the law and don’t respect workers’ right to organize. U.S. workers are ready to build the technology of the future; we just want to be protected while doing it.”
Bargaining Update
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Siemens
Members of IUE-CWA Local 84765 at Siemens in Cincinnati are mobilizing to protest proposed drastic cuts to their healthcare plan. On October 21, members participated in an informational picket outside the factory to protest the multi-billion dollar company’s proposal to replace their current health care plan with an unaffordable, high-deductible plan.
"Our fight extends beyond Siemens,” Victor Henderson, President of IUE-CWA Local 84765, told local station WLWT. “It's a collective stand to protect healthcare as a fundamental human right. We will not compromise the well-being of our workers. We demand quality healthcare for all, without exception.”
Over the years, workers at Siemens have made many sacrifices to keep the facility operational. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Siemens workers put their health and safety at risk to the benefit of the company’s bottom line, on top of putting their bodies on the line day in and day out building large industrial electric motors. Moreover, they sacrificed wage increases over the last six years to maintain their current healthcare plan. Now, members are standing together union strong to say affordable healthcare should not be a matter of negotiation.
IUE-CWA Local 84765 members who work at Siemens protested proposed cuts to their healthcare.
Organizing Update
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Maximus
Workers organizing with CWA at federal call center contractor Maximus announced that they are ready to strike in a new video released this week. The workers, who handle Medicare and Affordable Care Act calls, intend to strike on November 9, during the open enrollment period for those programs, if their calls for livable wages and better working conditions continue to go unanswered.
As the largest federal call center contractor, Maximus has not aligned with President Biden’s commitments to advancing racial equity and supporting workers who want to organize unions, coming under fire after complaints of low wages and minimal protections from abusive callers in the workplace, allegations of union-busting, and unsafe working conditions. The union is calling for HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to investigate Maximus’ labor practices to determine whether it is fulfilling its obligations as a federal contractor.
Support Maximus workers by clicking here to send a letter to Secretary Becerra telling him that it is time to investigate Maximus!
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More Organizing News
Workers at digital privacy rights organization The Calyx Institute won recognition as members of CWA Local 1101.
Workers at Verizon subcontractor OSD Utilities won recognition as members of CWA Local 1101. OSD completes finishing work (concrete, slabs, cement curbs etc.) during FIOS buildouts.
Workers at the Lawrence Community Shelter are organizing to join CWA Local 6400.
Workers at the Fair Housing Council of Oregon voted to join CWA as members of Fair Housing Workers of Oregon-CWA Local 7901.
A majority of the staff at Santa Fe, N.M., conservation group WildEarth Guardians won voluntary recognition to join the Denver Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA Local 37074.
Workers at Embarcadero Media won voluntary recognition to join The Pacific Media Workers Guild, NewsGuild-CWA Local 39521.
Worker Power Update
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Empowering Striking Workers Act
This week, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) introduced the Empowering Striking Workers Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would guarantee striking workers across the country equal access to unemployment benefits while engaging in their legal right to protest injustice in the workplace and improve their working conditions.
“Workers sacrifice their paychecks and their family’s financial stability in order to hold employers accountable when they are forced to go on strike by employers who refuse to negotiate fair contracts,” said CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce. “No worker should be denied the unemployment insurance they’ve earned and deserve simply because they are exercising their right to strike.”
Currently, only New York and New Jersey give workers equal access to unemployment benefits whether families are missing a paycheck due to layoffs, lockouts, or strikes. A management tactic is to prolong strikes to let workers financially “bleed out” to force concessions. “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told Deadline, regarding the writers’ (WGA) strike. Rep. Schiff’s bill would level the playing field and potentially shorten the duration of labor disputes by preventing unethical employers from utilizing these strongarm tactics that harm working families.
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Honoring Nancy Pelosi’s Leadership
Last week, CWA Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam and AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson participated in an event honoring former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Speaking to the crowd, Salaam said, “For over 35 years, Representative Pelosi’s fervent leadership has been an embodiment of the reminder that we are all long-time soldiers in the fight for a better, fairer, and more equitable world.” The event was hosted by End Citizens United, a group dedicated to fixing our democracy by getting big money out of politics and protecting the right to vote.
CWA Next Generation and Human Rights Department Team Up to Include Young Members in Trainings
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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.