Apr 4, 2024 - CWA Members Turn Out for AT&T/DTV Fight

CWA Members at AT&T and DirecTV Hold the Line 

Last week, CWA District 9 members and community supporters rallied in a show of solidarity with the AT&T and DirecTV bargaining teams. The simultaneous rallies took place in Sacramento and Los Angeles, Calif., with participants braving the rain in L.A. to make their voices heard.

These demonstrations came just days after a district-wide day of solidarity. Members wore red, entered their workplaces as a unified group, and even turned their backs on management during morning briefings to show their determination.

At the Sacramento rally, which drew a crowd of approximately 200 members and supporters, CWA Area Director Lynn Johnson and CWA Local 9412 President Keith Gibbs addressed the crowd gathered at Cesar Chavez Plaza. The group then marched to an AT&T central office to picket. In Los Angeles, CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce thanked the crowd of over 300 for braving the rain and encouraged those in attendance to remain steadfast in their resolve to secure a new contract. Other speakers at the Los Angeles rally included CWA Local 9400 President Maurice Washington, Local 9003 President Marisa Remski, Local 9505 President Omar Cervantes, Local 9416 President David Martinez, and AFA-CWA Secretary-Treasurer Dante Harris. All the speakers echoed Arce’s call for unity and that CWA would not back down from a fight.

Despite having put forth numerous proposals during negotiations, the AT&T bargaining team is seeing little progress from the company. Demonstrations of solidarity help energize the bargaining team and show the company that workers are paying attention.

Negotiations with DirecTV have been more productive, especially when compared to the glacial pace of bargaining with AT&T. The bargaining team has won some early concessions from DirecTV to include optional consecutive days off and is hopeful about other key points.

For both AT&T and DirecTV, negotiators urge workers to stay ready for escalation. Both contracts will expire on April 6.

For the latest updates on District 9 bargaining, please visit their website. You can also follow them on Facebook or Instagram @CWADistrict9.

 
CWA District 9 workers at AT&T and DirecTV braved inclement weather to show their support for their respective bargaining teams. Recent rallies took place in both Sacramento and Los Angeles, Calif.

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Above: Members invoked the character Norma Rae, based on the life of union activist Crystal Lee Sutton. 
Below: Members of CWA Local 9421 wore red to show their solidarity. Worksite actions took place across CWA District 9 two days before the large rallies in Sacramento and Los Angeles. 

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IAPE/TNG Workers Put Dow Jones on Notice 

For many of us, coffee is an essential part of our morning routines. Members of IAPE (TNG-CWA Local 1096) have found a better use for their cup of joe ... as a bargaining tool.

After multiple contract extensions and still no agreement, workers decided to demonstrate their collective strength by taking a coordinated 15-minute coffee break last week. Under their contract, work stoppages are prohibited. However, there are no rules against taking a coffee break. That contract expired on April 1, allowing for more direct actions going forward.

Over two hundred workers across the U.S. and Canada grabbed coffee, meeting either in person or virtually to share both coffee and information. IAPE representatives also delivered a new, comprehensive proposal to Dow Jones management, emphasizing the need for retroactive wage increases and pay hikes commensurate with company performance.

The union has filed formal complaints challenging an assortment of management activity, including retaliatory disciplinary actions and violation of the “Rehire” provision of the collective agreement.

Contract negotiations are set to resume on April 4.

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IUE-CWA Workers Picket for a Better Contract

Last month, workers at Current Lighting in Christiansburg, Va., who are members of IUE-CWA Local 82160, picketed outside their facility to pressure the company to return to the bargaining table. Local 82160, led by President Penny Franklin, has been in contract negotiations for over a year, but after multiple extensions, it became apparent to workers that the company had no intention of bargaining in good faith. Along with the picket, the union contacted the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and requested that a mediator get involved. This, along with the picket line, got the company’s attention, and dates have been scheduled to continue bargaining.

Workers expected to keep much of the existing contract, which had been in place for 47 years, intact and planned to bargain primarily on wage increases. The new owners of the facility, however, have indicated that they want to dismiss the current contract and negotiate an entirely new one.

The informational picket was staffed with both members and supporters who had educational conversations with workers and passed out written information. The rally and picket line were held before and after the shift change, allowing employees from both first and second shift to participate.

The bargaining team is set to return to negotiations to maintain the benefits established in their existing contract and win workers a fair wage.

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CWA Library Workers Make Some Noise for Fair Pay 

Last week, library workers in East Brunswick, N.J., represented by CWA Local 1031, ramped up their mobilization efforts to help secure their first contract. Workers marched on a Library Board meeting to fight for higher wages and worker protections, especially for part-time workers who make up 75% of the East Brunswick Public Library (EBPL) staff. Part-time workers currently do not get paid during unexpected facility closures like weather or emergencies. Staff are also seeking workplace modernizations and measures for worker retention.

Led by CWA Local 1031 President Kathleen Hernandez, members stood during the Board Meeting to speak and delivered a petition signed by staff and supporters. CWA member and part-time worker for EBPL, Rebecca Levine, read from the staff petition, saying, “We are fighting for equitable salary increases that recognize the current economic climate. We are fighting to modernize our workplaces to recruit and retain a talented workforce to provide the services the East Brunswick residents deserve.”

To watch CWA Local 1031 members in action, click here.

 
CWA Local 1031 Library workers in East Brunswick, N.J., ramped up mobilization and took their fight directly to the Library Board to demand fair wages, respect, and better working conditions.

Amid growing concerns over artificial intelligence, the NewsGuild-CWA and NABET-CWA last week sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urging Congress to ensure that any legislation addressing artificial intelligence is drafted in a way that protects journalists and creative workers.

A number of unions representing these workers co-signed the letter, including the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW).

The letter specifically urges Congress to protect journalists, film and television writers, and creative workers from artificial intelligence by: ensuring AI does not replace or replicate the work of journalists and creative professionals; safeguarding against the use of AI to surveil workers and their work product; protecting professional voice, likeness, performance, and written talent; and codifying workers’ rights to bargain collectively over AI policy in the workplace.

Campus workers at the University of South Carolina (United Campus Workers-CWA Local 3765) rallied last week to demand higher wages, starting with a minimum wage of $20/hr. The gathered rallied on campus in front of President Michael Amiridis’ mansion, where they delivered a petition with over one thousand signatures supporting their calls for higher wages and increases to work stipends for graduate workers and staff. UCW-CWA member Victor Pond said, “We’re asking for just enough to live and eat. In my first semester, I really struggled to pay my rent and eat at the same time. And a lot of other grad students have it even worse. We deserve to be paid for our labor.”

UCW-CWA Local 3765 won a $15 minimum wage in 2021 and participated in a lobby day in February, during which they spoke directly with Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su about the need for fair pay and better labor conditions in higher education. Su expressed support for UCW-CWA’s mission and encouraged campus workers to continue organizing.

 
UCW-CWA Local 3765 members rallied in front of the president’s mansion on the campus of the University of South Carolina in Columbia to demand higher wages and increases to work stipends.

Long Beach Journalism Initiative, Inc.

Last week, workers for the Long Beach Post and the Long Beach Business Journal, both owned by Long Beach Journalism Initiative, Inc., protested and filed Unlawful Labor Practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging retaliatory firings of two workers for lawful union organizing activities. The workers are seeking representation from the Media Guild of the West (TNG-CWA Local 39213).

Jason Ruiz, a current city hall reporter for the Long Beach Post, alleges that workers lost faith in CEO Melissa Evans after she violated labor law by not compensating employees for work done while the company was transitioning to a non-profit 501(c)(3). Employees began the process of joining the union after letters to the Board of Directors were ignored.

“It became clear to us that they were not taking us seriously or at least not moving with the urgency that we thought they should be, given the things that we had outlined in that letter. We decided to start the unionization process to force our way to the table,” Ruiz said in an article for Daily49er.com. Of the planned layoffs, two of the nine workers had not originally been included. Those two last-minute additions were also union organizers.

“Melissa has also joked openly about firing people if they ever unionize the newsroom, and as you can see here, nobody’s laughing,” Ruiz went on to say.

Workers proposed taking pay cuts in order to retain staff, but Evans continued with the layoffs, cutting nine of its fourteen staff positions.

The workers took their complaints to the streets, marching with signs reading, “Give us back our jobs,” and “Don’t let the Post become a Ghost.” The march paused outside the residence of Board Member Matthew Kinley, where workers shouted for him to “do the right thing.”

Dennis Dean, former Long Beach Post Director of Operations and Product, created a GoFundMe page to help those workers who were laid off. Said Dean, “I was sad and I was angry about the legacy of the Post that we’ve built over the last decade and that [Evans] has essentially torpedoed 12 years of work in four months. Long Beach needs a newspaper with considerable size and power and ability to cover the city, and there’s no team better than these guys. So we’re together ‘til the end.”

CWA Retired Members Council 30901 President Rita Scott (second from right) received the prestigious Trailblazer Award last week for her outstanding career and ongoing community work. Rita also sits on the Board of Directors for the MARTA public transportation system. Georgia Representative Hank Johnson (D) presented eleven women with the award in honor of Women’s History Month.