Apr 18, 2024 - Governor DeSantis to Workers: Heat is YOUR Problem and other news

President Claude Cummings Jr. led a CWA delegation to South Africa this week for the Information, Communications, Technology, and Related Services (ICTS) UNI Global Conference. The conference, held every four years, was attended by approximately 200 participants from unions representing workers in telecommunications and technology from all over the world. During the conference, CWA leaders had the opportunity to learn from other unions about their struggles, deepen relationships with key partner unions from around the world, and highlight our tech organizing successes.

Joining President Cummings were Ameenah Salaam, CWA Secretary-Treasurer; Mike Davis, Vice President, CWA District 2-13; Linda L. Hinton, Vice President, CWA District 4; Susie McAllister, Vice President, CWA District 7; Chief of Staff Sylvia J. Ramos; and Shane Larson, Assistant to the President. Autumn Mitchell, a QA tester at the CWA-represented Zenimax video game studio, also joined the delegation.

In his speech to the UNI audience President Cummings said, “These are challenging times for all workers across the world. And the tech industry is no different. But we are seeing workers rise to this challenge and they are embracing organizing and collective bargaining as a way to build power.”

In the opening session, titled “Workers Rising in Tech and Games,” President Cummings moderated a panel discussion focused on Google, with panel members from Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. Shane Larson gave a presentation on the Labor Neutrality Agreement between CWA and Microsoft, while Autumn Mitchell led an information session specifically on organizing in the tech and game industries.

On the final day, Chief of Staff Ramos delivered a presentation on CWA’s A.I. Principles and Recommendations. “Unions remain the most effective instrument we have for ensuring that the voices of working people are heard in all arenas,” said Ramos.

Secretary-Treasurer Salaam summed up the conference saying, “We recognize that our employers are operating across borders with a global approach. We as workers must form partnerships across borders, learn from one another, and stand together against those employers wishing to exploit us.”

In a show of international solidarity, delegates joined together during the conference to demand that AT&T bargain a fair contract with CWA members at AT&T West.

 
Attendees at the ICTS UNI Global Conference stood together to show global solidarity in our bargaining with AT&T West.

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President Claude Cummings Jr. (upper right) addressed the audience at this year’s ICTS UNI Global Conference. Other speakers included Chief of Staff Sylvia J. Ramos (upper left), Assistant to the President Shane Larson (lower left) and QA tester at the CWA-represented Zenimax video game studio, Autumn Mitchell.

CWA Members Tell Brightspeed to Hurry Up with a Deal

CWA members held an informational picket in downtown Dothan, Ala., last week to help build community support for their stalled contract negotiations with Brightspeed. “We are just trying to get the company to come back to the bargaining table with us and find a fair resolution for a new 5-year contract,” Jerry Sain, President of CWA Local 3972, told local news station WDHN.

Members of local 3972 and 3974 have been without a contract for over a month and are negotiating increased pay to keep up with inflation and better healthcare benefits, including sick days.

 
Member of CWA Local 3972, part of a bargaining unit with Brightspeed that includes CWA Local 3974, gathered in Dothan, Ala., for an informational picket and to demand Brightspeed return to the negotiating table.

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United Flight Attendants Hold International Day of Action

Last week, the skies were turbulent as United Airlines Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) held demonstrations at 17 airports around the globe. While many Flight Attendants haven’t seen significant wage increases since the pandemic, a recent statement from United Airlines shows that United executives saw major compensation increases in 2023, with the CEO, Scott Kirby, receiving a 90 percent compensation increase.

“If the airline has money to award execs with massive compensation increases, we expect to receive the same,” said Ken Diaz, AFA-CWA United MEC President. “United Flight Attendants are the lifeblood of this airline, and management needs to come to the table now with an offer that reflects our critical contribution.”

United Flight Attendants kept service going through the pandemic, even with passenger violence at an all-time high, while forgoing contractual improvements for the continued viability of air travel. The current contract negotiations represent improvements that are years overdue. The Flight Attendants are hopeful that negotiations will progress but plan to be ready to return to the picket line should bargaining break down again.

 
AFA-CWA United Flight Attendants in Guam kicked off a day of action to demand a fair contract that recognizes their critical contribution.

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Desert Sun Workers Win New Contract 

In early March, journalists at the Palm Springs Desert Sun—members of Media Guild of the West/TNG-CWA Local 39213—engaged in an open-ended unfair labor practice strike over Gannett’s illegal behavior, refusal to offer consistent raises that reflect the skyrocketing cost of living, as well as its unwillingness to offer any protections against exorbitant health care cost hikes. Two days later, that strike ended with one of the best new contracts journalists have won at Gannett in the last several years.

Under the new contract—ratified earlier this month after over three years of negotiations—employees will be paid a minimum $26 hourly wage, or just over $54,000 a year. Across the newsroom, members are slowly moving up to be more in line with the cost of living in the Coachella Valley. They won annual raises during the life of the contract, language that protects against layoffs from artificial intelligence, held onto the 401(k) match, and more.

“Our first contract comes after three years of important and nuanced work that reflects our unwavering, mutual commitment to serving the Coachella Valley and preserving the legacy of The Desert Sun,” said Desert Sun Executive Editor Kate Franco.

The Desert Sun strike was the 25th strike of NewsGuild-CWA members in 2024 so far. It also marks the seventh contract won by new bargaining units in 2024.

 
Members of TNG-CWA Local 39213 and supporters picketed for two days before reaching a new contract agreement, ending over three years of negotiations.

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Community Safety Workers Win Recognition as First Responders

For the last two years, in Albuquerque, N.M., when someone calls 911 for a non-violent, non-medical crisis, the people who’ve responded haven’t been police. The city created the Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACS), which employs trained behavioral and mental health specialists, to respond to these emergencies. Last week ACS workers, represented by CWA Local 7076, signed a contract with the Mayor granting them first responder classification status. This constitutes the first CWA contract with the city of Albuquerque.

According to KOB.com, last August, an ACS worker was shot with a high-powered BB gun while responding to a call. Though unrelated to the call, this opened the new department to questions about how workers can be protected while on duty and what a standard procedure for this type of incident would be. “There’s currently not a process in place, and that really does vary from incident to incident and employee to employee,” said Crystal Little, CWA Local 7076 ACS Vice President. “The next step will be to update the laws for these workers to receive the same protections from assault as other first responders.”

The union will now focus on the importance of establishing and maintaining consistent incident policies and procedures for the safety and wellness of responders, both during and after incidents occur.

 
Members of CWA Local 7076 have signed a contract with the city of Albuquerque, N.M., a first for CWA. This contract begins the process of recognizing members of the Albuquerque Community Safety Department as “first responders.”

At the beginning of April, IUE-CWA members from all over the country traveled to Washington, D.C., to learn about diversity, inclusion, and how to build a stronger union. The group of about 70 participants meets twice a year for intensive trainings, including how to spot unintentional biases, how to identify stereotypes, and the role of government policy and law on non-majority populations. Running for more than a decade, this program was created in response to the sense of alienation many members felt due to factors like age, gender, or language differences. These divisions were, and continue to be, exploited by corporations to sow division and weaken our union.

Program participants, once trained, return to their respective locals as “Diversity Ambassadors,” capable of training others, including Board members and shop stewards. They are also tasked with critical outreach to marginalized members and creating a welcoming environment for them to participate in union activities.

 
IUE-CWA members from across the country participated in Diversity Training and, as Diversity Ambassadors, will return to their locals to help build a stronger union.

Marquette University

Last week, workers on the campus of Marquette University kicked off their drive to form a union under the United Campus Workers-CWA banner. Reasons they gave for the move included insufficient wages, lack of professional development, and no promotion structure. The decision to form a union comes just three weeks after the university announced major cuts to the annual operating budget. More than 130 university faculty members signed an open letter in which they accused the university of mismanagement of funds.

When asked why they are organizing, Ayo Ibiyemi, an English Ph.D. student, said, "Nothing is going to change on campus for the better until we organize. Nothing. This is our only chance to make things good." Josh Seidman, a graduate worker in the Mathematics Department, said, "I'm looking forward to helping the graduate workers on campus get better healthcare and properly compensated for our work."

Hayden Blankenship, an organizer working with the Marquette workers, said, “We’re organizing a wall-to-wall union on Marquette’s campus to build a wide-ranging coalition of workers.”

Campus workers are energized and ready to make their voices heard.

 
Faculty and student workers at Wisconsin’s Marquette University have begun organizing to form a union with the United Campus Workers of Wisconsin.

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Abilene State Supported Living Center

Workers at Abilene State Supported Living Center (TSEU-CWA Local 6186) welcomed 17 newcomers to the union ranks in a single day last week. Workers were excited to join the fight for better pay and quality state services.

Join CWA’s National Human Rights Committee each week as they explore issues that affect members and retirees across our union.

In last week’s episode, the show’s hosts discussed the true meaning of unionism and honored National Human Rights Committee members Errol Minor and Reginald Small. They were also joined by CWA District 9 local presidents Mark Bautista and Dakota Knoppel to have an in-depth conversation about bargaining and its importance from different perspectives.

Click here to listen online any time or tune in live every Thursday morning at 11 a.m. ET/ 8 a.m. PT at kyokradio.org.

In the face of increasingly hot weather, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, has signed into law HB 433, which effectively blocks municipalities from requiring employers to provide heat exposure abatement, such as cooling areas and cold water. This move came as a response to Miami-Dade, Florida’s most populous county, considering the passage of heat laws to protect its workers and follows the example set by fellow Republican Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, who signed similar legislation in 2023.

Abbott’s signature barring the creation of heat regulations came almost exactly one year after the heat-related death of a 24 year-old worker, Gabriel Infante, who suffered a heat stroke outside of San Antonio while laying fiber optic cable. Infante was employed by a contractor and was in his first week on the job.

By contrast, governors like Katie Hobbs (D) in Arizona have allowed municipalities to set heat standards. In a unanimous vote, city council members in Phoenix, Ariz., implemented their own heat protections for workers, requiring employers to provide shade, water, rest, and air conditioning. Employers are also required to provide training on how to recognize heat stress.

In Florida, 215 workers died of heat-related causes between 2010 and 2020, though experts warn this number may be low due to how deaths are recorded. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, “When people are exposed to extreme heat, they can suffer from potentially deadly illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Hot temperatures can also contribute to deaths from heart attacks, strokes, and other forms of cardiovascular disease.” That number also does not fully account for those working without permanent legal status or guest workers.

An estimated 2 million Floridians work outdoors. Excessive heat is also a threat to workers in factories and warehouses, which often lack air conditioning and may use machinery that creates additional heat.

Click the link for CWA’s health and safety fact sheet: Temperature Extremes and the Workplace.

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