Apr 25, 2024 - AT&T Workers Authorize Strike

In a move directly affecting approximately 8,000 workers in California and Nevada, CWA members at AT&T West in District 9 have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, if necessary. The AT&T West contract expired on April 6. The vote results showed over 92 percent in favor.

This vote comes after months of very slow negotiations, with AT&T seeking to undermine significant wage and benefit gains from past contracts. The CWA bargaining team has provided consistent updates for members at the CWA District 9 website.

 
Members of CWA Local 9408 joined thousands of others across the country to show support for the CWA District 9 bargaining team currently in negotiations with AT&T West.

Each year, on Workers Memorial Day, we remember workers killed on the job in a work-related incident or who died from an occupational illness and renew our commitment to working together to fight for strong safety and health protections. Most work-related fatalities are preventable. Collective action is the best way to hold employers accountable for providing safe work and workplaces and to avoid these often preventable deaths.

This year’s theme is "Good Jobs. Safe Jobs. Protect Our Rights." The AFL-CIO has posted resources, including flyers, artwork, and a search tool to help you find a commemoration event near you on their AFL-CIO Workers Memorial Day web page. In addition, you can download their "Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect" report here.

CWA members continue to participate in groundbreaking campaigns across the country, incorporating clear goals for worker health and safety, strong labor standards, and safe communities into organizing and mobilizing campaigns and working with federal, state, and local officials to ensure that companies receiving public funds are held to high standards. CWA members also continue to fight for protections against deadly heat. CWA supports the Asuncíon Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury and Fatality Prevention Act, to require OSHA to pass a strong, federal heat illness prevention standard.

This Workers Memorial Day, we honor the memories of these CWA members and others whose deaths over the past year were work-related. We also remember CWA members who died from an on-the-job injury or illness in the past. They will never be forgotten.

Keyshawn Gault, 22, a member of CWA Local 1186, was a sewer technician working for the Buffalo Sewer Authority. Mr. Gault was shot while driving a Buffalo Sewer Authority vehicle during work. He died on October 26, 2024.

Jeffery James Allen III, 28, a member of IUE-CWA Local 84755, worked for DMAX-Ltd., located in Moraine, Ohio. At 9 p.m. on May 18, 2023, he was working on the assembly line when he was shot and killed over a personal dispute.

Sergeant Cory Maynard, 37, was a fifteen year veteran State Trooper and member of the West Virginia Troopers Association (WVTA)/Local 2019. He died from a gunshot wound on June 2, 2023, in the Beech Creek area of Matewan.

Keith Munro, 51, a member of CWA Local 3176, was a Customer Service Tech II working for CenturyLink of Florida. On October 6, 2023, while at a worksite fixing a cable, Keith was killed instantly by a falling tree limb. He is survived by his wife, daughter Taylor, and granddaughter, Wednesday.

Forming a union remains the most effective way for workers to get the appropriate protections they need and a voice on the job. As we grieve those we have lost, we must do everything we can to pass critical legislation like the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, so workers can freely form a union and collectively bargain. We must also continue our support for the Protecting America’s Workers Act to provide OSHA protection to the millions of public sector workers without it.

Our job is never finished when it comes to worker health and safety protections. We must safeguard the rights we have won and keep fighting for safer working conditions in every workplace, industry, and sector. That is why on Workers Memorial Day we mourn for the dead and fight for the living.

Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it is seeking an injunction in federal court against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for dozens of ongoing Unfair Labor Practice violations. Members of CWA Locals 14827 and 14842, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh-CWA (TNG-CWA Local 38061), and PPWU have been on strike for 18 months in a fight to compel the newspaper to follow the law, bargain in good faith, and provide health insurance to workers.

The Post-Gazette has had the ability to settle the strike at any time, simply by complying with the law, as ordered by the courts, and through NLRB decisions. Since the newspaper has continued its lawless behavior, the injunction, if granted, could impose consequences and protect the rights of the workers.

“As striking workers, we’ve stood strong against Post-Gazette management and the Block family for the last 18 months as they’ve violated labor law and tried to ignore and break our unions,” said Zack Tanner, a striking interactive designer and president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh. “Today's signal that the NLRB will finally be seeking injunctive relief through the courts is validation that our fight is just and will be won in short order.”

The strikers have risked everything to hold the company to account, sacrificing 18 months of paychecks and facing harassment on their picket lines. Post-Gazette management has hired police and private security to intimidate and threaten strikers.

Supporters can donate to the strikers and subscribe to the striking-worker run publication, the Pittsburgh Union Progress, at UnionProgress.com/donate.

With union approval ratings, especially among young workers, at their highest levels in decades, NABET-CWA has been scoring big organizing wins. In the last month, workers at television station KDVR in Denver, Colo., WLNE television station in Rhode Island, and online music platform DistroKid have joined our union.

KDVR-TV/Nexstar Media Group

KDVR-TV is owned by Nexstar Media Group and is partnered with KWGN, another Denver television station under the Nexstar umbrella. Workers at both the Denver Nexstar Hub and KDVR/KWGN faced an intense anti-union campaign and received anti-union letters from management. The company also attempted to delay the union vote by raising unfounded concerns about who belonged in the bargaining units. Despite these attacks, the workers prevailed by large margins.

With this recent win at the Denver Nexstar Hub, the total number of union-represented positions at Nexstar will reach 80 members. NABET-CWA Organizing Coordinator Bera Dunau noted a significant number of other Nexstar workers now showing interest. NABET represents workers at another nine Nexstar worksites in other states.

Workers at the Nexstar Hub and KDVR/KWGN will join NABET-CWA Local 57052 in Denver.

 
NABET-CWA Local 57052 NABET President Gil Maestas (foreground) poses with victorious KDVR workers. Organizing Coordinator Bera Dunau poses in the background with two thumbs up as they celebrate this high-profile organizing win.

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DistroKid

Though you may never have heard of DistroKid, it’s very likely you’ve listened to content from your favorite music artists that originated on the site. DistroKid is the largest independent digital music distributor in the world by volume. The company is a platform for artists and creators to sell or stream music through online retailers like iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, and Amazon Music.

Workers at the company were subjected to a ferocious anti-union campaign that included multiple, one-on-one anti-union meetings and near-constant anti-union propaganda. The company president also sent several anti-union letters to workers.

Despite attempts to dissuade workers, they returned a vote 45-28 in favor of joining NABET-CWA. This effort succeeded due to the unified efforts of the organizing committee, which kept the entire campaign hidden from management until it went public, a rare early coup for the team. They also give credit to President of NABET-CWA Local 51016 Bill Bores for his unfaltering support. Dunau specifically thanked CWA District 9 Assistant Director of Organizing Yonah Diamond for consistent guidance during the 18-month campaign.

DistroKid workers, who all work remotely, will join NABET-CWA Local 51016, based in New York, N.Y.

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WLNE-TV

Rhode Island-based television station WLNE voted 22-3 to join NABET-CWA. WLNE workers received an outpouring of support from the Providence community, with the Providence City Council passing a unanimous resolution supporting the organizing effort. They also received support from Rhode Island Representative Seth Magaziner (D) and from State AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Patrick Crowley, which, Bera says, “bodes well for mobilization in contract negotiations.”

WLNE workers will join NABET-CWA Local 51018 based in Boston, Mass.

 
WLNE workers celebrated winning their union vote with NABET-CWA Local 51018 President Mike Wilkins (holding paper).

In August, CWA District 3’s contract with AT&T Southeast will expire. Preparations began a year in advance, with CWA District 3 Assistant to Vice President Nick Hawkins laying out the stakes for local leaders. “Prior to 2019, AT&T workers in District 3 hadn’t been on strike in over thirty years. We may have caught the company by surprise then, but rest assured, that will not happen again. They will be prepared. We must do everything in our power to ensure that we are.”

District 3 Campaign Lead Joey Barker is focused on a critical part of that preparation—training, which is now in full swing. “The training curriculum includes an overview of labor history, bargaining, and most importantly, mobilization. We are excited to educate our members about how their seemingly simple efforts collectively can make a huge impact on the end goal of securing the contract our members deserve. We currently have a team of 12 state mobilizers and 14 state trainers who are actively scheduling and teaching classes across the district.”

“We have faith in the members of District 3,” said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt. “In 2019, our members showed AT&T that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win a fair contract. The stage is set, and I know that our members are ready for this fight.”

Unity actions have already begun, with some techs showing support by putting CWA t-shirts over the seats in their trucks and filling their tanks to exactly $20.24. As President Claude Cummings Jr. has stressed, “Unity is our greatest strength. Our power is in our people, and the union will always stand together.”

Any members interested in bringing this training to your Local, please contact your local leadership team. Training is underway, so sign up today!

 
In preparation for contract negotiations with AT&T Southeast, CWA District 3 members are undergoing mobilization education all across the South. Unity actions are springing up as members show their support for a fair contract.

The New York Assembly and Senate last week passed a first-of-its-kind journalism jobs tax credit in the 2025 budget. The credits will become law when New York Governor Kathy Hochul signs the state budget.

The job tax credits were first introduced as the Local Journalism Sustainability Act (S.625-Hoylman-Sigal/A.2958-Woerner). The final budget language provides $30 million in tax credits each year over three years, covering half of a journalist’s salary up to $50,000 each year. Publishers will only be able to use these employment tax credits to rebuild their newsrooms by hiring new reporters and retaining current staff.

The organizing effort for this initiative has been spearheaded by the Albany Newspaper Guild, New York News Publishers Association, the New York State AFL-CIO, NewsGuild-CWA, and the Communications Workers of America.

NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss said, “Journalists are the watchdogs of democracy’s flame and we have to support them. The NewsGuild-CWA applauds New York state for leading the country and passing first-of-its-kind legislation to support journalism jobs and recognizing the important role journalists play by shining a light and protecting our democracy.”

CWA members working for AT&T across Indiana met at CWA Local 4900 for a “Union Approach to Health and Safety” training last week. The training was co-facilitated by CWA District 4 Safety Trainer and Local 4900 Area Vice President Jason Creager and District 4 Staff Representative and Health and Safety Coordinator Ron Gay. With multiple states attacking worker safety, especially regarding heat-related injury and death, the training focused on Hazard Mapping, the Hierarchy of Controls, and other relevant topics in the day-long class.

The participants included AT&T Installation, Repair, and Construction technicians, as well as a Facilities Specialist. Gay described the class, saying, “The class was participant-driven, so there was a lot of discussion from participants as opposed to simply a lecture. People were engaged and shared their experiences with the room so that we could all learn from on-the-job incidents.” He continued, saying, “The participants were excited to take this knowledge back to their workplaces to share with their coworkers and build better safety programs in their areas.”

You can find information about this type of training and more at the CWA Health and Safety website.

 
Indiana CWA members working for AT&T received life-saving health and safety information during a day-long training at CWA Local 4900.

Last week, CWA workers at the Apple Penn Square store in Oklahoma City, Okla., (represented by CWA Local 6106) received great news—the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) approved a settlement agreement for an Unfair Labor Practice charge filed last year by CWA against Apple.

The NLRB found that Apple violated the National Labor Relations Act after it terminated its COVID-19 sick leave policy. Management is required to bargain with its union-represented workers before making changes to the terms and conditions of employment. This settlement restores sick leave for affected employees and ensures that workers will have a voice in how any future public health emergencies affect their working conditions.

In 2023, the NLRB determined that Apple violated workers’ rights following multiple ULP’s filed by retail workers in Apple’s stores across the country, including Atlanta, New York, Oklahoma City, Houston, and Kansas City. Apple’s most common union-busting tactic is to drag out negotiations for as long as possible.

“This settlement is a victory for our members and demonstrates how forming a union can protect workers during the bargaining process. Workers at the Penn Square Apple Store will not back down. Apple needs to stop playing games, live up to its values, and show respect for these workers by fulfilling its legal obligation to bargain a fair collective bargaining agreement,” said Billy Moffett, Assistant to Vice President, CWA District 6.

CWA District 9 Legislative & Political (L&P) activists took their fight for better wages and safety protections to the California Senate Energy Utilities and Communications Committee last week to argue in favor of higher standards for broadband expansion work. The proposed legislation, SB1460, if made into law, would ensure workers on federally funded broadband projects receive competitive wages and safety training, and that workers from at-risk communities would be taken into consideration to expand the workforce.

The bill passed the committee vote and has also passed a vote by the Senate Labor Committee. It will now go before the Appropriation Committee.

Proponents of the bill, including CWA District 9 Legislative and Political team members as well as the California Labor Federation, argue that, in states without these minimum standards, contractors are often brought in to do the work without providing critical safety and skills training.

SB1460 was sponsored by Senator Maria Durazo (D).

 
CWA District 9 Legislative and Political activists argued in favor of higher minimum standards for federally funded broadband expansion contracts in California. They posed for a picture with SB1460 sponsor, Senator Maria Durazo (D) (third from right).

 
Ed Blazina (right) speaking to a supporter while on the picket line in CWA’s longest currently running strike. (Photo credit: Alexandra Wimley | Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Name: Ed Blazina
Local: CWA Local 38061/Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh
Workplace: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Title: Transportation writer
Experience: 46 years
Strike Time: 18 months
Quote: I'm striking not only because the Post-Gazette disrespected veteran employees by unilaterally taking away our fifth week of vacation, but also because I love my work and don't want to see bad employers ruin the industry for newcomers and not provide the public service of local news that communities deserve.
Inspiration: I'm inspired by the overwhelming support we have received from the public and our union brothers and sisters, and the steadfastness of our younger members who have hung tough when, unlike me, they have many more years of their career ahead of them and could easily walk away but refuse to do that.

Metal Powder Products

Earlier this month, workers at Metal Powder Products (MPP) in Campbellsburg, Ind., with the help of IUE-CWA organizers, successfully cast their ballots to join the union. This victory came under intense anti-union campaigning by management, including surveilling employees, obstructing access to the ballot box, and campaigning within 10 meters of the election site. Despite many hurdles thrown in their way, MPP workers remained united in their determination to have a say in their workplace.

“I wanted to form a union because the company kept taking everything from us, and it turned into a place where it was no longer a good place to work,” shared Randall Baker, a machine operator at MPP. “I want it to be a decent place for my children and grandchildren to work. MPP is a big part of the community, so it was very important to me.”

The campaign was led by IUE-CWA Campaign Lead Orvin Caraballo under the direction of IUE-CWA District Organizing Coordinator Wren Keturi. They received assistance from IUE-CWA Local 83761 Member-Organizer Eric Sims, IUE-CWA Local 88502 President Torres, and 88502 Vice President Jesse Merat. CWA organizers Hayden Blankenship and Isham Christie also lent their expertise.

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Boulder County 

After months of organizing, Boulder County workers officially filed for a union election earlier this week to be represented by CWA. Their unit will be named the Boulder County Employees Union-CWA (BCEU). Workers cited a lack of job security and an inability to negotiate work-life balance issues collectively as reasons for forming the union.

“Boulder County workers continue to show up fearlessly for the community through natural disasters, the pandemic, the opioid epidemic, and the affordable housing crisis. We fight daily for racial equity, accessibility, and more robust services for residents,” said Brianna Barber, an application support administrator with Boulder County and BCEU organizing committee member.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment is expected to work with BCEU workers and Boulder County to determine the dates and methods for the election. BCEU will be the largest worker union in the county since the passage of the Collective Bargaining by County Employees Act (COBCA) in 2022.