Sep 12, 2024 - AT&T Southeast Strike Continues as AT&T West Returns to the Bargaining Table

Across the Southeast, members of CWA District 3 continue their strike against AT&T. Members have been on the picket lines since August 16. Workers hope to return to their jobs soon, but AT&T must engage in good faith bargaining and send negotiators who have both the authority to make decisions and a serious intent to reach an agreement.

CWA members and retirees across the country have mobilized to support the strikers. They are leafleting at dozens of AT&T Mobility stores, informing customers and the larger public that AT&T is failing to bargain a fair contract for its dedicated workforce. They are also asking customers to sign their petition calling on AT&T CEO John Stankey to respect his employees and bargain for a fair contract.

 
CWA members and staff around the country, including CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister (top right), who handed out flyers in front of an AT&T Mobility store in Lone Tree, Colo., turned out to spread the word about AT&T’s unfair labor practices. Locals pictured (left to right, top to bottom): CWA Local 1400, CWA Local 7777, CWA Local 6215, CWA Local 1101, CWA Local 2204, CWA Local 13000, CWA Local 3607, and CWA Local 4900.

Check out more photos of leafleting here.

“If we gotta stay locked up in a room for 24 hours, that's what we’re willing to do. It’s our opinion that we could have a contract within a couple of days,” said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt. “We just have to have someone here who can give the final go-ahead.”

Click here to learn more about how you can support the striking workers.

In CWA District 9, members in California and Nevada voted against ratification of the tentative agreement reached with AT&T West and went back to the bargaining table on Wednesday. “We will use all the tools at our disposal to win a fair contract, including a strike if it becomes necessary," said CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce.

“AT&T workers across the country have made it clear that they are not willing to settle for a subpar contract or bad faith negotiations. CWA members are the face of AT&T and eager to continue their work keeping their customers connected,” said CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. “I will be doing everything I can to ensure that AT&T puts proposals on the table with the wages and healthcare benefits that our members deserve.”

Yesterday marked 23 years since the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center Complex (WTCC), the Pentagon, and over Pennsylvania shook the entire nation. The terrorist attack took the lives of CWA, NABET-CWA, and AFA-CWA members. We honor the CWA airline and telecom workers, nurses, 911 operators, traffic enforcement agents and supervisors, public sector members, broadcast engineers and news crews, journalists and media workers, volunteers, and all of those who played a crucial role in responding to this tragic event and rebuilding our country.

Since 2016, Flight Attendants with AFA-CWA have served in an annual Honor Guard to make sure their fallen comrades are not forgotten. Members of the Honor Guard attend services at the Pentagon, the National 9/11 Memorial in New York City, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., in uniform, where they deliver flowers in remembrance​ and read aloud the names of fallen Flight Attendants, Pilots, and Passenger Service Agents.

 
AFA-CWA President Sara Nelson (front) at the National 9/11 Memorial in New York with AFA-CWA Honor Guard members Kimberly Fritsch and Maria Alpogianis.

Click here to read a statement from AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson, International Vice President Keturah Johnson, and International Secretary-Treasurer Dante Harris.

The toll of the attacks extended beyond just one day. There are currently almost 135,000 responders and survivors enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP). The top five certified health conditions related to WTC exposure are cancer, chronic rhinosinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), asthma, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The World Trade Center Health Program, created by Congress in 2010, is designed to provide medical coverage for those responders and survivors living with the aftereffects of the events of 9/11. The program was reauthorized in 2015, with authorization expiring in 2090. However, increased costs have created an anticipated budget shortfall, which would begin to impact service as early as 2028. Bipartisan legislation in both the Senate and House has been proposed that would secure funding for the program through 2090.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department announced earlier this week that all responders from the Pentagon and Shanksville, including former active duty soldiers and sailors, will now be able to enroll in the WTCHP. Before Congress authorized the expansion, some Pentagon and Shanksville responders were prevented from joining the program. This addition was due, in large part, to the work of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, where CWA Health and Safety Director Micki Siegel de Hernandez is a member of the Board of Directors.

Just after midnight on Tuesday, about 250 editorial workers at the LexisNexis-owned Law360, represented by The NewsGuild of New York-CWA Local 31003, embarked on an open-ended strike over unfair bargaining tactics and the company’s refusal to offer fair pay and healthcare. The strike comes ahead of one of the busiest times for Law360 staff: the start of the U.S. Supreme Court session in October.

Earlier this year, Law360 management laid off 10 percent of its Guild-represented newsroom staff in violation of U.S. labor law, hours after LexisNexis officials congratulated themselves on earning record revenue in 2023. The NewsGuild of New York is challenging the layoffs before the National Labor Relations Board as a violation of the company’s obligation to maintain the status quo of the expired collective bargaining agreement.

“Law360’s value as a news operation and as a company comes directly from our work,” said Hailey Konnath, a reporter for Law360 and unit chair for the union. “Management wants us to agree to essentially earning less. It’s unacceptable and makes clear that management doesn’t really want to reach a deal on this contract.”

Members launched a strike publication, “Outlaw360,” at law360guild.org.

In response to last week’s announcement that Verizon intends to purchase Frontier Communications, CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. issued a statement saying, “In the Communications Workers of America's long history with Verizon and Frontier, our union has seen corporate deals and mergers that prioritized profits over people and investors over the infrastructure that our communities need and deserve. Through it all, one thing has remained constant: CWA members care deeply about providing quality service to the communities where they work and live.”

Cummings went on to say, “We are analyzing this deal closely to see what the impact will be on our members and retirees at both Frontier and at Verizon. The Vice Presidents for the affected districts and the Telecommunications and Technologies sector will be involved in any discussions with the company. Together, we will work to ensure that hardworking people, not just profits, are given their due consideration in Verizon’s proposed acquisition.”

You can read President Cumming’s message in its entirety here.

After more than a year of bargaining, Apple Retail Union-CWA Local 6016 members secured a tentative labor agreement with Apple on September 6. Workers at the Penn Square Mall Apple Store in Oklahoma City, Okla., are now the second group of Apple employees in the U.S. to reach an agreement with the company.

This bargaining update comes just days after workers held an informational picket outside the Penn Square Mall Apple Store urging the tech giant to bargain in good faith. The 78 workers in the unit include Apple salespeople, Genius admins, technicians, creatives, and operations specialists.

“For more than a year, we stood strong at the bargaining table because we knew that by standing together we could secure the pay raises, protections, and benefits we deserve. It’s thanks to our work that Apple retail stores are the most profitable retail stores per square foot across any industry—and we finally have an agreement that will ensure we earn our fair share for our work,” said Apple Retail Union-CWA Local 6016 member Kirsten Matson.

Read more here.

CWA Local 4100 President Gerald Sommerville joined President Joe Biden on stage in Scio Township, Mich., last week as he signed his Executive Order on Investing in America and Investing in American Workers, also known as the “Good Jobs” Executive Order (GJEO). Several CWA local leaders and activists also attended the ceremony.

The GJEO is designed to augment prior legislation aimed at bolstering U.S. manufacturing and infrastructure buildout, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act, by creating an Office of Workforce Implementation and Policy within the White House. This new office is expected to ensure that jobs created by these laws offer competitive wages, healthcare, and workers’ rights and safety protections.

In a recent Facebook post, CWA District 4 wrote, “This order prioritizes projects that foster first collective bargaining agreements, voluntary union recognition, and employer neutrality in union organizing. By emphasizing fair wages and supporting workers' rights, we're building a future where quality union jobs are the standard.”

 
Top: CWA Local 4100 President Gerald Sommerville stood alongside over a dozen labor leaders and union members to witness President Joe Biden signing his “Good Jobs” Executive Order. 
Bottom left, l. to r.: Rainer Delgado and Jeff Nadolny (CWA Local 4108), Andy Kozicki (CWA Local 4123), Jim Simons (CWA Local 4009), and Keith Valko (CWA Local 4008) also shared in the moment. 
Bottom right: President Gerald Sommerville thanked President Biden for standing up for working people.

Earlier this week, PHEW-CWA Local 7000 Vice President and Arizona Pride at Work member Desi Navarro traveled to the White House to celebrate Disability Pride Month. President Joe Biden attended, as did dozens of White House staff, workers, and veterans of the armed forces impacted by disability.

Navarro posted on Facebook, “I was there to represent my union, Communications Workers of America. It was such a great experience, and it was an unbelievable pleasure to hear President Joe Biden speak and acknowledge the progress our country has made, and is capable of, when we see the humanity of ALL of our fellow citizens.”

She also wrote, “Disability Rights are Human Rights! Human Rights are Workers’ Rights! CWA is going to keep fighting. Pride at Work is going to keep fighting.”

 
PHEW-CWA Local 7000 Vice President Desi Navarro (center) attended this year’s White House Disability Pride Month celebration. Here she is with her mother Diana Navarro (left) and members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

 
Steve Mellon, a striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette photographer (right) fires up the crowd. (PHOTO CREDIT: Alexandra Wimley, Pittsburgh Union Progress, member of TNG-CWA Local 38061.)

Name: Steve Mellon
Local: The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, TNG-CWA Local 38061
Workplace: Post-Gazette
Title: Photographer
Experience: 40 years
Strike Time: 22 months
Quote: “Surviving strike life has become my daily routine. So much so that I can go days without reflecting on the reasons we walked out 22 months ago. I like working as a reporter for the strike paper because it regularly puts me in contact with people who offer support or ask, 'How's it going?' On occasion, someone will say the strike has inspired them in some way or will share a story about a time they took a difficult stand. These moments of solidarity lift me up, allow me to once again consider the reasons we embarked on this long and grueling battle against an abusive employer. They remind me we're not alone and give me confidence that future generations will benefit when we win our fight.”
Inspiration: “I'm inspired by the younger strikers. Andrew Goldstein is a perfect example. He's in the early stages of a very promising career, and so the stakes and risks for him are much higher than for those of us who've been around for a while. For Andrew (we call him 'Goldie'), striking has required tremendous courage and faith in his fellow strikers. He's an indefatigable strike leader and organizer, very focused and passionate. His humor in difficult times has dragged me out of the stress gutter more times than I can count.”

To support striking workers and families, you can do any of these three things today:

1. Donate to the strike fund that's used to pay for rent, utility bills, car repairs, groceries, and to keep their pets alive and well.
    
2. Order a T-shirt repping their strike publication, the Pittsburgh Union Progress. All proceeds go to the same strike fund.
    
3. Subscribe to the Pittsburgh Union Progress for free news on the strike, the lives of working people in Western PA and beyond, and more.

Strike Grants from Unions Plus give you cash when you need it. If you have a Union Plus Credit Card, you may be eligible.

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