Oct 31, 2024 - J.D. Vance Crosses Over to the Dark Side of the Picket Line 🐈‍⬛

A year and a half into bargaining for a new contract, CWA-represented passenger service and ramp agents at Piedmont Airlines walked the picket line at airports across the country to show the company they are serious about a contract that secures the livable pay, health care, and workplace safety they deserve. 

CWA District 2-13 Vice President Mike Davis and AFA-CWA International Vice President Keturah Johnson joined CWA Local 13301 Piedmont members in Philadelphia. In Detroit, Rep. Shri Thanedar walked the picket line with workers. In Washington, D.C., the CWA Local 2252 Executive Board joined workers on the line. Piedmont workers also received support from fellow CWA members, including the Telecommunications and Technology Sector and AFA-CWA as they picketed in other locations including Charlotte, N.C.; Boise, Idaho; Bakersfield, Calif.; San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Santa Rosa, Calif.; Tucson, Ariz.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Richmond, Va.

Despite performing essential, often dangerous labor for one of the largest airlines in the country, many passenger service and ramp agents at Piedmont Airlines—a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines—don’t have health care coverage and rely on government assistance to make ends meet.

"We're letting the public and management know that CWA means business," Tom Garza, CWA 9423 Area Steward, told KEYT in San Luis Obispo. "We're trying to get this contract negotiated. These are frontline workers. They're their ramp agents, ticket agents, baggage handlers, and every day hands-on employees who are the backbone of Piedmont Air. All they're asking for is fair wages and healthcare and safety.”

CWA Activists Continue Strong Outreach to Union Voters in Pennsylvania

This past weekend, members of CWA District 2-13 once again welcomed busloads of CWA members from District 1, along with members of the N.Y.C. Council AFL-CIO, the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, and Senator Bob Casey to Philadelphia for a rally and neighborhood walk event. CWA District 2-13 Vice President Mike Davis hosted the crowd of over 300 union activists and supporters from labor organizations including UAW, PSC CUNY, Actors Equity, AAUP, RWDSU, SEIU, Teamsters, Sprinklerfitters, LIUNA, AFGE, IAM, UFT, WGA, AFSCME, and IBEW. An additional 200 union activists with the building trades also canvassed, bringing the total to approximately 500 participants and an estimated 10,000 doors knocked.

CWA President Claude Cummings Jr., CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor, and Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) also spoke, firing up the crowd. This marks one of the last chances for direct outreach to voters ahead of November 5.

CWA District 2-13 Senior Campaign Lead Bill Scott and CWA District 1 Area Director Hae-Lin Choi organized the event which focused on reaching union households with information about CWA-endorsed candidates including Senator Casey (D-Pa.), Pennsylvania House candidate Sean Dougherty (D), Pennsylvania State Senator Jimmy Dillon (D), and Vice President Kamala Harris (D). Conversations centered around the candidates’ records of support for workers and their plans to help uplift working-class individuals and families when elected. Volunteers reported positive interactions at doors and a lot of support for pro-worker candidates.

 
Left to right: CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor, CWA President Claude Cummings Jr., CWA District 2-13 Vice President Mike Davis, CWA Local 13000 President Jim Gardler, and Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO President Daniel Bauder joined the rally and neighborhood walk in Philadelphia.

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Left: Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) addressed the crowd and thanked them for their support and commitment to our democracy. Right: Hundreds of CWA members and supporters, along with union siblings from the N.Y.C. Council AFL-CIO and Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, met in Philadelphia for a rally and canvassing event.

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National Days of Action Support Pro-Worker, Pro-Labor Candidates in Battleground States

Over the past few months, CWAers from across the country have been gathering on Zoom to contact CWA members and retirees about pro-worker, pro-labor candidates in battleground states. On October 22, a group of enthusiastic activists made calls into Michigan for Representative Elissa Slotkin (D). The candidate recorded a message of support for activists, who were joined by CWA District 4 Vice President Linda L. Hinton and Telecommunications and Technologies Vice President Lisa Bolton.

On October 24, it was Nevada’s turn. CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce opened the phone-banking session and was joined by Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Nevada State AFL-CIO Susie Martinez and U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto.

These two days of action resulted in nearly 200 CWA voters committing to hit the polls and support our endorsed candidates.

It’s not too late to make a difference! Click here to join a virtual GOTV event.

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North Carolina CWAers Power Voter Outreach

In the Southeast, 75 union activists, including CWA members, met in Charlotte, N.C., on October 26, ready to walk neighborhoods, knock on doors, and have direct conversations with union voters about our endorsed candidates. The event was coordinated by the N.C. AFL-CIO and involved union leaders, including AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson, Director of Human Rights, Education, Health & Safety Angie Wells, and APWU Secretary-Treasurer Liz Powell. CWA members joined union siblings from UAW, APRI, Steelworkers, IAM, APWU, and IBEW.

Next week, CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. will join the group to finish strong with an all-day “Super Saturday” event.

 
CWA members and staff, including AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson and Director of Human Rights, Education, Health & Safety Angie Wells joined N.C. State AFL-CIO President MaryBe McMillan for a rally and neighborhood walk to speak to voters ahead of next week’s national election.

Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance crossed a CWA picket line to publish an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last week. Journalists and production workers represented by CWA and NewsGuild-CWA have been on strike at the paper since October 2022, in America’s longest running strike.

Strikers condemned the scabbing immediately, pointing out the hypocrisy from a candidate who purports to be for working people.

"There’s never an excuse for crossing a picket line. And anybody who claims to fight for the working class, then scabs a picket line, is lying," said striking Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh-CWA member Natalie Duleba. “I grew up in Ohio, and I can confidently say this isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, that J.D. Vance betrays workers."

Vance's decision to scab came a day after a federal judge rejected the Post-Gazette's attempt to undermine federal labor law and the constitution to evade consequences for repeatedly violating workers' rights.

CWA District 2-13 Vice President Mike Davis said, “Working people in Pennsylvania are watching to see whose side J.D. Vance is really on, and his actions spoke volumes. Just like Donald Trump, J.D. Vance is a scab.”

CWA locals and unions across the country were quick to stand with the striking workers and condemn Vance. They shared messages of support and donations to the Pittsburgh Striker Fund, which helps workers' families to cover essentials like rent, car repairs, and unexpected bills. Stand with striking workers by donating here: unionprogress.com/donate.

 
CWA Local 6215 (left) and CWA Local 7250 (right) members and Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA workers rallied outside Activision buildings in Austin, Texas, and Eden Prairie, Minn.

On the day of Activision’s release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Activision quality assurance workers with CWA Locals 6215, 7250, and 9400 held rallies in Texas, Minnesota, and California outside their respective buildings to demand that Microsoft allow its workforce to work remotely under certain circumstances.

After four years of working from home, Activision’s parent company Microsoft implemented return-to-office mandates for all workers without input from quality assurance employees. When workers requested reasonable accommodations to work from home, Microsoft refused to provide exemptions for workers who disclosed serious medical conditions or recommendations from doctors to work remotely.

“Remote work is more than just a perk. It’s an essential tool for equal access to work,” said Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA Local 6215 member Allen Junge. “When they force our disabled coworkers to continue struggling at the office, they’re emphatically saying that we must rely on other people to take care of an issue that is deeply personal.”

In March 2023, over 600 Activision quality assurance workers joined CWA, making them the largest group of union-represented workers at any U.S. video game studio and the first group to organize under CWA and Microsoft’s labor neutrality agreement.

Federal call center workers for Maximus, many of whom have directly joined CWA Local 3509, took part in the Hattiesburg, Miss., annual Halloween Parade this past weekend. Workers chose "It's Scary Without a Union" as their theme.

Former Maximus employee turned organizer Tiandra Robinson said, “We want people to realize that Hattiesburg is a union town. Unions help build a stronger local economy, a strong middle class. New businesses aren’t the only things that deserve attention; skilled labor and quality employees are a factor too. When workers are treated fairly and have a voice on the job, they tend to be more productive and stay longer.”

Maximus workers have been organizing for union representation since 2017 and have joined CWA to build power despite the company’s refusal to allow them a free and fair process for forming a bargaining unit. Since their organizing began, Maximus has lowered healthcare deductibles and increased their starting wages. Workers are still fighting for a clear path to career advancement, protections from abusive callers, and a right to organize.

 
CWA Local 3509 members who work at Maximus participated in the annual Hattiesburg, Miss., Halloween Parade this year, sharing candy and spreading awareness of their struggle to win recognition of their union.

Retired IUE-CWA Local 81201 President Jeff Crosby shares a powerful message about his father, Henry “Croz” Crosby’s, heroic service during WWII, in response to Donald Trump’s continued disregard for veterans. Crosby outlines how Trump’s actions and plans perpetuate the fascism that his father fought to defeat.

This past weekend, CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. provided the keynote addresses at two NAACP Freedom Fund Luncheons, at the Salt Lake City, Utah, and Bucks County, Pa., branches. The Freedom Fund is the primary fundraising vehicle to support the NAACP’s slate of political, educational, and social equality programs.

CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister attended the event in Salt Lake City along with CWA members from CWA Local 7704, United Professional Ski Patrols of America (CWA Local 7781), and the United Campus Workers (UCW-CWA Local 7765). UCW-CWA members recently made history, establishing the first union for campus workers on the Utah State University campus.

President Cummings spoke at both the Salt Lake City and Bucks County events, extolling the positive impacts of union membership on reducing race-based earnings gaps and on the interconnectedness of the Labor and Civil Rights Movements. Said Cummings, “Unions help reduce racial resentment among white workers, paving the way for unity not just around workplace issues but also around a pro-worker, pro-rights policy agenda. That’s why the people who rely on exploiting our labor for profit have sought to promote hatred and division among us. Our unity is the biggest threat to their greed.”

 
CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. at the Freedom Fund Luncheon in Salt Lake City, Utah with CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister and members of CWA Local 7704.

Karen Carlin, a striking Post-Gazette worker, spoke during a rally outside the City-County Building on January 28, 2023, in Downtown Pittsburgh. (PHOTO CREDIT: Emily Matthews, Pittsburgh Union Progress, member of TNG-CWA Local 38061.)

Name: Karen Carlin
Local: The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, TNG-CWA Local 38061
Workplace: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Job Title: Copy Editor/Page Designer
Experience: 30 years
Strike Time: 2 years
Quote: “It’s been a long two years, but I have faith that we will win in the end because our fight is right. The company has repeatedly violated federal labor law. The strike is worth the time, energy, and sacrifice that my colleagues and I have put into it, and I appreciate the solidarity shown amongst ourselves and from family, friends, and even strangers. I am glad we’ve been able to continue to serve our community with great journalism by producing our strike publication, the Pittsburgh Union Progress. PUP has allowed me to get to know my fellow strikers better and also tap into other skills I hadn’t been using with regularity, such as writing and photography.”
Inspiration: “One thing that has kept me going is the obvious fact that the Post-Gazette won’t be happy until it has obliterated the unions. Otherwise, I believe the strike would have been settled by now. That makes it all the more imperative that we see this through, not just for ourselves but for future workers, so that they will have decent pay and benefits, union protection, and, most of all, respect.”

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.