Nov 21, 2024 - CWA Exposes AT&T's Dangerous Gigapower Business Model

Last week, CWA members from across District 1 met in Atlantic City, N.J., for the district’s annual leadership conference. CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor hosted the gathering, which focused on its theme, “Many Voices, One District: United For The Future.”

In his remarks, CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. echoed the theme of the conference, focusing on the need for unity as we move forward. “Now it is time to re-unite around our shared values. No matter who is in office, our goals are always the same: to use our collective power to protect our rights, to improve our working conditions, and give everyone an opportunity to have a union voice on the job. Corporate CEOs are intent on dividing us against each other so they can drive down wages and cut corners on safety to boost profits for big investors. We cannot let that happen. We are going to keep organizing, keep mobilizing, and keep fighting!”

Vice President Trainor reinforced that message. “Union family, look around this room. We are teachers and technicians, maintenance workers and medical staff, office professionals and operations specialists, public sector workers, and private sector workers. Each of us brings a unique voice, a unique story, a unique struggle. But when we unite these voices—when we stand as one district, shoulder to shoulder, fighting for what's right—there is no force that can stop us. Our diversity is our strength. Our unity is our power. And our solidarity is what will secure not just our future but the future of every worker who will follow in our footsteps.”

Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam; Local 1180 President and Northeast Region At Large Executive Board Member Gloria Middleton; District 2-13 Vice President Mike Davis; NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss; Public, Health and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook; National Retired Members Council President Gwendolyn Parker; and District 1 Retired Members Council Vice President Pat Welsh also addressed the group.

In addition to attending bargaining unit and sector meetings, conference participants heard from Human Rights Committee chairs from Locals 1101, 1106, and 1180 about the district-wide plan for upcoming trainings, including anti-racist union training, gender justice, and a new economic justice training soon to be rolled out. Members were also able to select from a list of workshops including “Mental Health in the Workplace,” “Communications and Social Media Best Practices,” “Grievance and Arbitration in the Private Sector,” and “Mobilization While Working from Home/Teleworking.”

 
CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor (above) and Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam (below) spoke passionately on the theme of this year’s District 1 Leadership Conference, “Many Voices, One District: United for the Future.” 

 
Executive Board Members of IUE-CWA Local 81381 showed off their union and district pride.

CWA released a new report yesterday which exposes the harmful and dangerous business model underpinning broadband company Gigapower, a joint venture between AT&T and investment giant BlackRock. As the City of Phoenix considers a licensing agreement with the private-equity backed broadband company, The Gigapower Gamble: How AT&T and BlackRock are Undermining Broadband Quality, Safety and Jobs in Arizona highlights considerable evidence of substandard practices from subcontractors already working on the project in Arizona.

CWA has found evidence that Gigapower does not appear to employ any technicians or telecommunications workers building the network, despite the fact that the company is co-owned by AT&T, which has a robust and highly trained union-represented workforce. Instead, Gigapower relies on contractors who do not provide workers adequate training, and have track records of labor law and safety violations.

“AT&T’s decision to partner with BlackRock and use a web of non-union contractors is undercutting wages and working conditions negotiated over decades by the company’s union-represented workforce,” said CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. “Instead of continuing its proud legacy of raising standards in the telecom industry, AT&T is encouraging a race to the bottom by having Gigapower subcontract to the lowest bidders–often small, untested companies. The results so far have been troubling.”

“Fiber deployment requires dangerous and technical construction work in the public right of way, including excavation, drilling, and trenching, near critical infrastructure such as gas and electrical lines,” said CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister.

In Mesa, Ariz., where Gigapower broke ground in January 2023, project managers selected telecom construction firm Ansco & Associates as its primary contractor. In turn, Ansco further subcontracted the deployment infrastructure work to at least nineteen different contractors. CWA has found Gigapower contractors responsible for at least 40 underground utility hits, including electric, gas, water/sewer, and telecommunications, accruing over $135k in damage in just 18 months.

Click here to read the full report.

Earlier this month, CWA Chief of Staff Sylvia J. Ramos traveled to the UNI Global Union headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to deliver details of CWA’s groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence oversight and worker protections. The conference brought together over 100 union leaders from unions around the globe to address the need for an ethical foundation for the use of AI.

“The best way to safeguard humanity is for humanity itself to have a say in how these tools are used, and unions remain the most effective instrument we have for ensuring that the voices of working people are heard in the policy arena,” said Ramos. “Since unions can be far more nimble than governments, we must embrace our place at the forefront of the conversation on what it means to develop, deploy, and use AI in an ethical way.”

Her presentation outlined the methods CWA used to formulate its recommendations for proactive bargaining for contract language that protects members against the negative effects AI tools can have in workplaces, including invasive surveillance, unfair automated employment decision-making (including hiring, discipline, and pay-setting), unsafe and stressful work intensification and speed-up, the reduction of compensation or benefit levels, and the reduction of union members’ work. More information can be found in CWA’s Report on AI Principles and Recommendations.

During a question and answer session directly following her presentation, Ramos shared details of CWA’s successful bargaining on artificial intelligence with companies like Microsoft’s ZeniMax game studio “to ensure AI tools are used to enhance worker productivity, growth, and satisfaction without causing workers’ harm.” She also touted contract language with the Associated Press, where NewsGuild-CWA members won the requirement that generative AI be used “only with the direct involvement and oversight of employees.” The contract also barred the use of AI to terminate an employee, eliminate a position, or cut employee benefits.

 
CWA Chief of Staff Sylvia J. Ramos presented the CWA’s Report on AI Principles and Recommendations to the UNI Global Union in Geneva, Switzerland.

In Pennsylvania last month, CWA Local 13000 members who work for Windstream won big, ratifying four separate contracts.

A very determined and savvy bargaining committee managed to win significant improvements, including:

• The best wage package in 15 years, with base pay and GWI adjustments.
• Fewer years of service required to receive both a third and fourth week of vacation.
• Substantial increases in daily per diem rates and overtime meal allowances.
• Trips home during prolonged out-of-town assignments.
• Additional time for representatives to conduct union orientation meetings with new hires, and more.

Major goals for the bargaining committee were securing better wages and stopping company efforts to substantially increase member healthcare costs. Committee members were able to achieve both of these goals under the skillful leadership of CWA Local 13000 Windstream Unit President Pat Catalano, who played an integral role by keeping the committee focused and ready for any curveball the company threw at it.

Earlier this month, members of the Wells Fargo Workers United-CWA (WFWU-CWA) bargaining team kicked off first-ever contract negotiations with the mega-bank. The five-member bargaining committee was elected, along with alternates, to negotiate a national contract to cover all union-represented branches.

In a statement issued by the committee, members expressed their commitment to securing a fair contract, saying, “As the elected national bargaining committee for Wells Fargo Workers United-CWA, we are proud and excited to represent all of our coworkers at the bargaining table and to see this through until we reach a fair agreement that will make Wells Fargo a better place for us, our families, our communities, and our customers.

“We stand committed to making Wells Fargo better for all of us by demanding adequate staffing, fair compensation, affordable health insurance, retirement security, and more.”

Click here to read the full statement from WFWU-CWA.

Over the past week, workers at branches in Toms River, N.J., and Casper, Wyo., have joined WFWU-CWA, bringing the total number of union-represented branches to 23.

Ahead of bargaining, which began on November 7, CWA Local 13571 members who work at Frontier Communications in Pennsylvania voted overwhelmingly to strike if necessary. Last month, CWA Local 1298 members in Connecticut, who are working under a contract extension, also authorized a strike against Frontier. CWA Locals 1170, 1122, and 1111 in New York are also currently bargaining with Frontier.

Wages are a critical issue for the members in Pennsylvania, along with concerns over the outsourcing of work formerly done by union members who left for various reasons, including leaving for higher-paying jobs with competitors in the area.

The current contract is set to expire on November 30.

 
Striking CWA Local 38061 member Rick Nowlin plays the saxophone with local artist Phat Man Dee at a fundraiser for the strike fund.

Name: Rick Nowlin
Local: The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, TNG-CWA Local 38061
Workplace: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Job Title: News Assistant, former Jazz Critic, occasional editorial writer, librarian
Experience: 26 years
Strike Time: 2 years
Quote: “This isn't my first rodeo—my parents were public school teachers, and I went through the Giant Eagle strike in 1991.”
Inspiration: “The Blocks' stance actually offends my Christian faith—I feel that it's my duty to stand with my colleagues.”

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.

CWA’s Charity of Choice, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), aims to end AIDS in children, youth, and families. CWA members and retirees have been supporting this important work since 1990, contributing over $9 million to support EGPAF. These generous contributions are key to EGPAF’s ability to work towards an AIDS-free generation.

December 1 is World AIDS Day, and this year CWA and EGPAF have launched a “One is Powerful” campaign to help us reach our contribution goal of at least one dollar per member. It may not seem like much, but one dollar can make a tremendous difference! It can help EGPAF provide phone credits for healthcare workers to communicate with clients, or it can help provide the materials for an HIV test for one infant.

Please make a donation online at www.pedaids.org/cwa so that CWA and EGPAF can reach the most vulnerable at critical points in their lives with lifesaving support.

TDS Broadband

On November 8, Field Service Technicians at TDS Broadband in St. George, Utah, voted 28-7 to join CWA Local 7704. The unit has 38 people. Workers came together to establish a formal collective voice at work to build the best possible future for TDS workers, customers, and the essential services they provide to their community. Organizing committee members repeatedly shared messages of hope and positive collective vision through the campaign and specifically while taking over anti-union meetings.

In addition to the strong organizing committee, the campaign was led by District Organizing Coordinator Enida Shuku with support from Staff Representative Shad Ercanbrack, CWA Local 7704 Area Vice President Vance Lowe, and CWA 7704 President Thomas Denos. St. George Lumen technicians from CWA Local 7704 did a solidarity action. In addition, CWA District 4 connected the organizing committee to Wisconsin chief steward and TDS tech Matt Wilmeth from CWA Local 4621, where they shared experiences and wins from their contract.

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Marquette University

Citing a “religious exemption,” the administration at Marquette University, a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wis., has denied UCW-CWA’s request to discuss recognition of their union to represent non-tenure track faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences. You can read a Letter to the Editor submitted by members of the steering committee of United Campus Workers of Wisconsin (UCW-WI) to the Marquette Wire asking the university to reconsider its position.

Despite the rebuff, members of the UCW-WI steering committee have expressed their determination to continue fighting for union representation. Grant Gosizk, a teaching assistant professor of English, who provided opening remarks at a protest of the university’s decision, cited three main reasons for forming a union: inadequate salary compensation, precarious short-term contracts, and inadequate contract benefits.

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The Roundup

Over the last few months, workers also joined CWA at:

• Alachua County Library (CWA Local 3170)
• Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (CWA Local 3866)
• Windstream (Sugarland, Texas) (CWA Local 6171)
• KCUR Radio (CWA Local 6360)
• Jewish Family Services (CWA Local 6400)
• Moonshell Pizza Cooperative (CWA Local 7777)
• St. Mary's Regional Medical Center (CWA Local 9413)
• GreenLatinos (CWA Local 9415)
• Mersen Corporation (IUE-CWA Local 88502)
• WJLA-TV (NABET-CWA Local 52301)
• Military.com (TNG-CWA Local 32035)
• NASTAD (TNG-CWA Local 32035)
• Racine Journal Times (TNG-CWA Local 34051)
• Cobalt Advocates (TNG-CWA Local 37074)
• Anchorage Daily News (TNG-CWA Local 37082)
• Prism (TNG-CWA Local 39521)