CWA Activists Join May Day Protests

CWA Local 1103 members and retirees rally in Westchester, NY, on May 1.

NABET-CWA Local 16 workers protest outside ABC News in New York City.

NABET-CWA's May Day flyer.

CWA activists joined the Occupy Movement's big return to the national stage on Tuesday, bringing May Day's annual celebration of international workers' rights home with protests in more than 100 U.S. cities.

Across the country, members, many of whom recently completed 99 Percent Spring training, raised awareness about income inequality, corporate greed, immigrant rights and voter suppression. They marched with thousands in Los Angeles, Seattle and New York. Activists picketed businesses and disrupted traffic in major cities.

It was an opportunity for both active and retired CWA members to stand shoulder-to-shoulder.

CWA District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton spoke out about Verizon's plan to cut good middle class jobs at a rally in White Plains, NY.

CWA members joined Jobs with Justice, SEIU and Occupy St. Louis protesters to speak out against Peabody Energy, a local coal company that was holding its annual shareholders meeting at an opera house in downtown St. Louis.

NABET-CWA Local 51016, whose members continue to work without a contract, formed one of the many picket lines throughout Manhattan, protesting Disney ABC.

And in Arizona, members celebrated the opening of Somos Un Pueblo Unido's Workers' Center, the first workers' center in Santa Fe. Miles Conway, who heads CWA's NM legislative-political action team, told the Santa Fe New Mexican, "A rising tide lifts all boats. If that worker can walk out of that center more empowered, that is just one tiny step up for all workers in New Mexico."