Laid Off Frontier Worker Attends State of the Union Address

CWA member Dustin Newman and his family joined Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.)(left) for the State of the Union address.

U.S. Representative Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) hosted CWA Local 1170 member Dustin Newman at the State of the Union address, to spotlight the Trump administration’s failure to save good jobs.

Newman, an Army reservist from Rochester, N.Y., was laid off in January along with 31 other Frontier Communications employees as part of a larger, company-wide downsizing. 

In his response to President Trump's address, CWA President Chris Shelton noted that despite Trump's campaign promises, working people are worse off after the first year of his presidency. "The tax cut that the President and Republicans jammed through Congress gives billions of dollars to corporations and the 1 percent at the expense of the rest of us," Shelton said. "Some companies have doled out bonuses, and those extra dollars always make a difference to working families. But instead of putting more money into creating good jobs and increasing wages, these corporations have made it clear that their tax break will be used mainly to enrich executives and shareholders."

Read President Shelton's full statement here.