Organizing Update

AT&T In Home Experts

In another groundbreaking victory, AT&T In Home Expert (IHX) workers in Ohio won recognition after a majority of them signed cards in favor of joining CWA. Despite being faced with a broad anti-union misinformation campaign, the workers were victorious in large part due to their strong internal organizing committee and the support they received from a great team of CWA members and organizers. The workers also spent countless hours in discussions with each worker building power, overcoming the anti-union narrative, and building trust with the workers. This win brings the total number of AT&T IHX workers represented by CWA District 4 to 400.

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YouTube

A supermajority of workers at YouTube Music Content Operations have signed union cards and filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The workers, who are already dues-paying members of Alphabet Workers Union-CWA Local 1400 (AWU-CWA), are seeking formal recognition and collective bargaining rights. YouTube, like Google, is a subsidiary of Alphabet.

This filing comes as AWU-CWA has grown to almost 1,200 members since its launch in January 2021. The wall-to-wall union has been leading the charge to improve working conditions for all Alphabet workers, including full-time employees and temporary, vendor, and contract workers.

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Gannett

Workers at Gannett’s Midwest Digital Optimization Team (DOT) formed a union, the Midwest Digital Guild, becoming the second group of midwestern Gannett workers to do so. The new unit will include digital journalists of varied backgrounds and career experience, all of whom serve a key role in producing and managing digital content across Gannett properties in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. They will be part of the Indianapolis NewsGuild, TNG-CWA Local 34070. Read more here.

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Raven Software/Activision Blizzard

CWA filed an unfair labor practice charge against Activision after Lulu Cheng Meservey, the company’s communications executive, sent a company-wide Slack message disparaging the union, making threats to withhold raises and benefit improvements from workers who joined the union, and giving workers an impression that they were under surveillance. Although Meservey called for “direct dialogue” in her rant, most staff were prevented from directly responding in the Slack channel. 

“The only vehicle that can give workers a sustained, legally-protected seat at the table and a voice on the job is a union,” said CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens. “It's indisputable that these anti-union messages were meant to intimidate union members, and stop workers from organizing for better wages and dignity on the job. We strongly believe the labor board will find these actions unlawful and hold Activision accountable for violating its workers’ protected right to organize.”