Raising Awareness of the Importance of Good, Union Jobs

Last week, CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. joined a White House Black Workforce Development Roundtable to highlight the work of CWA members and locals who are training the workers of tomorrow.

“Unions are vehicles of racial justice,” President Cummings told the gathered elected and administration officials. “We know that Black workers get a wage boost from being covered by a union contract and that union membership helps close the racial income gap.”

CWA locals across the country are committed to an ambitious workforce development strategy across our sectors, and we’re seeing results as we build out apprenticeship programs and partner with other organizations to incorporate information about the benefits of union membership into their curriculums. CWA will also be offering an OSHA-10 Construction course for broadband technicians taught by CWA broadband technicians. President Cummings made a forceful case for why elected officials should make sure that unions have a seat at the table to ensure that underrepresented populations have access to good, union jobs and invited attendees to partner with CWA.

President Cummings continued raising CWA’s profile with elected officials by hosting a reception for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 52nd Annual Legislative Conference at CWA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. Special guests at the event included Representatives Al Green (D-Tex.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.).