CWA Stands with Students, Journalists, and Workers and Condemns Attacks on Free Speech

Over the past few weeks, attacks against students, journalists, and workers who have been engaging in and reporting on peaceful protests against Israel’s siege on Gaza have escalated. Corporations are firing workers for speaking up, police have arrested and brutally attacked student protesters, journalists covering these events have been attacked and detained, and campus workers are facing retaliation and attacks from institutions whose core values should include academic freedom and peaceful assembly.

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) represents journalists, Google workers, and thousands of campus workers, including students, across the country. We are outraged and disturbed by the use of force on our CWA members and other students, campus staff and faculty, community members, and journalists at these peaceful protests. We condemn Google’s illegal termination of workers, including some AWU-CWA members who raised concerns about the company’s contracts with the Israeli military, which will have a chilling effect on worker organizing.

We believe that the fundamental right to freedom of speech and assembly is essential to maintain in any democracy and is one important way union members and other activists have changed the tides of history. Over the past seven years, 43 states have enacted anti-protest legislation. The extreme, repressive response to these protests is part of an alarming push by institutions to limit free speech.

We reaffirm our call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and are proud to stand in solidarity with our members and all students standing up for peace and justice.

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About CWA: The Communications Workers of America represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech, and other fields.

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