Tower Climbers Reach Settlement With QualTek Wireless

Tower Climbers Union/CWA members who worked at QualTek Wireless in Henderson, Nevada, have reached a settlement with the company that will provide them with a severance package and make it easier for workers to organize at QualTek in Henderson.

In May 2022, the workers became the first group of tower technicians in the United States to win formal union representation. When QualTek filed for bankruptcy a year later and laid off the workers, the company was required under U.S. labor law to bargain with the union over the impact of the layoffs. The settlement is a result of that bargaining.

“If we hadn’t formed our union, QualTek could have just handed us our pink slips and waved goodbye,” said Derek Combs, a member of the Tower Climbers Union/CWA and former QualTek tower technician. “Instead, they had to sit down with us and work out a settlement. The severance money is a big help for us and our families. The agreement we worked out for the company to remain neutral when workers want to join a union means that the movement for better working conditions and safety in our industry that we helped start will get stronger.”

The total amount of the severance package is $40,000, which will be split among the 8 workers who were employed by QualTek in Henderson at the time of the layoffs. QualTek emerged from bankruptcy proceedings in July, 2023.

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