S-T Talk May 2026

Prior issues of S-T Talk are available on our website. Just visit cwa.org/s-t-talk

QUARTERLY LOCAL S-T TOWNHALL ZOOMS:
Please join us on May 26, 2026, from 3pm - 4pm ET for the S-T Townhall Zoom meeting. Please click here to register to attend the Zoom meeting. Mark your calendars for August 25th and November 24th, from 3pm - 4pm ET, to ensure that you do not miss any of the S-T Townhalls in 2026.

We are always looking for topics to cover that are of interest to you, so please email stoffice@cwa-union.org and let me know what is of interest to you.

2026 PRESIDENTS’ MEETING AND LEGISLATIVE/POLITICAL CONFERENCE:
Online Registration is still open for the 2026 Presidents’ Meeting and the Legislative-Political Conference. Both will be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, located at 400 New Jersey Avenue NW Washington, DC.

The Presidents’ Meeting will begin at 11 a.m. on Monday, June 1, 2026, and will continue until business is concluded.

The Legislative-Political Conference will begin at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, and continue through Wednesday, June 3, 2026. Please plan to stay for the entire Legislative/Political Conference, due to the critical importance of the upcoming elections. If you are visiting elected officials during the L-P conference, kindly schedule appointments after 1:00 pm ET so you are able to participate in the full conference agenda.

FINANCE:
End of the Fiscal Year Deadline - May 21, 2026
Just a reminder that we are fast approaching the end of the fiscal year.

All general fund expenses, excluding SIF and Growth fund charges, that need to be paid during this fiscal budget year must be submitted into Business Central no later than Thursday, May 21, 2026, in order to ensure that they are paid by May 31, 2026. Anything received after May 21, 2026, will be charged to the 2026-2027 budget.

Please feel free to share this information with anyone in your District, Sector, Division or Department who handles expenses and invoices. If you have any questions, please contact the Secretary-Treasurer's office at SToffice@cwa-union.org.

Reimbursement Deadline
Locals please remember that all reimbursements need to be submitted to CWA and processed within 90 days of the event.

DUES:
Petition on Per Capita Dues Sparks Important Conversations:
The Secretary-Treasurer’s Office has been advised that a petition calling for a referendum on per capita dues is currently circulating among the Locals. In light of this development, it is important to provide background and context on how this matter reached its current stage.

Before the 80th Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, all convention committees were actively engaged in their assigned responsibilities. During that time, the Resolution Committee received a proposed resolution entitled, “Calling on the Convention and CWA Executive Board to Address Discrepancies in Local Union Dues Income Created by the Collection of Dues on an ‘Anticipated’ Basis.” To better understand the issue, the Resolution Committee requested to meet with Secretary-Treasurer Salaam regarding the union’s dues-processing procedures. Secretary-Treasurer Salaam met with the committee and explained how dues are processed, how per capita dues, the Defense Fund, and Members Relief Fund dues are remitted to the national Union, and how the proposed resolution would affect both smaller and larger locals. Additionally, she walked them through Aptify, highlighting the list of members who have not been paying their union dues. On the Sunday before the convention began, Secretary-Treasurer Salaam also met at length with the two individuals who submitted the resolution, outlining the broader impact it would have on all locals—not solely the smaller ones—and suggesting that a constitutional amendment might be a more appropriate course of action.

The original resolution presented to the Resolutions Committee was not recommended to the convention and therefore not reported out to the Delegates. While the Resolutions Committee was delivering its reports, the following motion was made from the floor “I move that CWA begin collecting dues on an actual basis rather than an anticipated basis. That’s my motion.” Discussion on the floor followed, and the Secretary-Treasurer was asked to provide her opinion on the resolution. She explained that, under the CWA Constitution, Locals are required to pay per capita dues on members. Secretary-Treasurer Salam then outlined the various methods by which those dues are collected, noting that some locals mistakenly believe that if a member does not pay dues, the obligation to pay per capita dues is eliminated. She also stated that she would not recommend support for the resolution. Nevertheless, the motion, as presented at the microphone, was approved by the delegates. (Linked here are the Secretary-Treasurer's full comments addressed to the convention(pg. 448).

Upon receipt of the official convention proceedings, the S-T Office immediately began holding meetings and conducting phone calls around the clock, dedicating substantial staff time to ensure that the delegates’ wishes regarding this resolution from the convention floor were carried out. Implementing the resolution required reprogramming Aptify, and although the S-T Office opposed the resolution introduced from the floor, the convention delegates are the highest governing body of the Union; therefore, the motion had to be implemented. The S-T Office devoted countless hours and thousands of dollars to reprogramming Aptify and also developed a manual process to refund per capita dues until the system changes were fully tested and implemented.

Once a plan was established on how to implement the approved motion, the S-T Office convened a special town hall meeting to discuss the rollout of the changes and their impact on Local unions (Click here to listen to the special town hall meeting.) Some opposition emerged regarding the changes to per capita dues, with several locals expressing frustration about the additional effort required to review and clean up their membership lists and pursue members who were not paying dues. During these discussions, the Secretary-Treasurer reiterated that she had not recommended the motion that was ultimately passed by the delegates on the convention floor, but this is what the delegates approved. The S-T Office convened the regularly scheduled town hall meeting, during which they presented an update and detailed the new billing process (Linked here). Additionally, the S-T Office engaged with the Dues Specialist to thoroughly review the new per capita procedures and delivered a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (Linked here). This proactive approach ensured that they were prepared to support the Locals throughout this transition.

If the petition calling for a referendum on per capita dues attains the number of signatures required outlined in the CWA Constitution, it shall then be submitted to the Secretary-Treasurer. As provided inArticle XXII of the CWA Constitution, a referendum shall also be ordered by the Executive Board of the Union if twenty percent (20%) or more of the Locals representing twenty percent (20%) or more of the members of the Union, shall certify in writing to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Union their desire for a referendum or any particular subjects. The Secretary-Treasurer of the Union shall mail a notice of referendum, together with the required number of printed ballots, to each local. The notice and ballots must set forth the proposition to be voted upon and require a response within 60 days from the date of mailing to the Local. Upon receipt of the notice of referendum, each local shall conduct the referendum vote by secret ballot among its members and submit the results to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Union within 60 days by receipted registered mail. A majority of the votes cast shall determine the referendum.

The Secretary-Treasurer remains committed to carrying out the wishes of the delegate in compliance with the CWA Constitution and assisting Local Leaders through these transitions.

New Per Cap/Billing Process
Since the rollout of the new per capita billing process on April 8, 2026, new billings have been created automatically as the dues calendar for each unit is closed. Locals receive a daily email notification for any charges billed that day. Please review the Open Invoices and Billing People by Order ID reports promptly.

(FYI: The Detail Report will only work for bills created via the new programming. The manual bills for units processed prior to this change on 4/8/2026 will still be sent via email in an Excel file.)

Billing corrections can be sent to duesquestions@cwa-union.org. If you have multiple corrections, please include them all in one email or attach an Excel file. Billing corrections must be sent within 90 days of the invoice date.

Make sure to include the information below for each person, along with some form of supporting documentation from the person or employer.

*CWA ID 
*Name
*The month the dues are for 
*Reason for correction

Note: We are still processing the manual adjustments and billings for November 2025 through February 2026. You should see the November 2025 billing in your inbox soon.

Status Changes
As a reminder, under this new billing process, status changes by locals are restricted. Locals can change a person from one billable status to another billable status, or from one non-billable status to another non-billable status. However, any changes between the two categories must be requested at duesquestions@cwa-union.org. If you have many changes, you can send a list in Excel. Please make sure your email/list contains the information below for each person:

*CWA ID 
*Name
*New Status 
*Effective Date of Status
*Reason for Correction

Some form of documentation will need to be provided with the request (e.g., an email from the person seeking Associate Member status, an email or roster from the employer showing termination, etc.).

The scope of permitted changes will likely expand over time as locals become more familiar with the overall process, but we wanted to take a cautious approach as we rolled it out.

How do I know what statuses in Aptify are billable?

The key is segment three of the status (*not* segment two):
   Member/Agency Fee Payer – Active – [billable status]
   Member/Agency Fee Payer – Inactive - [non-billable status]

List of current non-billable statuses:

• Associate Membership
• Auto-Drop (Not Reported)
• Bad Record
• Courtesy List
• Deceased
• Dismissed
• Dropped
• Dropped A F Objector
• Expelled
• Furlough
• Laid Off
• Left Employment (Resigned)
• Local Transfer
• Merged Drop
• On Leave/Military
• Ret-CWA News Only
• Retired
• Retired-LT Member
• Strike
• Term-Pending Griev/Arb
• Withdrawal
• Xfr to Non-Bargained Position

Anything else in the third segment is BILLABLE at this time.
We appreciate your patience as we work through this new process.

APTIFY SERIES: DID YOU KNOW?
How to Build a Ready-to-Use Email List in Aptify
Did you know Aptify makes it easy to build an email list in just a few clicks? From the Search page, users can select the “Email Addresses” button above the report table to instantly generate a list of addresses ready to copy and paste. This tool is especially useful for sending announcements, local updates, or targeted messages to members, stewards, or custom groups. To ensure the feature works properly, be sure your pop-up blocker is turned off for Aptify. Additional guidance is available in the Aptify Learning Lab.

To get the best benefit from this feature, it is important to keep member email information current. Members should have a personal email address on file in Aptify rather than a work-issued address.

To review how many member email addresses are currently on file, go to the Search page and enter your local number. Then filter the results to Member-Active-Active. In the Email column, select “(null)” to identify members who are missing an email address. If multiple email addresses need to be updated, you can create a spreadsheet that includes each member’s CWA ID and updated email address and send it to aptifysupport@cwa-union.org.

COPE-COMPLIANCE:
2026 COPE Administrative Guidelines and PAF Awards Program
Please take a moment to review the updated 2026 Administrative Guidelines and PAF Awards Program to see important changes.

Administrative Guidelines
PAF Awards Program

CWA-COPE PCC “Best Efforts” Requirements
Federal law requires CWA-COPE PCC to disclose on its scheduled FEC reports the name, mailing address, occupation, and employer name of all individuals who contribute in excess of $200 in a calendar year. If a contributor fails to provide all required information, CWA-COPE PCC must be able to show it has used its “best efforts” to obtain the information.

CWA’s Reporting Team has established a “Best Efforts Policy and Procedure” for compliance. In sum, compliance with “best efforts” under the FEC’s regulations and CWA’s Policy requires that CWA-COPE PCC 1) request the required information in the initial solicitation materials asking for the contribution; 2) where required information is missing, make at least one written or oral follow-up request to the contributor within 30 days of receipt of the contribution; and 3) if required information is obtained after a contribution has been reported to the FEC, report that new information to the FEC.

While CWA’s Reporting Team is primarily responsible for compliance with CWA’s Best Efforts Policy and Procedure, the following steps are requested of Locals and Districts to assist with compliance:

• COPE Cards: If creating a new COPE card in Aptify, ensure that the member’s name, mailing address, employer, and occupation are all provided. A member’s occupation/job title is the most commonly missing information, and that is now a required field to complete a new person’s record when creating a card in Aptify.
• Missing Contributor Information Reports: As the CWA Reporting Team prepares the CWA-COPE PCC FEC report each month, Aptify will send each District and Sectors a list of members with missing information. Districts and Sectors are then responsible for researching the lists and returning the list with any missing information obtained to copequestions@cwa-union.org. The CWA Reporting Team will then bulk-upload any information provided into Aptify and NGP.
• Member Information Portal: Members are encouraged to respond to notices from CWA-COPE PCC by using the information portal at the following address: https://cwa-union.jotform.com/jkim/CWA-COPE_PCC_Info_Portal. Locals and Districts should share this link with members listed on the report mentioned above.
• Respond Promptly to Other Requests: Promptly respond to any other requests by the CWA Reporting Team for information or action needed for compliance with CWA’s Best Efforts Policy and Procedure. Notify the CWA Reporting Team of missing contributor information obtained in any other manner by emailing copequestions@cwa-union.org.

For any questions regarding CWA’s Best Efforts Policy and Procedure or what is required of your Local or District to comply with the Policy, please contact copequestions@cwa-union.org.

MEMBER COMMUNICATIONS:
Introducing the Local Secretary-Treasurer Spotlight Series
We are pleased to announce that, beginning soon, our newsletter will feature a recurring monthly spotlight on a Local Secretary-Treasurer (S-T). Each issue will highlight one Local Secretary-Treasurer and recognize their important contributions.

The purpose of this feature is to acknowledge and celebrate the vital role Local Secretary-Treasurer's play in the life of our union. As you know, Local S-T's are responsible for ensuring financial integrity, maintaining accurate records, remaining in compliance, and keeping members informed. Although much of their work takes place behind the scenes, it is essential to the strength and stability of the Local.

Please stay tuned and check your inbox for details about the initial rollout and submission requirements.

Protect Your Local's Email and Website Domain Name
Custom domain names for websites or email accounts are great for your local’s visibility, but they need to be renewed and are very difficult to recover if they expire. A custom domain is something like cwa5678.org - a domain name that is specific to your local.

Some CWA locals have lost access to their website or email because only one person had a login for the domain registration and they left the Local.

We recommend that the email account associated with your Local's domain registration and website hosting be an email address that your Local’s Secretary-Treasurer or trusted local staff have access to, and that at least one other officer or staff person has an administrative account with the domain registrar.

We also recommend that your Local's Secretary-Treasurer keep a secure record of usernames, passwords, and expiration dates for domain name registrations and website hosting with other important, confidential information that is passed on when there is a change in the Local's elected leadership.

CWA offers free website hosting for Locals. Contact us by submitting a support request to the Communications Department.

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It):
Changes to Per Capita Dues:
At the 80th Convention, delegates approved a resolution requiring CWA International to collect Per Capita dues based on “actual” dues collected rather than “anticipated” dues for members who do not pay dues. Under the new resolution, CWA International will no longer deduct Per Capita, Defense Fund, or Members’ Relief Fund amounts for members with no dues collected. Instead, Locals will be invoiced for members in the Local who are not paying dues.

To learn more about how this will affect the locals, please use the links below to listen to our Special Meeting and Townhall Call on the Per Capita dues:

January 27, 2026, Special Townhall Call – Click here

February 24, 2026, S-T Townhall on Per Capita Billing Video – Click here

February 24, 2026, S-T Townhall Per Capita PowerPoint – Click here

2026 CWA Annual Training Schedule: Level Up Your Skills!
Our 2026 training calendar is now available with packed sessions designed to make your work smoother and your skills sharper! Whether you’re new to Aptify or just need a refresher, we’ve got you covered.

Aptify & Dues Process | 3 hours
New to Aptify? This comprehensive session will teach you the ropes and guide you through the dues process with confidence.

   May 15, 2026 - 12pm ET
   July 10, 2026 - 12pm ET
   September 18, 2026 - 12pm ET
   November 6, 2026 - 12pm ET

Bottom-Up Dues Process Refresher | 1.5 hours
For those who already know Aptify—this refresher is designed for users familiar with our bottom-up dues structure. Get a solid review to keep things running smoothly!

   July 17, 2026 - 12pm ET 
   October 23, 2026 - 2pm ET

Grievance Management Module | 2 hours
Discover the Aptify Grievance Management Module! This tool will simplify the grievance process, from filing to resolution. With easy, web-based access, you can handle collective bargaining agreements, deadlines, and documents all in one place. Perfect for local, district, and sector users! LOCALS (Stewards/Local Rep/Local Officers) - Grievance Management module training sessions

   June 5, 2026 - 12pm ET 
   August 7, 2026 - 12pm ET 
   October 16, 2026 - 12pm ET

DISTRICT/SECTORS Staff Reps - Grievance Management module training sessions

   April 17, 2026 - 12pm ET
   June 26, 2026 - 12pm ET
   August 21, 2026 - 12pm ET
   October 20, 2026 - 12pm ET

Microsoft Excel Tips for Aptify Data | 1.5 hours
Want to get the most out of your Aptify data? Join us for an Excel crash course! You’ll learn the best tips and tricks for navigating and optimizing your data like a pro.

   August 28, 2026 - 12pm ET
   November 20, 2026 - 12pm ET

To sign up for one of our training sessions, please complete and submit this form. If you have any questions, email us at AptifySupport@cwa-union.org.

Free downloadable CWA Materials items available in the CWA Learning Lab! You now have the opportunity to browse and download select CWA Materials resources for free! This option helps you save on printing and shipping costs while giving you instant access to materials you can easily share with your members.

To get started, log into Aptify and click CWA Learning Lab in the top navigation menu. Then, click on the CWA Materials Downloadable Items module to view the full list of available resources. You can read more details HERE and reach out to AptifySupport@cwa-union.org with any questions.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 
Local Officers Resources and Information:

CWA Union Operating Procedures Manual (UOPM)- This comprehensive manual is a great guide to help Local officers in navigating our Union’s policies and procedures. It includes topics like the organizational structure, Constitution, Local Officer duties and responsibilities, organizing, Local Finances, Federal reporting, Local meetings, membership database, dues processing, Local bylaws, records retention, strike manual and so much more.Click here to view the UOPM.

For Locals- Another great online resource with reference materials, contract database, convention proceedings and biennial reports, online communications tools for Locals, forms, materials, databases, stewards training portal and Local directory. Click here to access information for CWA Locals.

Feeling the Financial Crunch? Don’t Fall Behind.
Union Plus offers a Free Credit Counseling session and program options for members who would like to work with a professional to review and provide solutions to assist in their current or future financial situation. Learn more here.

Don’t Wait, share money savings NOW! 
Members can save on Movie Tickets, Concerts, Sporting Events and Broadway this summer. Promote Union Plus Summer Savings.

NEW Union College Benefit powered by Edvance
CWA NETT is proud to introduce the Union College Benefit powered by Edvance, an education benefit designed to better support members and their families, offering affordable college options from 7 accredited schools with over 125 degree and certificate options. This benefit goes beyond tuition savings by providing access to a curated network of accredited, online programs, along with personalized guidance to help members navigate the college planning and enrollment process with confidence. Share the new benefit with your members

In Unity,

Ameenah Salaam
Secretary-Treasurer