Worker Power Update

Texas State Employee Union/CWA Members Hold Rally to Demand Better Working Conditions

Last Wednesday, over 200 members of the Texas State Employees Union (TSEU), CWA Local 6186, and their supporters held a rally in Austin, Texas, demanding pay raises, cost of living adjustments, and increased funding and staffing. Following the rally, the members headed into the State Capitol to speak to their representatives and express their concerns and demands.

Their actions come on the heels of a new report released by the TSEU and Every Texan, a nonprofit organization that advocates for equitable policy solutions, highlighting the conditions in Texas state agencies with historically high turnover. The report, “Low Pay and High Turnover in Texas State Agencies and Universities Cost Us All,” is based on a survey of hundreds of state employees and provides an insight into the devastating consequences of low pay and high turnover for Texas state employees and those they serve.

“It is you that makes this state run, not the legislature," said CWA District 6 Vice President Claude Cummings Jr., who spoke during the rally. CWA Public, Healthcare, and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook also joined the rally and lobby day along with elected officials and other union leaders and prominent supporters who stood in solidarity with the workers.

###

Take Action to Support Julie Su, a Labor Secretary Workers Deserve

Affirming his commitment to prioritizing the interest of working families, President Biden has nominated Julie Su, a proven defender of workers’ rights, to serve as the next Secretary of Labor. Su has a long record of standing with workers and a deep understanding of the issues we face. From her beginnings protecting immigrants and other vulnerable workers, to fiercely combating wage theft and the abuse of low-wage workers in California, to her leadership of the Department of Labor with then-Secretary Marty Walsh, Su has distinguished herself as a principled fighter for the basic rights of every worker. She is the most qualified candidate to be Secretary of Labor and the best choice to advance the agenda for an inclusive economy.

Unfortunately, corporate lobbyists and wealthy special interests are spending big to block Su’s confirmation when it comes up for a committee vote in the Senate. We cannot let that happen. Add your name to this petition to show you support Julie Su, a Labor Secretary who will fiercely defend workers.

###

CWA District 7 Activists Build Support for Pro-Worker Legislation in Colorado

A delegation of CWA District 7 members, including members from CWA Local 7799 and Colorado Drivers United (CWA Local 7777), participated in a lobby day late last month at the Colorado State Capitol, where they met with their elected representatives about CWA legislative priorities, including securing passage for pro-worker legislation such as the Public Employee Workers Protection bill and the Gig Worker Transparency bill.

###

CWA Video Exposes Irony Behind Hedge Fund’s Attacks on FCC

On April 6, CWA launched a new video showing the irony of hedge fund Standard General’s coordinated attacks against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In February, the FCC’s Media Bureau refused to rubber stamp Standard General’s proposed takeover of TEGNA, the nation’s second-largest local broadcast station owner.

In response, Standard General spammed local newspaper readers by publishing the exact same op-ed in several publications, including six papers owned by another hedge fund, Alden Global Capital. Pushing the hedge fund's views in this way is a perfect illustration of what happens when local media outlets are taken over by a handful of wealthy and powerful owners with no connection to the communities they are supposed to serve.

The NewsGuild-CWA and NABET-CWA have condemned the TEGNA takeover and petitioned the FCC to reject the deal.

###

CWA District 7 Hosts a Virtual Town Hall to Build Support for Pro-Worker Legislation That Will Ban Mandatory Anti-Union Meetings in Minnesota

CWA and other labor partners in Minnesota are mobilizing to build support for new legislation that will ban mandatory anti-union “captive audience” meetings that employers use to prevent workers from forming unions.

Last Thursday, CWA District 7 hosted a virtual town hall to educate members and the community about and build support for this critical pro-worker legislation. “[W]e have an incredible opportunity in Minnesota to pass a bill that would ban anti-union captive audience meetings,” said CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister, who opened up the town hall. CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens, who also spoke during the town hall, reiterated, “[I]f we can pass this bill, it will make it much easier for more workers to organize with CWA to help grow our union and create more good jobs in Minnesota…I really know that when we do it here in Minnesota, it will catch on and grow across the country.”

The legislation, which makes it illegal to retaliate against workers who decline to participate in meetings that are designed to intimidate workers and weaken their organizing efforts, is co-sponsored by State Representative and AFA-CWA Local 27048 member Kaela Berg, who joined the town hall and spoke to the participants. “[W]e are seeing an all-out attack on our democracy nearly every single day in this nation. And so ensuring that our workers have the right to organize, and ensuring that our workers are not going to be harassed on the job for living their values, sharing their values with each other, and fighting for their fundamental right to organize a union...that is what we are protecting with this bill,” Berg said.