Workers Holding Trump Accountable for "Good Jobs" Promises

CWAers joined hundreds of federal contract workers, union activists, Senator Bernie Sanders and other progressive leaders at a rally in Washington, D.C., calling for fair wages, benefits and workers' rights for millions of federal contract workers.  

Former CWA President Larry Cohen was the rally emcee. Cohen is the Board Chair of Our Revolution, the grassroots organization that has grown out of the Sanders for President campaign. 

CWA is working with federal contract workers to make sure they are fairly compensated for their work and that abuses like wage theft and violation of their right to organize a union are stopped, and several workers from CWA campaigns spoke to participants.

LaShawn Craddock and LaToya Williams are customer service representatives who work for private companies doing work for the federal government.

Williams, who works for the Federal Emergency and Management Assistance call center in Hyattsville, MD, told the rally, "I'm proud to be able to help people who are temporarily homeless get out of gyms and shelters. But here's the irony: I was homeless for two years because the federal contractor I work for stole thousands of dollars from my paycheck. Not only was I homeless, I have thousands of dollars of medical debt and I rely on food banks to feed myself."

Craddock said, "I work full time at a call center helping senior citizens who don’t get pension checks on time (for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation). Even though I help our retirees, I don’t ever think I’ll ever be able to retire. I'll have to work until I die. My wages are so low, that I can't save a penny. My pay doesn't cover rent, my car payment, or allow me to help my daughter pay for college."

Read more about CWA's work on stopping wage theft here.

Also joining the rally from CWA were Charles Gray, Jo Ann Gutierrez Bejar and Carmelina Cadena, contract workers who provide language interpreter services for the Department of Justice Immigration Court.

Senator Bernie Sanders, U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and other elected leaders joined the action.

Every speaker called on President-elect Trump to keep his promise to create better jobs with better wages for working people and to demand that Trump stop federal contractors from stealing the pay of workers who serve America. The rally was organized by Good Jobs Nation, a coalition of low-wage federal contract workers and organizations that support living wages, job benefits and workers' rights for millions of federal contract workers.

Contract workers and activists call for an end to the exploitation of federal contract workers.