Below are resources available to customer service members to help strengthen contract language, provide insights into the customer service industry, issues our members face and promote the customer service program on social media.
Factsheet: How Work From Home is Impacting CWA Customer Service Professionals (2023)
This factsheet highlights key findings from a survey of CWA-represented call center employees on the impact of Work From Home (WFH) arrangements. This survey was conducted between December 2022 and January 2023 in partnership with Cornell and McMaster University. WFH arrangements are associated with improved employee well-being and job satisfaction but present challenges for keeping members connected and informed on union activities. However, WFH doesn’t have to mean less union engagement. WFH respondents have similar levels of interest in protesting on important issues.
View the Work from Home factsheet.
Work From Home Bargaining and Political Action Fund Resources
The Issue Brief below collects contract language on issues identified in surveys and interviews with members, leadership and staff as high priority for Work From Home members, including equipment reimbursement, guardrails on monitoring, and pay protection. Based on language identified in current CWA agreements, the model language document below provides strong template language establishing protections for members on these topics.
View the Issue Brief on Work From Home Contract Language.
View the Work From Home Model Language.
In addition, Work from Home members can support the CWA Political Action Fund (PAF) through CWA's online digital payment options.
AT&T Employees can sign up for PAF via E-Card.
Lumen Employees can sign up for PAF via E-Card.
Factsheet: How Artificial Intelligence is Impacting CWA Customer Service Professionals (2023)
This factsheet highlights key findings from a survey of CWA-represented call center employees on the impact of new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in the workplace undertaken in partnership with Cornell and McMaster University. AI tools are increasingly used in call center settings for a variety of purposes. Our survey finds that many AI tools are associated with more stress, less job satisfaction and a more intense work environment while some AI tools can improve job quality by complementing and enhancing the skills of call center agents. Worker's voice is critical to ensure that new AI tools complement and improve call center jobs.
View the Artificial Intelligence factsheet.
View the full 2023 Call Center Artificial Intelligence report from Cornell and McMaster University.
AT&T 2018 Jobs Report
Iconic U.S. telecom giant AT&T received an unprecedented windfall from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which President Trump signed into law in December 2017. But despite this massive boost to its profits, the company is choosing to undercut and offshore American jobs. The CWA AT&T 2018 Jobs Report reveals the devastating impact of recent call center closures across the Midwest, including in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Illinois. In addition to concerns about job security, AT&T workers report that the company’s practice of outsourcing customer service work to low-wage overseas contractors is hurting the quality of service and damaging AT&T’s brand.
Read the 2018 AT&T Jobs report.
Read the updated, January 2019, AT&T Jobs report.
AT&T Offshoring Report
The 2017 AT&T Offshoring Report details the impact of AT&T’s offshoring on workers and customers who are the driving force behind the company’s success. It is primarily based on interviews and surveys of hundreds of workers in the United States, El Salvador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and the Philippines.
Read the AT&T Offshoring report.
Report: AT&T's Retail Sales Problem
The 2017 report, AT&T's Retail Sales Problem, details the increasing use of third party dealers and the impacts it has on the customer experiece and potential customer defections to competitors. These authorized dealers look the same as corporate-run stores but have substantial differences in training, compensation and incentive pay, all of which can lead to worse outcomes for customers and employees.
CWA Issue Briefs
The CWA Issue Briefs, released in 2014, tackle 6 key issues facing customer service members in the workplace, listed below. For each issue outlined, the issue briefs provide best practice contract language. This language can be used as a guide to strengthen contracts that don't currently have these provisions or have weaker language.
1. Adherence, Talk Time, Closed Key Time
3. Protections Against Abusive Monitoring
4. Sales Quotas and Commission Plans
View the entire document, with all 6 issues here: CWA Issue Briefs.
Report: Raising Wages and Professionalism in Call Centers
The UNI report, Answer the Call: Raising Wages & Professionalism in Call Centers, focuses on the working conditions of customer service workers in call centers across the globe. The report provides an introduction into the education and training call center workers receive, wages and the union difference, and provides insight into the working conditions of those working in the following countries: India, Phillipines, France, Netherlands, Tunisia, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and the U.S.
Report: Moving Forward in the U.S. Customer Service Industry
Moving Forward in the U.S. Customer Service Industry is a 2012 report on the status of the customer service industry. It provides an overview of union and non-union call center presence in the U.S. and lays out how we are going to secure quality jobs and quality service in the call center industry using 3 principles: Organizing, Political/Community Action, and Bargaining/Representation. Click below to learn more.
Download the PowerPoint Presentation
Customer Service Worker Stress Survey
Over 250 CWA telecommunication and media locals completed this survey to gain a better understanding of job stress factors and health outcomes. The data we gathered from the survey showed that as a union, we must take these issues head on. Click below to see the responses we received from the survey.
Download the PowerPoint Presentation.
Facebook and Twitter Icons
Show your customer service pride or solidarity. Right-click on the images below to download the images, save to your desktop, and then use as your Facebook or Twitter profile picture.
