News

  • CWA Supports Fuse Media's Complaint Against AT&T
    In a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission, Fuse Media, a Latino-owned and managed cable network, has alleged that AT&T is forcing it off of its distribution platforms in favor of programming from WarnerMedia, which is owned by AT&T. Fuse says that positive relations with AT&T over a 15-year period changed in 2018 when AT&T purchased Time Warner Media, whose offerings include TBS, TNT, CNN, Adult Swim, and truTV. Since then, AT&T has ignored Fuse's requests to enter renewal discussions and only responded after Fuse threatened FCC action. Fuse says when AT&T did respond, its renewal offer was "untenable and likely unserious." The result of losing its distribution on AT&T platforms, Fuse concludes, would be bankruptcy and the elimination of "a vibrant voice speaking to, and for, the multiethnic, multicultural community, especially Latinos, Afro-Latinos, and African Americans." In December, CWA filed FCC comments in support of Fuse Media's complaint. CWA supported AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner with the expectation that it would lead to the creation and protection of good jobs in the United States. But after the deal closed, CWA saw a similar shift in AT&T's willingness to honor its commitments. For instance, AT&T failed to respect the agreement it made with CWA to ensure the organizing rights of employees at acquisitions like Time Warner. As CWA says in its filing in support of the Fuse complaint, "The reason for this appears simple: like how it apparently views independent programmers that compete against the Turner networks for advertisers and viewers, AT&T apparently views union jobs at these holdings as a threat to AT&T's bottom line." Read more here. — Jan 14
  • Suspending Contributions to Lawmakers Who Voted to Overturn the Election is Not Enough
    Corporate leaders have long supported candidates who agree to vote for legislation that boosts their profits, including candidates who have built their careers on racism, gender discrimination, anti-LGBTQ prejudice, voter suppression and disdain for our democracy. Occasionally, bowing to public pressure, corporations will distance themselves from those candidates. We have seen this over the past few days, as many corporate political action committees (PACs) have announced that they will stop or temporarily suspend contributions to elected officials who voted to overturn the results of the presidential election. These actions are not enough. Corporate PACs that have announced temporary suspensions of contributions to members of Congress who voted to overturn the election results in select states must make them permanent. Corporations must also stop supporting the vast network of trade associations and political groups that provide financial and other support to the elected officials who would stop at nothing to keep Donald Trump and his enablers in power. If this is more than a token effort at good public relations, corporations should immediately demand refunds from and cease contributions to the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) which played a key role in promoting last week’s riots. In addition, if they were serious, they would stop all political support to groups like the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee (NRSCC), the Republican National Committee (RNC), their affiliated SuperPACs and other political organizations that provide financial and campaign support to those 147 Republican Senators and Representatives. We also need a more lasting solution. We are calling on corporate leaders to support H.R. 1, the For the People Act, to reform our democracy by making voting easier and more accessible, changing the role of money in politics, and eliminating partisan gerrymandering. Last week’s violent attack on the Capitol, led by white supremacists and fascists, was shocking. It’s time for CEOs and members of corporate boards to reckon with the choices they have made, and join with us to strengthen our democracy. ### — Jan 13
  • CWA and Supporters Call on Lumen Technologies CEO to Extend MLK Holiday and Address Racism at Company
    A delegation of African American workers from the Communications Workers of America sent a letter to Lumen Technologies CEO Jeff Storey yesterday, asking that he designate the federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday for all Lumen workers. In November, Lumen, formerly known as CenturyLink, announced that the company would, for the first time, be giving non-union workers the holiday in an effort to make Lumen more “diverse and inclusive.” “We are deeply disappointed by Lumen’s recently announced decision to give the MLK Holiday to everyone except union members,” the letter reads. “In your announcement, leadership cited listening to employees and the significance of Dr. King’s message. Yet this decision directly undermines Dr. King’s legacy of fighting for civil and labor rights. We are asking you to make it right and extend the MLK paid holiday to all Lumen workers.” The letter was accompanied by signatures from 1500 Lumen workers and community supporters who signed a petition asking Storey to include union members in the holiday. In addition to calling for the holiday, the delegation has requested a meeting with Storey to discuss how the union and management can work together to dismantle racism at Lumen. “While Lumen’s decision to exclude union members from the MLK holiday is outrageous, it’s not the only concern that we have about Lumen’s disregard for its rank and file workforce,” said Anna Robbs, a Lumen worker from CWA Local 7777 in Denver, Colo., who signed the letter. “Just a few months ago, Jeff Storey said that we must raise our voices against racism and violence against Black People and ‘value our differences as strengths for unification.’ Now he is using MLK Day, of all things, to divide us. We are asking Jeff Storey to join with us to strengthen our company through a comprehensive program to address racism at Lumen.” CWA has asked Storey to respond to set up a meeting by Friday, January 15. The full text of the letter is below. ### Dear CEO Jeff Storey,  We are a group of African American Lumen workers and proud members of the Communications Workers of America.  We write to request a meeting with you to discuss how we can dismantle racism at Lumen together.  We are deeply disappointed by Lumen’s recently announced decision to give the MLK Holiday to everyone except union members.  In your announcement, leadership cited listening to employees and the significance of Dr. King’s message.  Yet this decision directly undermines Dr. King’s legacy of fighting for civil and labor rights.  We are asking you to make it right and extend the MLK paid holiday to all Lumen workers.  We attach the following petition signatures of over 1500 Lumen fellow co-workers and community supporters who, like us, are upset that you would leave union members out of MLK Day as a paid holiday.  We would like to raise other concerns about racism at Lumen and we look forward to talking to you directly.  We ask that you respond to us by this Friday, January 15, to set up a meeting to listen to the concerns of our delegation.  Together, the company and our union can work to dismantle racism at Lumen.  Separately, we cannot.  Sincerely,  Tivia Bryant Scott ButlerMahalia CorleyArt ClemensGeorge HayesPat HendersonJohn JohnsonBernie OwensAnna RobbsLeon TootleVonda Wilkins Cc: Bryan Smith, Lumen Labor RelationsCongressional Black CaucusCWA Executive Board — Jan 12
  • CWA Members Continue to Build Worker Power with Wins in Georgia Senate Runoff
    With this week's victories for Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, working people in Georgia and across the United States have ensured that their voices will be heard on Capitol Hill in 2021 and beyond. "CWA activists in Georgia have spent years organizing and building a program to engage members and retirees in legislative and electoral work," said CWA President Chris Shelton. "There's no doubt that every vote mattered and their work to organize all around the state made a huge difference in winning Georgia for Joe Biden, Rev. Warnock, and Jon Ossoff. Mitch McConnell's days as the 'grim reaper,' single-handedly stopping legislation that would improve the lives of working people from even coming up for debate in the Senate, are over." CWA members began preparing for the Georgia Senate race shortly after the 2018 midterm elections. Members educated their co-workers on issues including offshoring, corporate tax cuts, and providing paid leave for all workers and the importance of passing legislation like the PRO Act to enable more workers to join unions and fight back against corporate control of their lives and our economy. The pandemic brought even more urgency to those efforts, as CWA members continued to provide essential services while the McConnell-led Senate failed to act on legislation to protect their lives and their jobs. For the runoff, CWAers from across the country joined the efforts in Georgia, pitching in on virtual phone banks. "Our members went from winning a historic strike against AT&T in the summer of 2019 right into work on the Georgia Senate primary election, general election, and now this runoff," said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt. "Mobilizing for a strike and turning out the vote serve the same goal: building worker power and fighting for economic justice." CWAers, joined by special guests including Stacey Abrams, held numerous phonebanks to elect Warnock and Ossoff, and to ensure that working people's voices are heard once Biden and the new Congress are sworn in. — Jan 7
  • Google Workers Join CWA
    On Monday, workers at Google announced the creation of the Alphabet Workers Union. Alphabet is Google's parent company. The union will be open to all employees and contractors at any Alphabet company and the workers will be members of CWA Local 1400. The historic launch received widespread media attention, including a feature story and editorial from the workers in the New York Times, and dozens of elected officials tweeted their support. "This union builds upon years of courageous organizing by Google workers," said Alphabet Workers Union member Nicki Anselmo, a Program Manager at Google. "From fighting the 'real names' policy, to opposing Project Maven, to protesting the egregious, multi-million dollar payouts that have been given to executives who've committed sexual harassment, we've seen first-hand that Alphabet responds when we act collectively. Our new union provides a sustainable structure to ensure that our shared values as Alphabet employees are respected even after the headlines fade." "We are glad to welcome the Alphabet Workers Union as members of CWA Local 1400," said CWA Local President Don Trementozzi. "We are a democratic, member-driven union, with experience building and sustaining worker power at some of America's largest corporations. This is an historic step toward making lasting improvements for workers at Google and other Alphabet companies." Alphabet Workers have joined CWA Local 1400. — Jan 7