News

  • CWA Statement on Passage of Economic Stimulus Bill to Respond to COVID-19 Crisis
    Thanks to House and Senate Democrats, the legislation passed today to respond to the COVID-19 crisis is much improved for working families from the bills initially introduced by Senate Republicans that would have only been a bailout for corporations with no protections for workers, inadequate resources for hospital and healthcare providers, and no economic relief for struggling families.  Democrats fought hard to improve the bill to ensure that companies who take bailout money do not put that money into stock buybacks that don’t benefit workers, to protect workers’ collective bargaining agreements from forced changes, and more. While still insufficient, these added conditions make it more likely that the aid will actually protect workers and jobs. “Senate Democrats have negotiated a much improved deal for working families, but more needs to be done to ensure that all workers can survive the crisis,” said CWA Senior Director for Government Affairs and Policy Shane Larson. “For example, many workers remain without paid sick leave and paid family leave, OSHA protections are inadequate for our health care workers and other frontline workers, more needs to be done to ensure that health care workers have the equipment they need, and we need more support to ensure elections go forward smoothly and safely if the crisis is still ongoing this fall.” — Mar 27
  • Workers, Supported by CWA, Call on Maximus to Meet with Organizing Committee Immediately to Address COVID-19 Crisis
    As Maximus continues to take inadequate precautions to protect its employees at large federally contracted call centers, the workers who are organizing to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA) are calling on Maximus CEO Bruce Caswell and senior leadership to immediately meet (via video) with their organizing committee to address the safety precautions the company must take to protect its workers, their families, and our communities from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Maximus employs about 10,000 workers in 11 call centers in nine states who handle Medicare and ACA Federally Facilitated Marketplace inquiries under a federal contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Due to the large numbers of employees working in close proximity at these call centers, employees are concerned about transmission of COVID-19 at work.  The workers are demanding that the company take immediate steps to allow their call center workers the option of working from home and if they cannot, the option of taking emergency paid leave while keeping their insurance coverage. This leave should be extended to anyone who has been diagnosed or exposed to coronavirus or anyone who would be at high risk if they contracted it, or who needs to take leave to care for a dependent. The paid leave should not be contingent on requiring any medical documentation that proves a worker has been infected with the coronavirus, given the lack of testing available and an increasingly overloaded healthcare system. When closures have been publicly announced in a community, Maximus should not require its workers to bring in proof of school closures. The Maximus call center workers also demand that any incentive pay given for working during this pandemic not be contingent on meeting a threshold of hours worked -- workers who are risking their lives by coming to the call center may fall ill while doing so, and should be compensated for taking that risk. “While Maximus on Wednesday started making efforts to space workers in the Bogalusa, LA call center where I work two seats apart, it’s not enough. We shouldn’t have to put our families, ourselves, and our communities at risk by coming to work. If the Social Security Administration can work from home, so can we!” said Sylvia Walker from Louisiana.  “With these critical health and safety concerns, it’s more important than ever that workers have a voice at Maximus -- and that the company have an open dialogue with those demanding that voice,” said CWA President Chris Shelton. “Refusing to engage in dialogue with workers is always bad policy, but especially bad policy during a pandemic. The lack of communication puts people at unnecessary risk. Maximus needs to meet with the workers' organizing committee and discuss policies that will keep workers, their families, and their communities safe.” Jamie Brown from Maximus’ Hattiesburg, MS site reports that workers have been asked to provide children’s birth certificates and proof of school closures to access the childcare leave Maximus states that it is offering all of its call center employees.   In an In These Times piece published this week, Maximus workers shared their stories about Maximus’ inadequate response to the pandemic. Background Maximus is a giant government contractor specializing in running outsourced administrative services for federal and state government agencies, primarily in the fields of health and human services. It is the largest provider of contact center services to the federal government, and the largest provider of Medicaid administrative services to state governments.  Maximus’ poor treatment of its workers has been drawing attention from local and national media. The New York Magazine recently broke a story about Maximus’ national anti-union campaign, revealing the crux of a larger problem at the company: most Maximus workers are paid low wages, and many can’t even afford prescriptions and necessary procedures; a “uniquely American irony” for health care administrative workers, as NYMag put it. Last month, community leaders in Hattiesburg MS, including City Councilwoman Deborah Delgado, delivered a letter to Krislyn King, Site Manager at Maximus' call center in Hattiesburg. The letter expressed concerns about workers’ allegations of wage theft at the call center and called out the company's anti-union campaign, which made national news in a recent Mother Jones piece. The letter was published several days later as a full-page ad in the Hattiesburg American. — Mar 27
  • CWA COVID-19 Response Update – March 26, 2020
    As the COVID-19 crisis spreads and deepens across the world, we know that you are concerned about your health and safety on the job and about the possibility of layoffs and furloughs. The challenges can seem overwhelming. CWA leaders on every level – elected officers, stewards, health and safety activists, and others – are identifying issues as they arise and working with employers to ensure policies are in place to address those issues and that those policies are enforced. If you have a problem that needs to be addressed, please reach out, especially if you are being asked to work in unsafe conditions. Stewards and local officers have the most up-to-date information for your worksite. If you are having trouble reaching them, you can submit your question using the form available on cwa.org/covid-19 and we will route it to the proper person for response. The COVID-19 information page on CWA's website has been updated to include new resources. You can find these at cwa.org/covid-19. During this time, it is more important than ever that we be able to contact you with information that is specific to your employer or local. Please visit https://cwaunion.wufoo.com/forms/cwa-member-information-update to help us update our records. — Mar 26
  • In Memoriam – March 26, 2020
    CWA has established a memorial page for members who have lost their lives to COVID-19. This week we honor the memory of Larry Edgeworth, a member of NABET-CWA Local 51011 who worked at NBC News. — Mar 26
  • We Need To Use The National Defense Production Act NOW
    CWA members are on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis. Shortages of N95 respirators, surgical masks, latex gloves, and other protective equipment leave essential workers at risk of infection. This is especially true for healthcare workers, including 24,000 represented by CWA. Hospitalizations are soaring, and facilities are suffering from extreme shortages of protective equipment, ventilators, tests, and healthcare staff. They face the highest probability of repeat exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19 and their lives are at risk. President Trump has the power to make a difference but has failed to do what needs to be done to keep workers and patients safe. Through the National Defense Production Act (NDPA) the President can mandate the immediate production of all the personal protective equipment, tests, and ventilators we need to respond to the crisis and protect healthcare and other essential workers – but so far he's refused to do so. Instead, President Trump has announced vague and confusing intentions to "leverage" manufacturers into producing an insufficient amount of supplies. Sign the petition to tell President Trump that he must use the full force of the Defense Production Act now! — Mar 26