News

  • Firing Peter Robb Shows Biden’s Commitment to Preventing the Abuse of Corporate Power
    By firing National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Peter Robb yesterday, President Joe Biden clearly demonstrated his commitment to ensuring that workers are free to build power and exercise their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Robb is a professional union buster who spent his term at the NLRB pushing his extreme anti-worker agenda instead of fulfilling the purpose of the National Labor Relations Act. The previous Administration put him in place so that corporate executives could have free reign to silence workers and prevent anyone from questioning their relentless pursuit of profit. Robb’s firing is the critical first step toward restoring an NLRB that understands that the purpose of the National Labor Relations Act is to encourage collective bargaining and prevent the abuse of corporate power. Next steps include appointing a new General Counsel and NLRB members, and enacting legislation like the PRO Act to update our outdated labor laws. We are looking forward to working with President Biden as he continues to implement policies that empower and support working people. ### — Jan 21
  • With Biden's COVID-19 Relief Plan, Workers Will Have the Support They Need
    With his comprehensive relief plan, Joe Biden has shown that he understands how deeply the COVID-19 crisis has affected working people. His proposal will provide the financial support workers need and resources for curbing the pandemic by ensuring that vaccines are widely available. State and local governments and school systems have shouldered extraordinary costs, and public workers have continued to provide essential services even as their health and livelihoods have been threatened. Biden's plan will ensure that they can continue to serve our communities. It will also enhance benefits for the unemployed, expand paid leave, raise wages for millions of workers, and create an emergency temporary standard to protect workers from COVID-19 infection. Congress must act quickly to pass this plan and provide immediate, lifesaving relief to millions of Americans who have been suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic. — Jan 15
  • Join Us Tonight for a PRO Act Virtual Town Hall
    It's time to build worker power! Join us tonight at 7pm Eastern for a virtual town hall co-hosted by CWA, the AFL-CIO, and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), as union members start a big push to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The town hall will feature CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott, Congressman Conor Lamb, and other labor leaders and congressional champions. The PRO Act:
    • Enacts meaningful penalties for violations of workers’ rights, 
    • Ends companies' undemocratic “captive audience” meetings, 
    • Strengthens workers' ability to strike, and
    • Helps workers who have organized get a fair first contract.
    The event will be livestreamed here. CWA members have worked tirelessly to build support for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. (Photo taken before COVID-19.)     — Jan 14
  • CWA Applauds Biden's Pick of Marty Walsh for Labor Secretary
    Joe Biden announced last week that Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will be his nominee for Secretary of Labor. Walsh is a longtime union member and labor leader, and a great choice to serve as Biden's Labor Secretary for working people. He will be a welcome contrast to Trump's Labor Secretary, Eugene Scalia, who spent his entire career busting unions and even defended Cablevision when it fired 22 CWA members for protesting the company's refusal to bargain a fair contract. "Nearly every policy that Joe Biden has proposed includes a focus on strengthening the middle class and making sure workers have the freedom to join together in unions to stand up for themselves and improve their workplaces. By choosing a union member and union leader who is as trusted, experienced, and effective as Mayor Walsh, President-elect Biden has shown that he means what he says. Having Marty Walsh as a member of the Cabinet means that working people will have one of their own in the room and at the table every time a decision is made that affects their lives," CWA said in a statement. — Jan 14
  • Continuing the Fight for Justice on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
    2012 AFL-CIO MLK Civil and Human Rights Conference CWA leaders will be featured on panels at the AFL-CIO's MLK Civil and Human Rights Conference, which will be held virtually this week: Radical Progress: Building the Beloved Community within the Labor Movement Friday, Jan. 15 from 11:45am - 12:45pm, EasternPanelists include CWA District 6 Vice President and Co-Chair of CWA's Human Rights Program Claude Cummings, Jr. Not All Heroes Wear Capes: How Black Women Saved Our Democracy and All Women Can Help Carry the Load Saturday, Jan. 16 from 11:15am-12:00pm, EasternPanelists include CWA Public, Healthcare & Education Sector Vice President Margaret Cook. Learn more about the conference and register at themlkconference.org. ### MLK Day for All Virtual Rally Last year, Lumen sent an email to its workers saying that in 2021, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day will be a paid holiday for the first time in the company's history, but only for non-union employees. A delegation of African American workers sent a letter to Lumen Technologies CEO Jeff Storey this week, asking that he designate the federal Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a paid holiday for all Lumen workers. "This decision directly undermines Dr. King's legacy of fighting for civil and labor rights," the CWA members wrote. "We are asking you to make it right and extend the MLK paid holiday to all Lumen workers." Join us on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 18, at 8:30 pm ET, for a virtual rally to demand Lumen give MLK Day as a holiday to all workers. We will hear from CWA members, elected leaders, and community allies. Register for the event here: https://www.facebook.com/CWAUnion/posts/10158130810343111. ### CWA for Black Lives T-Shirts and Hats CWA for Black Lives t-shirts and hats are now available in the CWA online store. Place your order here. Show your CWA pride and your support for racial justice! — Jan 14