Category: CWA

As the busy summer travel season continues, airport service workers, including CWA members, joined Senator Edward Markey (D-MA), Representative Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-4), and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1) this week to introduce the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act (GJGA). The GJGA is a bipartisan bill that seeks to address the lack of wage and benefit standards for airport service workers, including the approximately 20,000 passenger service agents represented by CWA at American Airlines and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Envoy Air and Piedmont Airlines.

“The protections under the bill are long overdue,” said Joshua Taborn (pictured above), a Piedmont Airlines gate agent in Washington, D.C., and mobilizer for CWA Local 2252. “Agents at American Airlines subsidiaries Envoy and Piedmont are working without any real protections. Many of our colleagues have to work part-time jobs to make ends meet. It is a shame that our wages are not enough.”

While some airline CEOs have doubled and even tripled their own pay since 2022, service worker pay has stagnated. Through higher wages and benefits, the GJGA will help reduce turnover among airport service workers and build an experienced, well-trained workforce that can maintain safe and efficient operations within our airports. It’s a win-win for workers, travelers, and communities across the U.S.

On July 11, NABET-CWA, including NABET-CWA President Charlie Braico, hosted a town hall meeting to both inform and get feedback from members regarding the proposed Nexstar/TEGNA merger. The virtual meeting covered the current state of the antitrust case and what members can do to help fight the deal.

If approved, the merger could increase Nexstar’s national reach to 80 percent of U.S. television households, more than twice as large as the 39 percent limit set by Congress. NABET-CWA and allies warn of a marked loss of local news, viewpoint diversity, and overall broadcast competition. This merger would put more power into the hands of an elite few corporate owners and weaken the fair and free press necessary to hold those in power to account.

Other major concerns include further deregulation of the broadcasting industry, resulting in more mergers and layoffs.

A State Attorneys General lawsuit has halted the merger pending the final outcome of the lawsuit. Members and supporters are encouraged to participate in a solidarity action on July 23 and to sign a petition calling for the Federal Communications Commission to stand firm on the National Cap.

Last week, CWA District 6 and AT&T finalized an agreement to bring trenching and boring work back into the bargaining unit. This is a significant accomplishment and another example of what we can achieve through the strength of our union.

By consistently demonstrating the value of our highly skilled, professional union workforce, we earned the opportunity to bring this work back under our contract and continue building our partnership with AT&T.

This is something we should all be proud of. Every job we bring back strengthens our bargaining unit, creates opportunities for our members, and positions us for the Jobs of the Future. Together, we’re proving that union labor delivers the quality, expertise, and value needed to grow our work for years to come.

Please take a moment to watch the attached video highlighting this important milestone and what it means for our members.

VIDEO: A Win for Our Members and Our Union: Contract Work Returns

Thank you for your continued commitment and dedication.

https://next.frame.io/share/d38d1525-d457-4f8a-9807-1de323a7a058/reel/ff29bebf-3245-4f4f-899b-f9ae39eca303?version=15511128-73ae-4fee-9638-527d13fea99c

John Lewis “Good Trouble Lives On” Weekend of Action

In remembrance of Congressman John Lewis, from July 17-19, our democracy partners are hosting numerous “Good Trouble Lives On” actions. There are a wide range of actions, including:

• Teach-Ins across the country
• Know Your Rights trainings on state Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC) bills
• Evening candlelight vigils in John Lewis’s memory
• Non-Partisan Community Voter Engagement and Registration Events
• Community kick-off events, block parties, registration drives

Click here for an interactive map to help you find an action near you!

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Social Media Video Training

Did you take the CWA Communications Department’s first video training? Want to dive deeper into editing videos for social media? Please join our Advanced Video Training on July 28 at 12pm ET / 9am PT!

This training will show you various editing techniques across different platforms and how you can make effective videos that reach more CWA members. Get more details and RSVP here.

Please share the RSVP link with other CWAers who may be interested

After nearly three years of negotiations with the company, Piedmont passenger services workers represented by CWA have won a historic settlement totaling nearly $2 million in wages owed to workers. Chief of Staff Sylvia J. Ramos, who led the negotiations of this settlement reached on January 19, stated she was informed that this is the largest award to CWA Passenger Services members in the union’s history.

During negotiations for a new contract in late 2024, the bargaining team noticed errors with the flex-and-freeze and flex-and-progress adjustments made by the company. To resolve these errors, Chief of Staff Ramos placed immense pressure on the company to submit full and complete audits of all employees—which the company dragged its feet on for months. Ultimately, the audits revealed hundreds of workers had been placed on the wrong step or were earning the wrong wage rates.

CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. stated that he believes this settlement is the result of members’ mobilization efforts and resilience in the face of a lengthy bargaining process. Congratulations to all involved in this historic settlement!

Continue to show your support for a fair and just contract with Piedmont Airlines by sending a letter to CEO Eric Morgan to tell him you stand with CWA members.

When We Fight, We Win!

Last week, approximately 300 CWA members at call centers in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota, and Colorado voted to ratify a new contract with DirecTV. The members are located in CWA Districts 2-13, 4, and 7.

The proposed four-year contract includes a 13.4% compounded wage increase throughout the life of the contract; an increase in the time interval between calls, doubling the current duration; and quality, affordable healthcare, preserving prescription drug co-pays.

In April 2026, members voted to authorize a strike if negotiations between CWA and DirecTV failed to reach a fair agreement.

“DirecTV customer service workers held the line for a strong contract that includes lower healthcare costs, fair wages, and more than a ten-second break between calls,” said CWA Local 2009 Area Vice President Eli Martin. “Their fight is reflected in this agreement and should send a message to the company that the workers who make the company millions are united for a strong contract that benefits both the workers and the customers we serve.”

With tremendous support from CWA political activists and retirees and the endorsement of CWA District 1, Brad Lander ousted two-term legislator Representative Dan Goldman in the Democratic congressional primary in June. Lander, who is running for New York’s 10th Congressional District, has been one of CWA’s most vocal champions for decades.

Throughout his career in public service, Lander has stood with CWA members on numerous occasions, most recently at Condé Nast (TNG-CWA Local 31003), the National Audubon Society (CWA Local 1180), and with interpreters organizing with CWA at LanguageLine Solutions.

CWA members canvassed, shared flyers and information with fellow members at worksites, and phonebanked to drive pro-worker turnout to Lander’s campaign.

Lander is expected to continue being a strong advocate for workers. He has not only been accessible to CWA when we’ve needed him but also has a history of proactive assistance, reaching out to ask how he can help in building a stronger New York for working families. He has committed to pushing forward the Protecting the Right to Organize Act and other legislative policies critical to protecting worker rights at a time when workers are under attack.

Last week, TNG-CWA members at the National Abortion Hotline (NAH) represented by the Washington-Baltimore News Guild (TNG-CWA Local 32035) ratified a strong new contract. This win comes after members initiated a 24-hour unfair labor practice (ULP) strike on May 26 over the National Abortion Federation’s (NAF) refusal to implement even minimal protections against artificial intelligence (AI) implementation.

TNG-CWA members work directly with patients as Care Coordinators and provide support to member facilities as Operations Coordinators. They had major concerns over how AI systems are used, especially in surveillance and data collection of patients. Other concerns included staff burnout, high turnover rates, low job security, and improving healthcare benefits. The three-year contract secures wage increases, 100% employer-paid healthcare, short-term disability benefits, improved scheduling, more accessible sick leave, and protections against unilateral AI implementation.

“Throughout nine months of bargaining, our union stood in incredible solidarity, which enabled us to achieve significant protections against being replaced by AI, as well as raises and additional paid time off that will enable us to provide sustainable, patient-centered care and support our member facilities,” said TNG-CWA member and NAH Care Coordinator Amber Pugh.

Congratulations to the courageous members on their win!

Last month, CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. delivered a fiery speech to the thousands gathered in Corpus Christie, Texas, for the 2026 Texas Democratic State Convention. Cummings laid out CWA’s goals for the upcoming elections, saying, “We will do everything in our power to turn out the vote in the coming midterm elections and to put pro-worker, pro-people candidates in power who will choose workers over wealth. We will focus down-ballot on governors, state legislatures, and local electeds. We will continue to have the one-on-one conversations with voters that only unions can have at scale.”

Click here to watch President Cummings’ full speech.

Last month, CWA members, officers, and retirees in CWA District 4 (top photo) and District 7 participated in our Fighting Oligarchy trainings. CWA District 4 political activists in Ohio are preparing for a big fight to retake Ohio’s Senate seat with pro-CWA champion Sherrod Brown and to support Amy Acton for Ohio Governor.

In CWA District 7, IUE-CWA, AFA-CWA, and local District activists are supporting AFA-CWA leader Kaela Berg in her run for Congress.