Category: CWA

NATIONWIDE – Microsoft eliminated an initial wave of 1,600 jobs across its Xbox division, including hundreds of union video game workers represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA). 

“When Microsoft sought to grow its video game division, corporate executives made an agreement with video game workers and their union, CWA, to respect their right to organize for a new day for workers across Microsoft’s video game studios,” said Claude Cummings Jr., President of CWA. “Although our union signed neutrality agreements with Microsoft, we have been extremely disappointed by a company that has slow-walked our members at the bargaining table, making CWA members wait for the protections of a union contract. But make no mistake – whether our members have a contract in hand, or are still at the bargaining table, CWA members at Xbox have the power and protection of union membership. When Microsoft decides to treat the workers who built Xbox as expendable, it should know who they’re dealing with. This is not just a fight with the thousands of workers across Xbox; it’s a fight with each and every member at CWA — hundreds of thousands of people strong.”

“As Microsoft restructures, the workers powering its biggest franchises deserve protection, not to be treated like disposable line items,” said Derrick Osobase, Vice President, CWA District 6. “It is our CWA members who make the games that make Xbox valuable. Today’s layoffs decimated the teams at id Software, Bethesda Game Studios, and ZeniMax Online Studios, legendary studios whose employees brought us games like Doom, Quake, Elder Scrolls, and Fallout. The layoffs that occurred this week will lower the quality of these iconic games and make them less fun to play with longer delays in releases, ultimately just hurting the players and driving down revenue for Microsoft.”

“Our union will take all necessary legal and contractual action to defend our members and their rights,” said Mike Davis, Vice President, CWA District 2-13. “We will demand immediate bargaining – over fair severance, over vendor-contract decisions, over internal placement so that qualified employees can move into open roles, and over recall rights. That’s the difference a union makes. Organized workers have a seat at the table on the decisions that affect their lives and families, and that includes layoffs. Workers without a union are left to accept whatever cards they are dealt by management for any given decision.”

“These workers put their hearts and souls into creating best selling video games people around the world loved,” said Carmel Smyth, President of CWA Canada. “We hope their talent and dedication to excellence is recognized and respected by one of the world’s richest employers.”

Across Microsoft’s Xbox division, more than 3,500 workers have chosen to form unions with CWA since 2022, following Microsoft’s agreement to a neutrality framework that allowed workers to make that choice freely, without fear of retaliation or coercion. Xbox’s best-selling games can now boast union-represented labor, including household video games like The Elder Scrolls, Diablo and Overwatch. 

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This year we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America. Those 250 years have seen incredible changes to the way we live and work. Since its establishment, the history of the United States has been inextricably intertwined in the history of its workers. From the enslaved workers who built its financial foundation, to the industrial workers who laid the foundations for our cities, to the technological workers today, connecting lives through phone and internet, no celebration of this nation is complete without acknowledgment of the struggles and triumphs of those who built this country.

The history of CWA is an integral part of the American story.

Since its founding in 1938, CWA has safeguarded the livelihoods of millions of Americans, opening doors to opportunity, closing racial, ethnic, and gender pay gaps and promoting the general welfare of the nation’s greatest asset, American workers. Click the link above for more details.

You can also hear directly from the people who lived this history. CWA luminaries like current CWA President Claude Cummings Jr., former CWA President Larry Cohen, and former Newsguild-CWA President Linda Foley share stories of pivotal moments for our union in our CWA Oral History archives.

However you choose to celebrate this weekend, we wish you a happy and safe July Fourth!

On June 18, over 3,000 CWA members, retirees, elected officials, local leaders, and allies rallied in Trenton at the New Jersey State House Annex, calling on state leaders to confront New Jersey’s healthcare affordability crisis. Members took their case directly to legislators, calling on state leaders to lower costs without shifting more of the burden onto workers, retirees, local governments, and families. Members have been visiting the capitol over the last several months to speak to lawmakers and to provide testimony on the healthcare issue. They have also made calls to legislators and spoken to reporters to share personal stories of the impacts of untenable healthcare costs.

“When public workers stand up and fight for affordable healthcare, we’re not only fighting for ourselves,” said CWA District 1 Assistant to the Vice President Bill Gallagher from the podium. “We are part of a larger movement, a movement to change the healthcare system that puts profits over people. A movement that says ‘affordability matters’.”

Ralliers called on state leaders to adopt practical reforms, including stronger oversight of healthcare vendors and carriers, real transparency in pricing and drug costs, Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) reform and competitive bidding, and claims audits to root out waste. Above all, members called for fixing the State Health Benefits Plan so it stays strong, affordable, and sustainable for the workers and retirees who depend on it.

In an op-ed run at news site nj.com on June 17, CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor wrote, “The message is simple, and other states have already written the proof: New Jersey can have quality, stable, affordable public health coverage and a sustainable bottom line.”

Click here for more details about the rally.

On Monday, June 15, members of NABET-CWA working at ABC-TV ratified a new Master Agreement. The new contract will go into effect on October 1 and run through March 31, 2031.

The new ratified Master Agreement covers broadcast technicians, newswriters, producers, and desk assistants at various company network and TV station operations in New York; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; and San Francisco.

The new contract guarantees wage increases of 3%, 4%, 3%, and 3.75% over the next 4 years, the highest wage increases in a 4-year contract in more than 30 years for these members. The contract also includes improvements to how travel time is calculated, new rules to stop stagnation on the pay escalator, and guardrails regarding how generative artificial intelligence (AI) will affect members. This is a particularly important subject right now for our graphic artists and newswriters, but it will protect all of our members moving forward as AI usage becomes more widespread.

“NABET-CWA and the ABC network Locals involved are proud of the many contractual enhancements we’ve achieved in negotiations with ABC-TV,” said NABET-CWA President Charlie Braico. “The upgrades to wages, benefits, and travel provisions will directly improve the lives of our daily hire and full-time staff members significantly. Our union solidarity and determination have proven once again that when we stand strongly together, we win, for members and for workers across the board.”