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.”
Blog
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CWA Political Activists Gear Up to Fight Oligarchy
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.
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Union Video Game Workers Fight for Rights Amidst Xbox Layoffs
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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Press Contact
CWA Communications
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About Your Benefit Program(s)
AT&T SW – Important Information About Your Benefit Program(s) Is Now Available
Your members recently received a Company communication regarding updated Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs) for their benefit programs.
The Company is legally required to provide participants with updated benefit plan information periodically. As part of the June 2026 update, revised Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs) were distributed to help employees stay informed about their benefit programs and any applicable changes.
SPD – AT&T Disability Income Program for Southwest Bargained Employees (NIN 78-74979)
After reviewing the highlighted changes in the updated SPD, the revisions appear to be primarily administrative and organizational in nature and do not appear to represent substantive changes to benefits.
Highlighted Updates
The Important Information section was updated to align with standard language used in other SPDs.
The Contact Information tables were updated.
The Keeping Your Information Updated section was moved and revised for consistency with other SPDs.
Contact information for the leave administrator was added to the Eligibility During a Leave of Absence section.
A previously distributed Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) was incorporated into the SPD:
AT&T Health and Welfare Programs (Contact Information: AT&T Benefits Center, Smart-Choice Accounts, and Your Spending Accounts), distributed November 2025 (NIN 78-74871).
Employees can access, save, print, or request a free printed copy of the SPD. Local Union offices should consider retaining either an electronic or printed copy for reference, historical record keeping, and member assistance purposes. Maintaining a current copy can help Union representatives respond to benefit-related questions and preserve a record of the plan provisions in effect when the document was issued. Local offices that prefer an official printed copy may request one from the Plan Administrator at no cost.
How to Access, Save, or Print
Download the PDF from the link provided in the company’s email/communication.
Log on to the AT&T Benefits Center website and navigate to Legal Notices → Health & Welfare Summaries and Legal Information.
Request a free printed copy by calling 877-722-0020.
These documents serve as the official source of information regarding your benefit programs and any plan updates
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Celebrate America, Celebrate Unions!
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!
