CWA members who are employed by the State of New Jersey’s Executive Branch have reached a breakthrough tentative agreement that delivers on the goals set by the 35,000 workers covered by the contract.

Since February, workers in New Jersey have shown solidarity, patience, and strength as they mobilized to win a contract that includes significant salary growth, protects healthcare, and recognizes that telework is a reality at many worksites and must be implemented fairly.

The new, four-year agreement meets those objectives and more, with improved health and safety procedures, agreements to reduce and convert temporary positions into full-time bargaining unit positions, and changes to Civil Service issues like out-of-title work appeals and supervisory position requirements.

“When CWA fights, we win, and the strength of this agreement is a testament to our membership’s solidarity and demand for dignity at work,” said CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor. “This tentative agreement delivers on our goals and sets a foundation for continued progress in several areas in the near future.”

More information about the agreement is available here.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced grant awards that included $2 million for CWA Local 7603 to establish a registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship program for broadband technicians in Idaho aimed at preparing the skilled workforce needed to improve and upgrade broadband infrastructure within the designated counties of Idaho.

“As Idaho prepares for a statewide broadband buildout, CWA Local 7603 is committed to train more Idaho residents to become highly skilled broadband technicians who know how to build safe, reliable broadband that will stand the test of time,” said CWA Local 7603 Local President Jeremiah Clever. “With the DOL’s apprenticeship grant for $2 million, we have an unmatched opportunity to partner with employers, the state, and educational institutions to lead the way on this historic fiber buildout, all while raising industry standards and providing good-paying, stable jobs to underrepresented Idahoans.”

Additionally, through a grant awarded by the DOL to the Urban Institute, CWA will create a workers’ rights training module for participants in a program to create training pipelines so that underrepresented communities have access to information technology jobs in the clean energy sector. In addition to training workers, CWA will host virtual events for project partners and the public about workers’ rights, labor history, and organizing.

These new programs build on the foundation established by CWA District 9’s Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, which has administered apprenticeships for inside cabling technicians for more than twenty years and recently expanded to include fiber optic technicians. District 9 received a $5.8 million federal grant last year and a $4.6 million state grant this year to expand this program.

IUE-CWA Local 88502 member Amaris Means shared her personal story as a woman in manufacturing at an event to announce the winners of the Department of Labor’s Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grants. Amaris, who works at Keystone Powdered Metal Company in St. Marys, Pa., told the crowd that she had been working three jobs to make ends meet when she learned about an opening at the Keystone plant. “Just because people assume that this is a male-dominated field doesn't mean that women can't come in and dominate as well. I'm proud to be a working woman in manufacturing,” she said.

IUE-CWA Local 88502 member Amaris Means (center right), joined AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler (right), AFL-CIO Secretary Fred Redmond (left), and Department of Labor Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon (second from right), to announce the winners of the Department of Labor’s Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grants.

CWA Legislative Campaign Lead Tysianna Marino was a featured speaker at a protest outside of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) 50th Anniversary Gala. ALEC is a corporate-funded special interest group that develops anti-worker legislation, then works with politicians to introduce the bills in state legislatures across the country. Marino encouraged participants to fight back against ALEC by voting and getting others to vote, so that every bill that legislators pass, is “living up to the standard of being of, by, and for the people.” Learn more about ALEC here.

CWA Legislative Campaign Lead Tysianna Marino (left) spoke at a protest outside of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s 50th Anniversary Gala. CWA Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam and CWA Human Rights, Health & Safety, and Education Department Senior Campaign Lead Joseph McCue (right) also joined the protest.

Next week, NABET-CWA member and Chicago Federation of Labor Secretary-Treasurer Don Villar will moderate a conversation about the ongoing entertainment strikes, WGA’s recent victory, and what the battle to regulate AI means for the future of both entertainment workers and the entire labor movement.

The webinar, which will be held on Tuesday, October 10, at 4 p.m. CT, is hosted by the Illinois AFL-CIO and Chicago Federation of Labor and is open to all. Villar will be joined by members of IATSE 476, Chicago Federation of Musicians 10-208, SAG-AFTRA, and the WGA.

Register for the event here.