CWA Members Reach Tentative Agreement with DirecTV

CWA District 9 reached a tentative agreement with DirecTV earlier this week which includes significant improvements in wages, health benefits, holidays, scheduling, and job security. DTV workers will see a 14 percent wage increase over the course of the 4-year contract. Workers can also expect to see their out-of-pocket healthcare costs decline. Changes to the overtime rate of pay will mean all time over 54 hours per week will pay double-time. For those workers continuing their education, tuition aid will now be available.

Contract explanation meetings are being scheduled and the ratification vote will be conducted electronically.

The bargaining team has been awed at the solidarity shown by members across the country and is thankful for all the support. It made a huge difference at the negotiating table to be able to show DirecTV who they were really dealing with—all of CWA.

Check out more photos here.

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CWA Mobilizes Coast-to-Coast in Support of AT&T West Bargaining

Last week, thousands of CWA members joined a National Day of Action to show their support for the AT&T West Bargaining Team. From call centers to factory floors, from classrooms to newsrooms, CWA members showed that they are loud, proud, and united for a fair contract. Members took to the streets and to social media to send AT&T a clear message: the workers are watching.

Despite the slow pace of negotiations the bargaining team is neither backing down nor bowing out.

The team does report some progress on both benefits and wages, but there is more work to do to win the contract AT&T West members deserve. “The company needs to continue to hear you through your actions,” the bargaining team said in an update.. “They need to know that you will not stand for these things. They need to know that our rank and file isn’t looking for CEO money, just fair compensation for the work that we perform.”

Check out more photos here.

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CWA Journalists “Go Dark” During Eclipse

As the total solar eclipse captivated much of the nation on Monday, two local newspapers went dark. Ahead of the eclipse, two Gannett-owned newsrooms—the Austin American-Statesman and the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle—launched strikes, withholding their labor on a historic news day to draw attention to the company’s failure to bargain in good faith and respond to the union’s common-sense proposals. These strikes represent the 27th and 28th strikes by NewsGuild-CWA members in 2024 so far.

Both Austin (TNG-CWA Local 39213) and Rochester (TNG-CWA Local 31003) were in the solar eclipse’s path of totality, and with the news that Gannett dropped the Associated Press, Austin American-Statesman and Democrat & Chronicle readers found little-to-no local coverage of the eclipse on their websites, underscoring the need for strong local journalism and exposing Gannett’s bad faith bargaining.

“We see the eclipse as the exact sort of news event that demands experienced local reporters who know where to be, who know who to speak with, who know what to ask,” said Justin Murphy, Vice Chair of the Newspaper Guild of Rochester and education reporter at the Democrat & Chronicle.

While the Austin NewsGuild ended their four-day strike and returned to work earlier this week, Democrat & Chronicle journalists remain on strike. You can support striking journalists in Rochester by donating to their strike fund and reading their strike publication.

In addition to these actions, members at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (NewsGuild-CWA Local 38061, CWA Locals 14827 and 14842,) and Long Beach Journalism Initiative (NewsGuild-CWA Local 39213) remain on the strike lines, fighting for better contracts and job security. You can support these strikers by donating to their respective strike funds: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Long Beach Journalism Initiative.

Members of NewsGuild-CWA Local 39213 (left) and members of NewsGuild-CWA Local 31003 participated in strikes during the total solar eclipse earlier this week.

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CWA Court Workers Win Big with Tentative Agreement

Court workers represented by CWA Local 1036 in New Jersey are wrapping up negotiations with substantial wins in a new tentative bargaining agreement. Workers with the Professional Non-Court Related Unit of the N.J. Judiciary, including court service officers, attorneys, administrative specialists, and information technology analysts, will see robust wage increases, protections for remote workers, and a new stipend for bilingual workers. If ratified, the new contract will be the first since 2014 to raise the annual progression and will create a new maximum wage for those who have already reached their salary cap.

Committee members were aided in negotiations by CWA Local 1036 President Adam Liebtag, Local 1036 Lead Staff Representative Brian Dilks-Brotman, and legal counsel to Local 1036 David Beckett. For Anastasia Jackson, a first-time Committee Member, the negotiations team truly embodied solidarity: “When the Judiciary provided a response, whether positive or not, our team always provided several scenarios for us to consider when aiding to structure the contract. As a steward representing the membership, I truly felt heard, which was very important to me.” She went on to say that she “gained a whole new appreciation for the hard work our Union does for us as employees, and I’m much more grateful to have CWA Local 1036 in my corner.”

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CWA Childcare Workers Mobilize for Full Staffing

CWA childcare workers picketed late last month outside of La Casa De Don Pedro (LCDP), New Jersey’s largest Latinx-led non-profit organization. Current staff picketed in Newark for fair workloads and full staffing. Teachers have been unable to take their scheduled breaks due to lack of staffing and management has yet to resolve the issue. After the picket, two CWA stewards went to the Newark Board of Education to voice the need for more funding for La Casa to hire additional staff.

CWA Local 1037 Steward and teacher Virginia Atahualpa, in her remarks to the Board said, “We came here directly from a picket line at La Casa to draw attention to this problem and to hold Newark Public Schools accountable for the responsibility to properly staff the classroom both for the safety of the children and the dignity of teachers like me.”

LCDP was founded in 1972 by local activists to address the needs of Newark’s Puerto Rican community. Today, LCDP workers are represented by CWA Local 1037 and work in partnership with New Jersey Communities United to organize the childcare industry in their state.

Workers are fired up and will continue to advocate for full staffing. For more information, follow CWA Local 1037’s website here.

CWA Workers at La Casa de Don Pedro picketed at La Casa de Don Pedro before stewards spoke to the Newark Board of Education for funding to hire needed staff.

Nearly two dozen CWA members filed into a state house committee room to testify against an anti-union Alabama Senate bill that would strip employers of state or local economic development incentives for voluntarily recognizing a union. SB 231 is a blanket attack on employer and worker autonomy, forcing employers to engage in divisive, often expensive secret ballot elections, even when a clear majority of workers support union representation.

The bill was created by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a far-right, anti-union “bill mill” that creates legislative templates to be proposed all over the country. Nearly identical legislation has recently passed in Tennessee and is awaiting the Governor’s signature in Georgia.

In the hearing, only three proponents and three opponents were allowed to speak. Amongst those opposed to the bill was CWA Local 3905 President Mustafa Hassan, whose DirecTV call center won recognition for their union once a majority of workers signed union cards.

“AT&T purchased DirecTV back in 2016,” said Hassan. “And it gave us an option to do the card check process. My personal experience is there were no hiccups. It was a smooth situation.” He went on to say, “Prior to us being unionized, people would literally be fired almost every day. We had no rights. We had no say in our metrics and things of that sort. Since then, we've been able to bargain our own contract. We have a say in what we get, we have certain job protections. One of them is we get a certain amount of calls that are guaranteed to come into our center. And that protects jobs for us. Without that, I don't even think our center would be open. Those calls would be going overseas somewhere. So I urge all of you to vote no on SB 231.”

Senator Merika Coleman (D) and Senator Vivian Davis Figures (D), who both serve on the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee, also voiced opposition to the bill prior to it passing out of committee. CWA is also joined by strong allies including the Alabama AFL-CIO, Alabama Arise, and Jobs to Move America.

Late last month, workers in Washington State won a major victory against employers who use anti-union tactics. Governor Jay Inslee (D) signed SB 5778—the Employee Free Choice Act—into law, cementing protections for workers, including their right to opt out of mandatory anti-union meetings, a common tactic employers use to dissuade workers from forming or joining a union. This law also bans companies from forcing workers to attend meetings with religious themes.

CWA members lobbied for increased worker protections during the WA State Labor Council's legislative conference in late January. According to CWA/WashTech Local 37083 Executive Vice President Carissa Hahn, several allies answered the call to help pass this legislation, including State Representatives Liz Berry (D), Mary Fosse (D), Cindy Ryu (D), and Beth Doglio (D). State Senator Derek Stanford (D), who is a member of TNG-CWA Local 37083, supported the bill proposed by his colleague State Senator Karen Keiser (D). The Employee Free Choice Act will be Senator Keiser’s final bill before she retires.

“Nothing in this bill prevents an employer from saying what they want to say, it just doesn’t require an employee to listen,” Sen. Keiser said to the Washington State Standard.

CWA municipal workers in Denver, Colo., are fired up and ready to win collective bargaining for nearly 7,000 city and county employees. Currently, 3,000 Denver municipal employees, including teachers and first responders, are allowed to bargain collectively. This right has not yet been extended to other city and county employees, including library workers and parks and recreation staff.

Last week, public employees from CWA Local 7777, Local 7799, and the Denver NewsGuild (TNG-CWA Local 37074) spoke before the Denver City Council, urging them to take up a proposed amendment to the city’s charter that would allow for collective bargaining. The Denver Council can amend the city’s charter, or the amendment can go to the public for a vote in the fall. CWA is pursuing both options.

Should the amendment pass, approximately 700 workers at the Denver Public Library could be on the road to forming their own CWA-represented unit. “We're tremendously excited to see these basic human rights extended potentially, if Denver voters choose to do so and if it gets on the ballot this fall, to thousands of workers here in the city and county of Denver who help our city run and make our city run,” said CWA District 7 Administrative Director of Organizing Katie Romich. “We believe that collective bargaining only makes the workplace better and the city and county of Denver better.”

CWA members in Denver, Colo., turned out at a recent Denver Council meeting to push for an amendment that would allow collective bargaining for municipal employees.

On Tuesday, CWAers joined Representative Wiley Nickel (D–N.C.) on Capitol Hill for the introduction of the FAIR MAPS Act to end partisan gerrymandering nationwide. The legislation would double the number of competitive seats in Congress, ensuring that every American voter has a real voice in choosing our elected representatives.

"Extreme partisan gerrymandering makes it hard for working families to have their voices heard and to hold their elected officials accountable,” said Tysianna Marino, CWA Legislative Advisor. “It allows for a system to exist where elected officials are picking their voters instead of voters having a fair chance at picking their elected officials. The FAIR MAPs Act puts us a step closer to a fully functioning democracy by ensuring that voters have real options and feel empowered to cast their vote."

CWA Legislative Advisor Tysianna Marino (third from right) joins Representative Wiley Nickel (center) to introduce the FAIR MAPS Act.