CWA wireline workers at AT&T Southwest began contract negotiations this week. The current contract for CWA District 6 members in Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas expires at midnight on April 12.

CWA bargaining team members traveled to Austin, Texas, on February 24 to begin preparations, finalizing bargaining proposals as well as studying materials that were supplied by the company from their initial request for information. The bargaining team is seeking to address top-line issues, including securing future jobs by reducing contractor work, keeping healthcare costs affordable for members and retirees, and locking in better pay and stronger contractual language for workers in the lowest-paid job titles.

In a message to members, CWA District 6 Vice President Derrick Osobase wrote, “Bargaining negotiations aren't just won at the table! Companies only deal seriously with their workers when they know that they are committed to doing whatever it takes to force a fair deal. But only you can decide that. Our bargaining team is committed to fighting, but the membership is the source of our strength at the table.

“We must be ready to mobilize, organize, and push back against corporate greed. When we stand together, we win. When we fight, we make change happen.”

The bargaining team is planning to host a virtual town hall meeting with AT&T Southwest members and retirees during bargaining to provide updates on progress and inform members what they can do to help achieve a fair contract. Information about the town hall will be made available in future bargaining updates.

AT&T Southwest members can stay informed on actions, mobilizations, and the town hall, text FIGHT to 49484. You can also fill out this quick form to get involved and receive the latest bargaining updates.

CWA District 6 Vice President Derrick Osobase (left) and the AT&T Southwest Bargaining Team raised their fists and are ready to fight for a fair contract. Bargaining team members include (from left to right) CWA Staff Representative Dwayne Webb, CWA Local 6143 Vice President Jeremy Garcia, CWA Local 6300 President Floyd Bell, CWA Local 6505 President Michael Richmond, Bargaining Chair and CWA District 6 Assistant to the Vice President Billy Moffett, CWA Local 6137 President Stacey Gilmore, CWA Local 6360 Executive Vice President Derrick Inscho, and CWA Local 6222 District Steward Hoyt Bascus.

Last week, 20,000 members of the Union of Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE-CWA Local 9119) walked off the job at several University of California (UC) sites in a three-day unfair labor practice (ULP) strike. Workers included physician assistants, optometrists, pharmacists, RN case managers, rehabilitation specialists, mental health clinicians, clinical lab scientists, staff research associates, IT analysts, and more. Strike locations included San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Sacramento, Riverside, Los Angeles, Irvine, and Berkeley, Calif.

Members cited the university’s unwillingness to engage in meaningful contract negotiations and the silencing of whistleblowers speaking out about the ongoing staffing crisis impacting patient care and critical research.

CWA President Claude Cummings Jr., Public, Healthcare and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook, and CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce all walked picket lines in support of striking members.

President Cummings spoke to striking UPTE-CWA workers, saying, “You see the impacts of short staffing and high turnover. Wait times at medical centers are much too long. Students have to wait weeks for mental health services. When senior researchers leave, progress on clinical trials stalls. The University of California should be focused on its mission of educating and serving the people of California, but instead they are spending billions on buying land and rewarding chancellors.”

Forty thousand members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME Local 3299) also took to the streets over shared bargaining delays by the UC administration. AFSCME members began bargaining in January 2024, five months before UPTE-CWA. Neither union has reached a contract with the university.

Click here to read more about UPTE-CWA’s fight for a fair contract as reported in The L.A. Times.

CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. (above) and PHEW Vice President Margaret Cook (below) spoke passionately to the striking UPTE-CWA members, encouraging them to continue the fight. Both were joined by UPTE-CWA Local 9119 President Dan Russell.

Last week, AFA-CWA Flight Attendants working for Alaska Airlines voted overwhelmingly to ratify an industry-leading, three-year agreement. This new contract provides an immediate, double-digit wage increase, boarding pay, and retroactive pay for the 7,000 Flight Attendants. The contract was ratified with 91% member participation and 95% voting in favor of the agreement.

“This contract will immediately and significantly improve the lives of Alaska Flight Attendants,” said Jeffrey Peterson, AFA-CWA Alaska Master Executive Council President. “Alaska Flight Attendants’ solidarity pushed management to recognize our critical role in the safety and success of this airline. This contract also raises the foundation for the new joint Alaska-Hawaiian negotiations following the merger.”

Click here to read the AFA-CWA press release and learn more about the new contract.

Earlier this week, editorial staff at NBC News, NBC News NOW, and TODAY (TNG-CWA Local 31003) ratified a new three-year contract with NBC. The new contract, the first for the bargaining unit since 2019, protects members during future corporate restructuring and delays recently announced layoffs. It also will provide targeted workers with additional pay, health care, and rehire rights.

“This contract is a huge step forward for journalists at NBC News,” said Tate James, documentary video editor and NBC Digital NewsGuild Chair. “We will now have the job security essential to fighting for transparency and accountability without fear.”

The contract is the culmination of a nearly five-year fight, during which employees engaged in numerous public actions, including a one-day strike in 2023, to protest the company’s repeated violations of federal labor law. NewsGuild-CWA members protested across New York City, dogging NBC corporate executives and events, and even projecting pro-union messages on the façade of 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

The new contract includes immediate pay increases, first-ever salary minimums, an end to forced arbitration in cases of discrimination and harassment, and extended workday and weekend pay policies that provide compensation for extra work.

In January, CWA members working for the Red Cross in District 1 and District 2-13 ratified a new joint contract. CWA represents Red Cross workers in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. These locals form part of a ten-union bargaining collective known as the Coalition of American Red Cross Unions. Red Cross contracts are bargained and ratified collectively to ensure uniformity in primary considerations such as wages, healthcare, and retirement benefits. Individual locals bargain on issues specific to their locals, like travel compensation or dues collections.

Under the new contract, members will receive a ratification bonus, across-the-board wage increases, increased 401(k) matching, uniform allowance increases, and additional pay for work on holidays.

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler joined WFWU-CWA member Kieran Cuadras (center) and Virginia Congressman Don Norcross on Capitol Hill in support of the PRO Act.

Yesterday, Wells Fargo Workers United member (WFWU-CWA) and former Wells Fargo conduct management investigator Kieran Cuadras spoke at a Congressional press conference reintroducing the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act). This key piece of labor legislation was unveiled by Virginia Congressman Bobby Scott and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

The PRO Act would put power in the hands of workers and reverse decades of legislation meant to crush unions. It would prohibit employers from permanently replacing striking workers and make secondary strikes and boycotts legal, allowing us to put more pressure on employers who refuse to bargain fair contracts. It would also remove common obstacles that stand in the way of workers joining unions and ban some of the most commonly deployed union-busting tactics, like captive audience meetings. Once workers decide to form a union, the PRO Act would make it harder for employers to stall at the bargaining table.

“Wells Fargo is refusing to recognize our union or to begin contract negotiations. Without a quorum at the National Labor Relations Board or any legal recourse, we are stuck in limbo,” said Cuadras. “Labor law needs more teeth so employers like Wells Fargo can’t get away with undermining and violating our rights every step of the way. We need legislation like the PRO Act because weak labor laws allow companies like Wells Fargo to union bust in the hopes of scaring workers from organizing.”

Watch the full press conference here.

Read Cuadras' op-ed about her experience working at Wells Fargo here.

Since the dramatic rescue of passengers on Delta Endeavor Flight 4819 at Toronto Pearson International Airport, it has never been clearer to the flying public and to the airline industry that the role of Flight Attendants as Aviation’s First Responders is critical to the safety of everyone onboard. The job comes with risk, but for too many Flight Attendants, that risk is not balanced with economic security.

AFA-CWA members have declared March 19 and March 26 as “Days of Action.” They are demanding wages that reflect the training and professionalism they have demonstrated during some of the nation’s most trying calamities.

March 19 ‒ United Airlines

United Flight Attendants and allies are hitting the picket line at nearly 20 airports around the world to demand United management deliver the industry-leading contract they have earned. Flight Attendants have delivered on their commitment to both the airline and to the safety and well-being of passengers under their care. It is time United held up its end of the bargain with the contract workers deserve.

Click here to find a picket location near you.

March 26 ‒ PSA Airlines

In December 2024, Flight Attendants at PSA Airlines showed management their solidarity, resulting in the addition of boarding pay and wage priorities at the bargaining table. While a step forward, the bargaining process is far from over. PSA workers are taking to the picket lines to distribute information on March 26 at Charlotte International Airport, Dayton International Airport, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Save the dates and stay tuned for more information on both Days of Action.

Over a year and a half into negotiations for a new contract, CWA Piedmont Airlines passenger service and ramp agents in Charlotte, N.C., are calling out the company for penny-pinching at the bargaining table.

CWA Local 3645 recently sponsored a billboard located outside Charlotte Douglas International Airport—a hub for Piedmont Airlines’ parent company, American Airlines—with the text: “Angry with American Airlines? We Are Too.” While the company rakes in record profits, Piedmont Airlines passenger service and ramp agents haven’t received a raise in nearly two years, and many workers rely on government assistance and lack healthcare coverage.

Customer service, ramp, and baggage agents are the workers who support safe, efficient departures by assisting with pre-flight check-in, loading and unloading baggage, and ensuring aircraft are inspected and safe before departure. They are essential airline employees and deserve a strong contract that secures fair pay and healthcare benefits.

Send a message to CEO Eric Morgan to show you stand with CWA members at Piedmont Airlines in their fight for a fair contract.

Last month, members of CWA Local 7777, union allies, and supporters met at the Colorado state capitol to speak directly to legislators about proposed legislation that would cut tipped worker pay by four dollars per hour. Members included CWA-represented restaurant workers from Alamo Drafthouse and Mercury Café, as well as rideshare drivers working for Uber and Lyft.

“We had a great turnout of members and allies who gave heartfelt testimonials on how this proposal, if passed, would impact their lives,” said CWA Local 7777 President Anthony Scorzo. “This bill is a wage cut, plain and simple, and represents a betrayal of the working class by the corporate Democrats who proposed it. But we are part of a grassroots pushback by the local community, and I’m very happy to see so many standing with workers. It is clear that the Colorado Restaurant Association is targeting low-income workers instead of exploring other cost-cutting measures, and that is both short-sighted and irresponsible.”

As of this writing, the bill is in the Colorado House Committee on Finance before heading to the House Appropriations Committee. CWA activists are supporting a different bill, the Worker Protection Act, to help protect vulnerable workers instead of exploiting them.

Members and officers of CWA Local 7777 joined allies at the Colorado State Capitol to educate legislators on the impacts of proposed wage cuts to workers in the restaurant and rideshare industries.

This Women’s History Month, the AFL-CIO is highlighting the work of leaders currently making history across the labor movement. The organization has singled out CWA’s Chief of Staff Sylvia J. Ramos for recognition.

Sylvia's career began in 1981 at Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in San Antonio, Texas. Over the years, she has held various roles, including bilingual service representative, while actively engaging with CWA Local 6143 as a job steward and, later, in leadership positions. Sylvia chaired the Organizing and Mobilizing Committees and led the successful Southwestern Bell Mobile Telephone organizing campaign. In 1998, she earned the AFL-CIO "A Woman's Place Is in Her Union" award.

In July 2023, Sylvia made history as the first Latina Chief of Staff at CWA, appointed by CWA International President Claude Cummings Jr. In this role, Sylvia has applied her expertise in bargaining and leadership, including raising awareness about the impact of Artificial Intelligence on union workers. She was also invited to a White House roundtable in 2024 to discuss AI's effects on labor.

Click here to learn about the advances women are making in the labor movement and beyond.

The AFL-CIO has profiled CWA Chief of Staff Sylvia J. Ramos for Women’s History Month, highlighting her work in telecommunications, for her union, and for the advancement of women in the labor movement. She is pictured here with CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. at the Human Rights Conference in August 2024.

The Roundup

In January, workers also joined CWA at:

Human Rights Watch (CWA Local 1180)
Wells Fargo Bank, Artesia, N.M. (CWA Local 7011)
Wells Fargo Bank, Flagstaff, Ariz. (CWA Local 7019)
Center for Contemporary Arts (CWA Local 7055)
Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol (CWA Local 7781)
SCA(Prime)/ASJ-IT Solutions (IUE-CWA TBD)
Momentive Technologies (IUE-CWA Local 84707)
High Country News Fellows (TNG-CWA Local 37074)
LancasterOnline and WITF (TNG-CWA Local 38010)