Last night the CWA AT&T Southwest bargaining team announced that they had reached a tentative agreement with the company. The new four-year agreement includes a 14.5% pay increase over the life of the contract, additional healthcare options, and other significant improvements.

Contract explanation meetings will be held over the next few weeks, and a ratification vote will take place electronically from April 21 through May 5, 2025.

For the latest updates, visit cwad6.org/attsw.

CWA members and retirees took part in protests this past weekend demanding an end to the illegal firings, union contract terminations, funding cuts, and other attacks on working families by the Trump Administration. Protestors took to the streets across the country, rallying at federal buildings, city halls, congressional offices, parks, and other public areas.

Below are just a few of our favorite pictures from across the country. You can find more on our Facebook page.

CWAers across the country took part in “Hands Off!” rallies in protest of the Trump Administration’s attacks on working families.

CWA members who work in the wireless industry ended March in San Diego, Calif., for the Wireless Conference. Attendees took part in workshops on topics including environmental justice, organizing in wireless, preparing and pursuing grievances, and how to effectively use social media. Members also took time to show their solidarity with AT&T Southwest workers in CWA District 6 by recording messages of support. CWA Local 9511 President Art Gonzalez welcomed the union to San Diego, as did Mayor Todd Gloria.

CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor kicked off the campaign to prepare for AT&T Mobility Orange bargaining, which will impact more than 11,000 workers. That contract expires in February 2026. Stated Trainor, “This is our moment, folks. We know how to stick together and fight for the future. So are you with me in this fight? Brothers and sisters, union family, I believe CWA is the greatest union in the labor movement. I believe we have what it takes to get it done.”

President Cummings fired up the crowd with his vision for CWA’s future. “CWA, on almost every front, must band together. Whether you’re in telecommunications or healthcare, public sector or private, whether your office is in your home, on the 17th floor of a building, or 30,000 feet in the air, you are under attack.

“We cannot allow ourselves to be divided, nor can we allow ourselves the easy out of saying, ‘That’s not my union, my local, my neighbor.’ We are, as of right now, all coworkers. We’re all neighbors, all members of a single community.”

Cummings also highlighted the Unity at Mobility SIF, which has been instrumental in bringing remote workers into the union and preparing rank-and-file members for leadership. “It has always been extremely important to me,” said President Cummings, “that every member of CWA who wants to has the opportunity to advance to leadership positions in our union, no matter what industry or company they come from. That program has led to more women, more of our disabled members, more people of color, and more young people getting involved, running for union offices, and taking on more roles than ever before.”

Members of the CWA Executive Board, including CWA District 2-13 Vice President Mike Davis, District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt, District 4 Vice President Linda L. Hinton, District 6 Vice President Derrick Osobase, District 7 Vice President Susie Mcallister, District 9 Vice President Frank Arce, Western Region At-Large Diversity Executive Board Member Keith Gibbs, and Southeast Region At-Large Diversity Executive Board Member Vera Mikell, took part in the conference along with CWA Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam.

Margaret Cook, Vice President of CWA’s Public, Healthcare and Education Workers Sector (fourth from left), and Eyklipse Baca, member of CWA Local 7799 (second from left), joined Rep. Chris DeLuzio (left of Cook), AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler (right of Cook), AFSCME President Lee Saunders (right of Shuler) and other union activists at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

CWA members and leaders stood with lawmakers for the right of workers in public service to bargain earlier this week with the re-introduction of the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act.

Eyklipse Baca, member of CWA Local 7799 and library assistant with the Denver Public Library, shared how she and her coworkers were using their collective voice to make the children’s library safer for workers and the public. “We had ceiling tiles that would fall at random in the children’s library. We all work to keep the library alive, so that is why it hurts when there are problems in the workplace that are fixable.” This hazard led Baca to organize with her coworkers to pass collective bargaining rights for public sector workers in Denver, Colo., because “union workplaces are safer workplaces and have higher wages.”

Baca joined Senator Mazie Hirono (Hawai’i), Representatives Donald Norcross (N.J.) and Chris Deluzio (Penn.), and Margaret Cook, Vice President of CWA’s Public, Healthcare and Education Workers Sector, for a press conference on Capitol Hill introducing the legislation.

"For years now, the rights of workers like nurses, librarians, educators, and all our essential public servants who dedicate themselves to our communities have been chipped away at, despite their dedication and selfless service to their communities,” said President Claude Cummings Jr. in a statement. “The Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act protects public sector workers' fundamental right to join together, bargain for fair pay, and stand up for decent working conditions."

Members of the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE-CWA Local 9119) spent another day on strike last week after the University of California committed additional unfair labor practices and continued to bargain in bad faith. The university has attempted to “divide and conquer” members by keeping some job titles stuck in a separate bargaining process. University officials also agreed to maintain healthcare premiums unchanged but reneged on that agreement in January, increasing premiums without union approval. With allies from AFSCME Local 3299, nearly 60,000 union-represented workers walked out on strike.

Click here to learn more about UPTE-CWA’s fight for a fair contract, safe staffing, and better care for patients.

Healthcare, research, and education workers represented by UPTE-CWA Local 9119, in conjunction with AFSCME Local 3299, held a third strike earlier this month over unfair labor practices by the University of California.

Earlier this week, technology workers at The Washington Post announced the formation of The Washington Post Tech Guild and are seeking voluntary recognition from the company.

Supported by staff at the Washington Baltimore News Guild (TNG-CWA Local 32035), NewsGuild-CWA, and CWA’s Campaign to Organize Digital Employees, the new unit will fight tirelessly for equity and inclusion, fair compensation and benefits, job security, and flexible work practices.

“As the tech workers of The Post, we are proud to support and deliver the world-class journalism produced by our colleagues in the NewsGuild, which plays a vital role in informing public discourse,” said Patrick, a software engineer at The Post and member of the Washington Post Tech Guild. “By organizing, we are asserting our right to have a voice in decisions that affect our working conditions and our right to employee protections. Through collective action, we aim to make The Post a better workplace for all.”

Support tech workers at the Washington Post Tech Guild by signing their petition requesting voluntary recognition, visiting their website for more information, and following them on Twitter/X and BlueSky.

Last month, CWA leaders and activists met with Alabama state legislators at the Capitol during their annual lobby day. The group educated elected officials on issues of concern to members, including the need for pro-worker policies, Medicaid expansion, defending collective bargaining rights, and protecting public sector jobs. Discussions also focused on maintaining the fiber preference for federal BEAD funding and fighting draconian requirements to receive unemployment benefits.

“We made sure lawmakers heard directly from workers about what’s at stake,” said CWA Local 3905 Next Gen activist Tekla Alexander. “It was a powerful reminder that our voices matter in shaping the laws that affect our lives.”

The lobby day coincided with the Alabama AFL-CIO’s “Legislative ‘Roadkill’ BBQ.”

Pictured from left to right: Alabama LPAT Coordinator Jason James (CWA Local 3907), President Ra-Amon Ta-Neter (CWA Local 3907), Errol Minor (CWA Local 3902), Tekla Alexander (CWA Local 3905), Tequila Horne (CWA Local 3905), Avis Johnson (CWA Local 3902), President Mustafa Hassan (CWA Local 3905), Vickie Grace-Brown (CWA Local 3902), and President Ed Brasier (CWA Local 3902). CWA Local 3908 President Luther Land attended but is not pictured.

CWA members in District 9 marched alongside thousands of union and community activists on March 31 in celebration of the life of famed labor leader Cesar Chavez. Chavez, alongside Dolores Huerta and Gilbert Padilla, founded the National Farm Workers Association, which would later join with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to form the United Farm Workers (UFW). The march was coordinated by members of UFW, SEIU, and the California Federation of Labor Unions.

Titled the “March for Immigrant Workers: Con Estas Manos (With These Hands),” the action drew thousands of marchers from various immigrant populations and their supporters. From multiple stages, speakers addressed the need for solidarity in the face of mass deportation and dehumanization at the hands of the Trump Administration.

Click here to watch a video of the march posted by UFW.

CWA members joined thousands of immigrant and labor activists to celebrate the life of Cesar Chaves and reaffirm their commitment to protecting all workers.

On March 27, the city of New York paid tribute to CWA’s Northeast Region At-Large Diversity Executive Board Member Gloria Middleton during a Women’s History Month reception. Mayor Eric Adams presented Middleton with an official citation in honor of her pioneering role as the first Black woman to serve as president of CWA Local 1180 and her unwavering commitment to workers’ rights, civil rights, and gender equity. CWA Local 1180 has over 9,000 members, many of whom are public service workers with the city.

Congratulations, President Middleton!

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