Last week, CWA members met in Kansas City, Mo., for the CWA District 6 Annual Conference. Led by CWA District 6 Vice President Derrick Osobase, the conference focused on its theme, “Be the Change,” encouraging members to take the initiative and work toward building a stronger, more unified union. “Our camaraderie and our unity are our strength,” said Osobase. “Our strength is in our solidarity.”

CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. inspired the crowd during his keynote speech. “Our unity is powerful,” said Cummings. “More powerful than an executive order. More powerful than the billionaires. Our unity gave us the weekend. It gave us child labor laws. It gave us protections on the job against racist staffing policies; against ‘last hired, first fired.’ We the people understand that power. We’ve used it again and again to fight, and win, on the side of justice.” Cummings added, “We don’t back down. We are the change. And we fight back.”

CWA Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam addressed the gathering, as well as several members of CWA’s Executive Board, including CWA District 4 Vice President Linda L. Hinton; CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce; Public, Healthcare and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook; Telecommunications and Technologies Vice President Lisa Bolton; Western Region At-Large Diversity Executive Board Member Keith Gibbs; and Central Region At-Large Diversity Executive Board Member Reggie Small. AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson could not attend but spoke to members via a pre-recorded video message.

Members attended breakout sessions for AT&T Southwest, AT&T Mobility, Telecommunications and Technologies, airline workers, public workers, and retired members with the RMC. Workshops covered topics including “Grievances and Arbitrations,” “Health and Safety,” “Gender Justice,” “Environmental Justice,” and political training.

CWA District 6 hosted their annual conference. Attendees included (center to left): CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce; CWA District 6 Vice President Derrick Osobase; Western Region At-Large Diversity Executive Board Member Keith Gibbs; Public, Healthcare and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook; CWA Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam; Telecommunications and Technologies Vice President Lisa Bolton; and CWA District 4 Vice President Linda L. Hinton. The group focused on the theme, “Be the Change.”

In January, Mississippi Senator Josh Harkins kicked off the state’s legislative session with SB2849, a direct attack on unions that would have barred employers with labor neutrality agreements from receiving state funding, including broadband funding. AT&T currently has a card-check neutrality agreement with CWA in the state.

Despite multiple meetings with Senate Labor Committee Chair Robin J. Robinson urging her not to support the bill, Robinson not only backed it but encouraged other senators to support it as well. Thanks to consistent and clever mobilization efforts of the Mississippi CWA Legislative Political Action Team (LPAT), the bill was defeated. This leaves the door open for AT&T to receive state broadband funding, crucial in keeping our members who install and support broadband on the job.

Mississippi LPAT members did not forget about Senator Robinson, however. She faced newcomer Donald Hartness in a special election in August. Members met with Hartness, and after securing assurances that he would support pro-worker legislation aligned with CWA values, they began working to secure a Hartness victory. Those efforts were successful, and Robinson has learned the hard way that “We don’t play at CWA.”

Members plan to hold Hartness to his promises of labor fairness.

With the current government shutdown dragging into its third week, AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson called out legislators last week at a press conference outside the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) headquarters in Washington, D.C. In her statement, she referred to the current impasse as a “dangerous game” and called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to end the shutdown.

Tens of thousands of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees are furloughed. Workers who perform essential operations, like Air Traffic Controllers and TSA Officers, are working without pay—and without the support of other workers who normally help keep passengers safe, like safety inspectors.

Prior to the shutdown, AFA-CWA joined dozens of airline industry labor and safety organizations in signing a letter to Senate and House leaders detailing the myriad impacts of a shutdown, writing, “Shutdowns are extremely detrimental to the passengers and shippers, as well as the aviation community, because they force the FAA to, among other things, suspend air traffic controller and technician hiring and training, delay the implementation of safety initiatives, postpone maintenance and repair work to critical air traffic equipment, suspend air carrier pilot check rides, delay airworthy inspections for aircraft, defer the analysis of voluntary safety reporting, and suspend work on modernization programs.”

Click here to read the full letter to Senate and House leadership.

CWA members are demanding that AT&T fix the elevators in its six-story Miami offices so that workers can reliably reach their desks without getting trapped in a malfunctioning elevator. CWA Local 3122 is bringing in Miami-Dade's Office of Elevator Safety to inspect the elevators and to crack down on AT&T's failure to address the problem.

"We want to ensure the facilities that our members work in are safe, so we have asked AT&T for information documenting the exact nature of the mechanical problems these elevators have and about what steps they are taking with their building management and their vendors to fix the problem," said Christopher Walterson, President of CWA Local 3122. “Instead of giving us all the information we asked for, they gave us a two-page summary showing what we already know: the elevators don't work, and people are getting stuck on a regular basis."

Two weeks ago, AT&T informed CWA that they hope to start replacement of the elevators in March 2026, with a completion date later in the year. President Walterson got stuck himself when he was visiting the facility on local union business. "I can tell you it's a sickening feeling when that elevator stops and you don't know how long it's going to be before you get out," said Walterson. "For our members who work in that building every day, it's a real nightmare. And for the company to tell us that we have to wait six months to a year for it to be fixed is an insult."

AT&T employees have been dealing with malfunctioning elevators at the AT&T office for more than two and a half years. The elevators are regularly out of service and, when in service, routinely trap passengers. In some cases employees stuck in the elevators have had to climb out between floors in order to be rescued. As a union, CWAers are taking action to protect the safety of all 530 employees who work in the building.

Last month, members of NABET-CWA Local 51018 in Rhode Island learned of the purchase of their news station, ABC6 (WLNE), by Sinclair Inc., the parent company of rival station NBC10 (WJAR). Sinclair now controls the infrastructure and operations of both news outlets, though it did not change license ownership, skirting anti-monopoly regulations. Members at WLNE are calling for a boycott of both stations. Sinclair Inc. owns over 180 local television stations across the country and this deal will make Sinclair and Nexstar the only local TV station owners in the entire state.

The current deal will close the newsroom and other operations at WLNE. Most of the workers at WLNE, including NABET-CWA members, will be terminated, with a few to be absorbed into the WJAR operation. Those who make the transition to WJAR will no longer be represented by NABET-CWA but will either fall under a contract negotiated with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers or be rehired to unrepresented positions within WJAR.

Kelly Bates, an on-air meteorologist and NABET-CWA member, left her previous station after a contract dispute with Sinclair in 2021. In a Facebook video, Bates said, “It happened again. Our station was just bought by the station I worked for previously, and that parent company has decided I am a redundancy and need to go.”

NABET-CWA Local 51018 members met with Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island Sabina Matos earlier this month to discuss the changes to the local media landscape and what this merger means for the general public. The elimination of an independent parent company could result in fewer journalists to cover news, fewer experienced meteorologists in the market, and less diversity to foster community.

Workers at ABC6-WLNE formed their union with NABET-CWA in April 2024.

Last month, NewsGuild-CWA called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to withdraw its proposed rule that would change the Media (I) visa program for foreign journalists who work in the United States. The proposed change would decrease the time journalists can stay in the country from five years to just 240 days, making the job nearly impossible. This change would also increase the chance of retaliatory restrictions from other countries who may likewise restrict American journalists' ability to gather news for American audiences.

“The United States is supposed to be a beacon for a free press, and we should openly welcome all foreign journalists to see what an active, independent press looks like,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss. “The latest proposed rules by DHS are a direct attack on press freedom and would greatly limit the number of foreign journalists working inside the U.S. and sharing news around the world.”

More than 700 NewsGuild-CWA supporters submitted comments in defense of international journalists and opposing the rule change. DHS is now reviewing more than 21,000 comments submitted for their proposed rule, which also would impact academic workers. A final rule could take months to be established and will likely be challenged in court.

Every Thursday in October, CWA activists will be doing phone outreach to members to encourage them to support the legislative champions CWA relies on to translate our values and vision into law. You can help make a difference in critical races across the country by signing up to call your union siblings.

Tonight! Get out the vote in Pennsylvania on Thursday, October 16, at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT.
Help retain Pennsylvania Supreme Court Judges Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht.
RSVP HERE

Get out the vote in New Jersey on Thursday, October 23, at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT.
Support Mikie Sherrill for NJ Governor.
RSVP HERE

Get out the vote in California on Thursday, October 30, at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT.
Support California Prop 50.
RSVP HERE

The phone banks will take place on Zoom. During the phone banks, you will learn more about these important elections. Team members will also train you on how to phone bank if you have never done it before or just need a refresher.

Your efforts will make a real difference in these elections and the future of our union.