A new report from CWA and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) shows that Lumen Technologies (formerly CenturyLink) is worsening the digital divide in the U.S. by blatantly failing to invest in essential fiber-optic buildout in lower-income, rural, and Tribal communities. Lumen has cut more than 4,500 CWA-represented jobs since 2017, which has contributed to the problem.

The report, “Lumen’s Digital Disparity: Underinvestment in Infrastructure Discriminates Against Lower-Income, Rural, and Native American Customers,” analyzes Lumen’s network in 30 states using Federal Communications Commission (FCC) data, interviews with Lumen technicians, and reports by local advocates in Lumen’s service area.

“With a massive national footprint and hundreds of millions of dollars allocated to building broadband in communities that need it most, Lumen Technologies needs to set an example for the industry and help close the digital divide by investing in next-generation networks in low-income and rural communities,” said CWA District 7 Vice President Brenda Roberts.

CWA is calling for Lumen to double the number of households passed by fiber in two years, to take advantage of federal funding opportunities for fiber buildout, and to stop its practice of outsourcing publicly-funded broadband jobs to non-union contractors.

“Lumen Technologies’ failure to effectively deploy broadband in unserved communities stems in large part from the ongoing job cuts of its highly-skilled union workforce,” said CWA Local 7804 President Jake Williams. “Union workers with CWA are Lumen’s most important resource when it comes to effective broadband buildout. Union workers have decades of training and experience in broadband deployment, and they know what it takes to build strong, lasting connectivity. Lumen needs to start investing in its workers who are on-the-ground hearing customers’ concerns and installing the company’s network.”

Learn more at cwa-union.org/news/releases/lumen-failure-to-invest-worsens-digital-divide.

Last week, CWA, the AFL-CIO, and two global union federations filed a complaint with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) alleging severe violations of workers’ freedom of association at the Luxottica manufacturing and distribution center in McDonough, Ga. Luxottica is the world’s largest eyeglass manufacturer, employing more than 150,000 workers worldwide and more than 2,000 at the Georgia facility.

According to the complaint, Luxottica plant managers in Georgia are waging an aggressive anti-union campaign, and executives from the company’s European headquarters have failed to hold U.S. management accountable under OECD guidelines, which aim to promote ethical behavior by multinational corporations in their foreign operations.

"I have been an employee at Luxottica for four years. I am proud to work hard at my job every day," said Lisa Ragsdale, a worker in McDonough. "My co-workers and I are fighting to form a union so we can have a voice on the job. ... We believe Luxottica should support a union for its workers, whether they are in Italy or in the U.S."

“We’re turning an international spotlight on Luxottica’s interference with workers’ organizing rights in Georgia,” said CWA President Chris Shelton. “Luxottica workers in Italy have long been represented by trade unions, who have a positive, mutually respectful, and productive relationship with Italian management. We want to ensure that Luxottica workers in the United States are treated with the same respect,” he said.

Learn more at: cwa-union.org/news/releases/unions-allege-severe-violations-of-workers-rights-eyewear-giant-luxottica.