BuzzFeed News

Last Thursday, New York NewsGuild members at BuzzFeed News (TNG-CWA Local 31003) walked off the job to demand a fair contract, the same day shareholders voted to take the company public. All of the union members participated in the 24-hour work stoppage.

After two years of fighting for a fair contract, they are calling on management to negotiate adequate pay raises, affordable health care, a sensible policy on “outside work,” and a prohibition on using traffic and revenue metrics as a basis for issuing discipline to workers. They walked off the job to demonstrate how vital the reporters, editors, photographers, designers, and operations people are to BuzzFeed and to put pressure on management to meet the workers’ demands. Read more here.

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University of New Mexico

University of New Mexico workers, members of CWA Local 7076, rallying with supporters to stop union busting and poverty wages for public workers.

Last Friday, more than 200 workers, activists, and supporters rallied to tell the University of New Mexico (UNM) to end the practice of paying public workers poverty wages and stop union busting. The rally was organized by UNM workers, members of CWA Local 7076, to call attention to the fact that the UNM administration continues to line their own pockets while paying workers poverty wages, endlessly spending University funds on a third-party union busting law firm, and repeatedly ignoring health and safety concerns from custodial workers throughout the pandemic. Read more here.

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Cascade Public Media

Last Tuesday, members of the Crosscut Union, Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild (TNG-CWA Local 37082), representing workers at two nonprofit news outlets based in the Northwest, voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first contract with Cascade Public Media. Highlights of the contract include the Rooney Rule, which requires management to extend interviews to candidates from underrepresented groups; protection against discrimination for employees who are parents; a salary schedule that improves pay equity and transparency; a paid time off system that gives staff more flexibility; and more.

Thanks to the leadership and the activism of CWAers, the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocates $65 billion to expand our nation’s broadband networks. This funding will help states across the country bring their telecommunications infrastructure into the 21st century and create new jobs in the process. Since the passage of the bill, the CWA Broadband Brigade and local activists have been mobilizing to ensure states eligible to receive federal funding Build Broadband Better by creating good union jobs and prioritizing closing the digital divide.

In Texas, Robin Johnson (CWA Local 6215), a telecommunications worker and CWA Broadband Brigade member, called on state leaders to Build Broadband Better in an op-ed published by the Austin American Statesman. “That means prioritizing our low-income communities and Tribal areas, subsidizing the costs of services for the most vulnerable, and using trained union technicians who know how to build broadband infrastructure right the first time, not subcontractors that service providers hire to trim costs, who often cut corners, don’t know the equipment, and end up costing taxpayers more in the long-run,” she wrote.

In Michigan, local activists from CWA District 4 joined Congressman Andy Levin (D-Mich.) for a Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Broadband Roundtable. During the discussion, the CWA activists celebrated the passage of the bipartisan bill but cautioned that the funds must be invested in long term solutions and not just provide band-aids to our outdated system. The group also discussed the importance of passing the Build Back Better Act with pro-union provisions, including imposing meaningful penalties on employers who violate the health and safety of workers and their right to organize.

State and local governments will play a key role in deciding how to spend the infrastructure bill’s broadband funding. A new report commissioned by CWA and released by CTC Technology & Energy highlights public-private partnership strategies that have proven successful when deploying broadband in rural and other overlooked communities. “Communities can use their procurement authority to determine where broadband is most needed and ensure the buildout is done right,” said CWA President Chris Shelton. “This means working with companies that employ highly trained and experienced local union workers who know the area and the infrastructure. It also means building out high-speed fiber connections that can provide the necessary bandwidth today and in the future to meet households’ growing data needs.”

CWA District 4 activists met with Congressman Andy Levin (D-Mich.) for a broadband expansion roundtable.

Looking to support fellow workers on the picket line? As more and more workers are exercising their power and leverage to gain dignity, respect, and a voice on the job, the AFL-CIO has released a new tool to make it easier for workers and community members to show solidarity with striking workers. Click on this map to see where workers are on strike across the country.