Organizing Update

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Labor Network for Sustainability

Workers at the Labor Network for Sustainability, a non-profit organization that engages workers and communities in advancing environmental justice, won a commitment from the organization’s leadership to grant voluntary recognition of the union if workers can show majority support. Union authorization cards will be counted by the American Arbitration Association on October 3, and workers are confident they will prevail. They’ll be joining the Washington-Baltimore News Guild (TNG-CWA Local 32035).

Bargaining Update

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Kaleida Health

Thousands of workers at Kaleida Health in Buffalo, N.Y., overwhelmingly voted in favor of authorizing a strike, should it be necessary. Nearly 6,300 union workers represented by CWA Local 1168 and 1199SEIU are fighting for wage increases, better staffing levels, and dignity and respect on the job. More than half of the workers are represented by CWA. The workers, who have already extended their contract twice, are exhausted and fed up with staffing shortages that have exponentially increased their patient loads and compromised the quality of care. They are seeking a fair contract that will enable Kaleida Health to recruit and retain critical staff needed for patients to receive the quality care they need and deserve. “A strike is the last thing we want. No one wants to walk off the job, but we are considering all of our options because we are seeing a decline in quality of care that must be reversed,” said Cori Gambini, a Registered Nurse and President of CWA Local 1168. Read more here.

Kaleida Health Bargaining
Last week, workers at Kaleida Health in Buffalo, N.Y., overwhelmingly voted in favor of authorizing a strike should it be necessary.

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The Leaguers, Inc.

Workers at the Leaguers, Inc., members of CWA Local 1037, and supporters participated in a rally last week and attempted to deliver an open letter signed by more than a hundred parents asking management to negotiate a fair contract with the workers. Unfortunately, management dismissed both the parents and workers by refusing to meet or accept the letter. The Leaguers, Inc. is a multipurpose, non-profit, social services organization providing various services to the community including head start and early head start programs. CWA Local 1037 represents full-time and regular, part-time teachers, associate teachers, teaching assistants, family advocates, child care providers, home visitor specialists, nutrition specialists, food service workers, custodians, and other employees.

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Verso Books

Workers at Verso Books U.S., members of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild (TNG-CWA Local 32035), unanimously ratified their first contract after sixteen months of bargaining. In August, the workers rejected management’s initial offer and prepared to escalate their mobilization. The workers partially credit their win to the support they received from authors and readers. The contract, which is a first for the NewsGuild-CWA in book publishing, includes wage increases, a commitment to make special efforts to improve diversity of the workforce, a generous parental leave policy, a strengthened and more flexible sabbatical policy, and more. Read more here.

Worker Power Update

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CWAers in District 6 Gear Up to Make their Voices Heard in the Upcoming Elections

CWA political activists in District 6 kicked off their election mobilization for the upcoming midterm elections with a virtual town hall and phone bank last week. Over 70 CWAers from across the district turned out to hear from endorsed candidates and take action. CWA District 6 Vice President Claude Cummings Jr. kicked off the event, speaking about the importance of this election and urging everyone to vote and encourage others to do the same. The virtual town hall featured other guest speakers such as Rochelle Garza, candidate for Texas Attorney General; Trudy Busch Valentine, candidate for U.S. Senate in Missouri; and a video message from Chris Jones, candidate for Arkansas Governor. CWA District 6 will be holding virtual phone banks every Tuesday and Thursday from now until the election. Members will also have an opportunity to volunteer to phone bank and block walk in-person, locally. Sign up here to volunteer.

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United Campus Workers in Georgia Build Power at Labor Day Rally

Members of United Campus Workers of Georgia (CWA Local 3265) hosted a Labor Day rally attended by workers, students, community members, and political candidates running for office. Georgia’s gubernatorial candidate and long time champion of workers’ rights Stacey Abrams joined the rally as a special guest speaker and showed her support for the workers’ fight to take back their power and democratize their workplaces. Other invited speakers included Georgia House of Representatives candidate Mokah Johnson, artist and CWA Local 3265 member Linqua Franqa, former Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Mariah Parker, and Broderick Flannigan from the Economic Justice Coalition.

United Campus Workers Georgia
Members of United Campus Workers of Georgia (CWA Local 3265) hosted a Labor Day rally attended by workers, students, community members, and candidates including gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (center).

CWA Members at Lumen in Colorado Fight for Better Working Conditions

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Lumen Petition Delivery

CWA Local 7777 members at Lumen in Colorado organized a march on the boss last week and delivered a petition with over a hundred and twenty signatures demanding a meeting to resolve several challenges workers are facing on the job including lack of adequate training and equipment.

State Workers in New Jersey Win Agreement to Defray Massive Healthcare Premium Hikes, Fight Continues for Local Government Workers

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CWA public workers in New Jersey mobilized to win an agreement with the state to dramatically reduce the impact of a recent proposal to increase the workers’ healthcare premiums for state workers. The victory for the state workers is the result of the incredible mobilization the public workers in the state engaged in and the solidarity they built. Last week, the CWA public workers joined hundreds of other public sector union members to rally at the State House in protest against the proposed increases to their healthcare premiums. The members and their supporters also made phone calls to the Governor expressing their concern about the proposal. The workers, who faithfully served the community during the pandemic while being exposed to COVID-19, voiced their anger and frustration that the state they had put so much on the line for was poised to hike up the cost of their health insurance.

“State, county, and municipal workers were called upon to continue working, often putting ourselves at risk to ensure we continued to serve our communities with critical services and now it's time for the state to help those who took the risks to continue serving our communities,” said Katwanna Noble, a member of CWA Local 1037 and an employee at the New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services.

The workers were joined by supporters and the mayor of Trenton, N.J., Reed Gusciora, who reminded the crowd, “Without the unions, without the workers, the city and the state would be shut down.”

Unfortunately, the struggle against massive premium hikes for local government workers continues. CWAers in New Jersey will not rest until a solution is also found for local government workers.

New Jersey Healthcare Rally
CWA public workers in New Jersey mobilized to win an agreement with the state to reduce the impact of a recent proposal to increase their healthcare premiums, including joining hundreds of other public sector union members to rally at the State House in protest of the proposal.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month

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This month is National Hispanic Heritage Month. To acknowledge this wonderful event, the CWA National Women's and Civil Rights and Equity Committees have prepared four presentations, one for each week of the month. Each weekly presentation will showcase information on Hispanic culture, history, and influence as it relates to the labor and civil rights movements. The presentations will also include a wide array of stories, photos, videos, and even recipes and activities to commemorate the month. Click here to access the first presentation in this four part series. Sign up to the CWA human rights email list to receive the rest of the presentations and other relevant updates from the CWA Human Rights program.

CWAers Take Part in the New York African American Day Parade

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New York African American Day Parade

CWA District 1 members participated in the 53rd annual New York City African American Day Parade, which was held in person after being streamed virtually the past two years. CWAers from Locals 1101, 1102, 1106, 1109, and 1180 joined the celebration. CWA Vice President for Public, Healthcare and Education Workers Margaret Cook also participated in the event. During the parade, the members had an opportunity to honor CWA Local 1101 Chief Steward Zeke Cousins, who passed away from COVID-19 in 2020 and who was passionate about the parade.

Correction to the September 15 eNewsletter

In the September 15, 2022, CWA eNewsletter, the Wells Fargo Organizing Update story mistakenly omitted one of the locals representing workers at Beneficial State Bank. The story should have read:

“Last year, CWA Local 7901 and Local 9412 members at Beneficial State Bank successfully won the first union contract in the banking industry in 40 years.”