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Expect More Attacks on Workers from New Trump Labor Secretary Under new Trump administration Acting Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella, we can expect more of the same from President Trump's Department of Labor – more weakening of employment and health and safety protections for workers in order to further enrich already wealthy CEOs and large shareholders. Pizzella has a disturbing history of actively working against the best interests of working people, most notably lobbying for policies on the Northern Mariana Islands that essentially allowed the "Made in the U.S.A." label on goods and clothing performed under slave labor conditions. Read more about Pizzella's history of harming working people here. — Jul 18
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Building CWA Customer Service Worker Power in Virginia Eighteen customer service workers from Verizon, AT&T Mobility, and American Airlines – members of CWA Locals 2201, 2204, and 2205 – attended a CWA Political Boot Camp in Richmond. The participants are looking forward to the 6+ week follow-up program and continuing to build power for working people in Virginia. The training was made possible by CWA's Customer Service SIF and the CWA Legislative-Political Department SIF. — Jul 18
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CWA Statement on the Resignation of Labor Secretary Alex Acosta It is the job of the Labor Department to enforce laws that protect all workers. The facts that have emerged about Alex Acosta's role in reducing Jeffrey Epstein's sentence for his vile crimes have made it clear that he thinks there is one set of rules for the rich and powerful, and another set for everyone else. This double standard has no role in the Labor Department or any other part of our government, and we welcome his resignation. — Jul 12
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Bargaining and Mobilization Update AT&T Mobility "Green" Contract This week, CWA members in Puerto Rico who work at AT&T Mobility ratified a four-year agreement covering 900 workers. The new agreement provides wage increases, maintains existing pension plan and health care benefits, restricts subcontracting, and contains a guarantee that customer calls will continue to be handled on the island. The contract also adds protections against discrimination based on marital status, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression. "When working people join together in unions, they have the power to protect their jobs and strengthen their communities," said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt. "This contract ensures that AT&T will keep family-supporting jobs with fair compensation and good benefits in Puerto Rico." During negotiations, CWA members' efforts to raise awareness of the need for AT&T to commit to keeping jobs in Puerto Rico drew broad public support. Members of Congress, led by Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), weighed in with a letter expressing concern that AT&T continue to provide good jobs as Puerto Rico recovers from the devastation of Hurricane Maria. ### Kaleida Health After months of negotiations with management, the union bargaining committee secured a three-year Tentative Agreement with Kaleida Health covering 7,200 union members from CWA Local 1168, IUOE Local 17, and 1199SEIU. Details of the Tentative Agreement will be made available at an upcoming membership meeting. ### StoryCorps At an all-staff meeting this week, StoryCorps workers, members of CWA Local 1180, announced to a roomful of colleagues and managers that they were walking out and attending the rest of the meeting remotely to send a message that after nearly two years of bargaining, management needs to come to the table now and negotiate a fair agreement on wages and healthcare. — Jul 11
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This Summer, CWA Members are Taking on Offshoring of U.S. Jobs More than 1,200 CWAers from across the country joined a CWA town hall call this week to hear from CWA President Chris Shelton and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) about how to take action in CWA's Summer of #NoMoreOffshoring campaign and what CWA members are doing to urge Congress to fight back against the offshoring of U.S. jobs. "You really are the backbone of the labor movement," Senator Brown told CWA members on the call. "I know how personal these policies are for you. I'm out all the time in Ohio and I meet CWA members. I know the threat of outsourcing hangs over call center workers constantly — especially those who aren't lucky enough to have a CWA union card. I've been to call centers that are organized by CWA and call centers that aren't organized. The difference in quality of work, in turnover, productivity, wages, and benefits is stark. It's why last month I introduced, working with CWA, the U.S. Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act." CWAers have been making phone calls to urge Congress to support Brown's call center legislation, as well as the No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act, which would stop rewarding companies that ship jobs overseas and reverse the offshoring tax cuts embedded in the GOP tax scam. If you haven't yet signed the petition to keep call center jobs in our communities, sign today. "We need you to spend the rest of the summer making sure that all CWA members recognize that we can fight back against the offshoring of U.S. jobs," President Shelton said. "We need you to hand out leaflets at the workplaces and urge your friends and family to call their elected representatives. So get out there, make sure your brothers and sisters know what's at stake." Eighty-three percent of members polled on the call said that addressing offshoring jobs is a top three issue for them when considering who to vote for in the 2020 elections. Listen to the full town hall call here. — Jul 11