News | Page 2 | CWA Local 7400

In Memoriam – January 7, 2021
CWA has established a memorial page for members who have lost their lives to COVID-19. This week we honor the memory of Chris Lechuga, a member of CWA Local 7019 who worked for CenturyLink in Phoenix, Ariz. — Jan 7
Marty Walsh Will Ensure That Workers are at the Table in the Biden Administration
Marty Walsh is a trade unionist to his core and an excellent choice to lead the Department of Labor during this critical time. Nearly every policy that Joe Biden has proposed includes a focus on strengthening the middle class and making sure workers have the freedom to join together in unions to stand up for themselves and improve their workplaces. By choosing a union member and union leader who is as trusted, experienced and effective as Mayor Walsh, President-elect Biden has shown that he means what he says. Having Marty Walsh as a member of the Cabinet means that working people will have one of their own in the room and at the table every time a decision is made that affects their lives. ### — Jan 7
Yesterday’s Insurrection Was An Attack on Democracy by White Supremacists and Fascists
Yesterday, the world watched as armed insurrectionists, with the encouragement of the President of the United States, launched an attack on the Capitol in an attempt to undermine our democracy and prevent Congress from certifying the results of the Presidential election. Two images from their failed attempt to violently invalidate the votes of millions of Americans make their motives absolutely clear: the sight of the confederate flag being paraded through the halls of the Senate and a message scrawled on a door, “Murder the media.” White supremacy is a poison that has been with us since the beginning of our country, and the confederate flag is its symbol, meant to subjugate and terrorize Black, brown, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Indigenous people. That was the goal of this mob and the President who asked them to assemble on his behalf. Freedom of the press is the first target of fascists everywhere, as they seek to silence opposition and suppress any information that contradicts the alternate reality that their narcissistic leader creates to support his racist fantasy world. This freedom is enshrined in our Constitution because a healthy democracy is not possible without a free press. There is no doubt that each day that Donald Trump continues to hold the powers of the Presidency presents a grave threat to the safety of millions of American and to the stability of our country. He organized an insurrection while ignoring a pandemic. Legislators and members of the Cabinet have taken an oath to defend our Constitution and they must act to remove him from office immediately before he does greater harm to our country and democracy. But we must not fool ourselves. The end of Trump’s presidency does not mean an end to white supremacy in our government. After forcing Congress to flee and vandalizing the Capitol for hours, the insurrectionists were free to walk out the door and head home. After they returned to the Capitol, half of the Republican members of the House of Representatives, who are guilty of aiding and abetting this insurrection, voted to overturn the will of the American people. Far too many politicians enabled Donald Trump to build and sustain power. Corporate CEOs and board members, driven only by the size of their fortunes, continue to extract wealth from our labor and cynically exploit racism for their own gain. Along with the free press, free, democratic labor unions like ours are targets of fascists who fear the power of workers united in common cause. We must remain committed to the fight to strengthen our democracy and resist white supremacy and fascism. We must continue the process we began last spring to deepen our efforts to dismantle racism, including racism within our union. Together we will build power for all working people. ### — Jan 7
CWA Members Continue to Build Worker Power with Wins in Georgia Senate Runoff
With a Senate win for Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff on track to defeat Sen. David Perdue, working people in Georgia and across the United States have ensured that their voices will be heard on Capitol Hill. “CWA activists in Georgia have spent years organizing and building a program to engage members and retirees in legislative and electoral work,” said Communications Workers of America President Chris Shelton. “There’s no doubt that every vote mattered and their work to organize all around the state made a huge difference in winning Georgia for Joe Biden, Rev. Warnock, and Jon Ossoff. Mitch McConnell’s days as the ‘grim reaper,’ single-handedly stopping legislation that would improve the lives of working people from even coming up for debate in the Senate, are over.” CWA began a member education program immediately after the 2018 mid-term elections, focusing on issues including offshoring, corporate tax cuts and providing paid leave for all workers and the importance of passing legislation like the PRO Act to enable more workers to join unions and fight back against corporate control of their lives and our economy. The pandemic brought even more urgency to those efforts, as CWA members continued to provide essential services while the McConnell-led Senate failed to act on legislation to protect their lives and their jobs. “Our members went from winning a historic strike against AT&T in the summer of 2019 right into work on the Georgia Senate primary election, general election, and now this runoff,” said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt. “Mobilizing for a strike and turning out the vote serve the same goal: building worker power and fighting for economic justice.” ### — Jan 6
Google Workers, Demanding Change at Work, Are Launching a Union With the Communications Workers of America
Today, workers at Google and other Alphabet companies are announcing the creation of the Alphabet Workers Union with support from the Communications Workers of America (CWA)—the first of its kind in the company’s history. It will be the first union open to all employees and contractors at any Alphabet company, with dues-paying members, an elected board of directors, and paid organizing staff. “This union builds upon years of courageous organizing by Google workers,” said Nicki Anselmo, Program Manager. “From fighting the ‘real names’ policy, to opposing Project Maven, to protesting the egregious, multi-million dollar payouts that have been given to executives who’ve committed sexual harassment, we’ve seen first-hand that Alphabet responds when we act collectively. Our new union provides a sustainable structure to ensure that our shared values as Alphabet employees are respected even after the headlines fade.” The new union is part of CWA’s CODE-CWA (Coalition to Organize Digital Employees) project, and the workers will be members of CWA Local 1400. It follows successful union drives by other Google workers—like HCL contract workers in Pittsburgh and cafeteria workers now with UNITE HERE! in the Bay Area—as well as unions formed by workers at other tech companies like Kickstarter and Glitch. The Alphabet Workers Union, however, will be the first open to all employees of Alphabet, regardless of their role or classification. “This is historic—the first union at a major tech company by and for all tech workers,” said Dylan Baker, Software Engineer. “We will elect representatives, we will make decisions democratically, we will pay dues, and we will hire skilled organizers to ensure all workers at Google know they can work with us if they actually want to see their company reflect their values.” “We are glad to welcome the Alphabet Workers Union as members of CWA Local 1400,” said CWA Local President Don Trementozzi. “We are a democratic, member-driven union, with experience building and sustaining worker power at some of America’s largest corporations. This is an historic step toward making lasting improvements for workers at Google and other Alphabet companies.” Google began as a small tech company with a “Don’t Be Evil” mantra, but has quickly become one of the most influential companies in the world. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, now has more than 120,000 workers. It’s responsible for vast swaths of the internet, controlling tools used by billions of people across the world, with subsidiaries as varied as Waymo, Verily, Fitbit, and Wing. Yet half of Google workers at Alphabet companies are hired as TVCs—temps, vendors, or contractors—without the benefits afforded to full-time employees. Executives have been awarded tens of millions of dollars in exit packages after documented sexual harassment against fellow Googlers. And the company has taken on unethical government contracts, like drone targeting for the military, yet kept the nature of that technology secret even to the Googlers working on those projects. It has removed its past motto from its mission statement. Most recently, the company fired Dr. Timnit Gebru, a leading artificial intelligence researcher, for no reason whatsoever. The firing has caused outrage from thousands of us, including Black and Brown workers who are heartbroken by the company’s actions and unsure of their future at Google. Workers who have organized to stop these trends have been met by intimidation, suppression, and blatantly illegal firings, as recently confirmed by the National Labor Relations Board. Instead of listening to workers, Google hired IRI, a notorious anti-union firm, to suppress their organizing. This is how Google’s executives have chosen to interact with workers. The only tactic that has ensured workers are respected and heard is collective action. Project Maven was cancelled when thousands of Googlers pledged they would not work on unethical tech. Forced arbitration was ended when Googlers walked out across the globe. The Alphabet Workers Union will be the structure that ensures Google workers can actively push for real changes at the company, from the kinds of contracts Google accepts to employee classification to wage and compensation issues. All issues relevant to Google as a workplace will be the purview of the union and its members. ### — Jan 4