News

  • CWA Joins Labor and Environmental Groups’ Call for Emergency Action to Protect Workers
    The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and other labor groups representing health care workers, teachers, transit operators and millions of other frontline workers including Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, ATU, the AFL-CIO, AFT, APWU, SEIU, and TWU joined with environmental groups today to file an emergency rulemaking legal petition demanding that the Trump administration take action to provide adequate masks, gloves, and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to these essential workers. The petition was led by the Center for Biological Diversity. See the full list of signers here. The petition demands that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf act immediately to ensure the manufacturing and distribution of adequate PPE. The Trump administration has refused to properly manage PPE production and distribution, leaving states and industry to compete and frontline workers short of supplies. The petition requests a response from the administration within 15 days. If the administration fails to respond, the groups could sue in federal court to compel a response. "Although in New York we're past the initial surge, the PPE situation for workers is still an urgent problem. We're still facing a shortage of N95 masks, gowns, and other crucial PPE," said CWA Local 1168 Director of Health and Safety Denise Abbott, an ER nurse at Kaleida Health and member of CWA Local 1168 in Buffalo. "In New York and New Jersey during the surge, the nurses who got N95s were forced to use them for extended periods of time and use them over and over even though they are meant to be disposed of after working with each patient. Local 1168 had nurses who got sick and one member died.” "As states reopen and the number of COVID-19 illnesses and hospitalizations continues to rise to unprecedented levels, we need the president of the United States to stop abdicating his responsibility to protect workers who are putting their lives on the line to do their jobs, said CWA President Chris Shelton. “Leaving workers to fend for themselves while there are grave shortages of adequate PPE during a pandemic is unacceptable and un-American. CWA members and all workers need Donald Trump to do something useful for once and order the cronies he's put in charge of the federal government to use every tactic within their power to get PPE produced and distributed." “Employers have still not been able to return to normal standards of care and PPE use because they are afraid of running out of supplies again if there is another surge,” said Abbott. “It was traumatizing for nurses during the peak in New York, and is now traumatizing to see the same thing happen to other nurses and healthcare workers as cases rise in other parts of the country. Other essential workers and those returning to work also need N95s and other respirators for hazards on the job. We need to ramp up production of crucial PPE now." — Aug 11
  • CODE-CWA Game Workers Win Groundbreaking Strike
    Writers for Lovestruck, a mobile game produced by Voltage Entertainment USA, will return to work after a groundbreaking strike that ended this week after Voltage management agreed to pay increases averaging 78% and increased transparency at work. The strike was the first successful game worker strike in the history of the game development industry. The workers approached CODE-CWA for help improving their working conditions and chose to strike even though, as independent contractors, their action was not protected under U.S. labor law. Despite the risk, they prevailed through a strategic organizing effort that united the writers behind a shared set of concerns. "This group of writers at Voltage showed incredible courage by deciding to go on strike, and their unity during the 21 days they withheld their work led to unprecedented success," said CWA President Chris Shelton. "CWA members understand the power of going on strike, and we are proud that the Voltage workers are part of the CWA family. Joining together to address the issues they face is the best way for working people to improve their lives. The writers' bold action is a model for others who are ready to fight to improve working conditions in the video games industry and beyond." "My wage increase is substantial and I'm very pleased with it," Frances Maples, one of the writers who went on strike, told VICE. "But beyond that, this means everything to me. It got to a point with our union where I felt like I wasn't fighting for my own wages but for the wages of my fellow writers. In the games industry, it feels really historic." During the strike, over 4,000 fans signed a petition to demand that Voltage provide fair pay to the Lovestruck game writers. In a further illustration of the incredible support for the writers, fans raised a total of $7,723 for the Voltage Organized Workers Support Fund. — Aug 6
  • Senators: Extend the Payroll Support Program in the CARES Act to Save Our Jobs
    The CARES Act provision that saved 950,000 aviation jobs in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19 – the Payroll Support Program (PSP) – is set to expire in October, even though the aviation industry's crisis is far from over. If the Senate does not take action soon, mass layoffs in the aviation industry are inevitable. The loss of the PSP will be devastating to all aviation workers, including passenger service agents, AFA-CWA members, their families, and our communities. Senators need to hear from all of us now. Click here to send a message to your Senators telling them to extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program through March 2021 to protect hundreds of thousands of aviation jobs. CWA members like Yasmeen Alston, a member of Local 3640 in Winston-Salem, are urging their Senators to extend the PSP program. Watch the video here. — Aug 6
  • CWAers Put Pressure on Senators to Pass the HEROES Act
    This week, CWAers in District 1 held a virtual phonebank to make phone calls to Senators to urge them to support the HEROES Act to provide relief to state and local government, premium pay for essential workers, paid leave, strengthened OSHA protections, and funding for safer voting in the 2020 elections. This crucial bill passed the House in May, but has stalled in the Senate thanks to GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, who opposes core provisions of the bill like extended unemployment protections and aid for state and local governments. CWA members have made thousands of calls and sent thousands of emails in support of the bill, but we need to ramp up now. Call your Senators now and urge them to support the HEROES Act: 1-877-775-9294. CWAers in District 1 held a virtual phonebank to call on Senators to support the HEROES Act. — Aug 6
  • On 55th Anniversary of Voting Rights Act, We Must Be Vigilant
    Today marks the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act being signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. The Act removes obstacles and restrictions that made it harder for African-Americans to vote. As we mark this historic achievement, we are facing the most important election of our lifetimes. The COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging our country, and Americans are demanding justice for Black lives and for stronger rights to join a union, but the Republican politicians in power are failing to act to provide relief to Americans who are struggling. We need to make sure that everyone is able to vote safely. Many states are implementing plans to make voting by mail more accessible. In response, GOP politicians see this as an opportunity to gut the USPS to try to rig these elections. We must honor the distinguished memory of Congressman John Lewis and the values he fought so bravely for by making sure that our country has safe and accessible elections in 2020. Nobody should have to choose between their health and casting their vote. Congress must allocate funding for safe elections to ensure that every American can safely vote this year. — Aug 6