News

  • Statement from CWA President Chris Shelton on Airlines Provisions in Coronavirus Economic Stimulus Package
    A statement from CWA President Chris Shelton on the coronavirus economic stimulus package agreement reached in the U.S. Senate that includes $25 billion in grants for airlines to keep employees on payroll through September 30. “CWA is pleased that the bill has been improved to ensure that the drastic reduction in airline travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic does not result in massive layoffs that would leave hundreds of thousands of workers without a paycheck. Senate Democrats heard workers’ voices and insisted that any company taking federal grants or loans to get through this crisis must not leave their workers behind, and fought to make sure the bill included a ban on layoffs and involuntary furloughs for those receiving funds. They made sure that restrictions on stock buybacks and executive compensation for companies accepting taxpayer-funded grants and loans were included in the final deal, despite objections from the Senate Republican leadership and corporate executives. We are grateful to Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi for standing strong and turning around what was a handout to corporate executives and Wall Street into a package that will protect workers and their contracts. We hoped that the bill would have provided protections for workers in the event that an airline declares bankruptcy and we will continue to fight for those critical protections in these uncertain economic times. Shame on any airline that does not take this opportunity to provide stability for its workers and their families during this time of fear and uncertainty.” ### — Mar 25
  • CWA President Chris Shelton Statement in Response to the Senate Republican Stimulus Bill
    “This bill as introduced is a monumental failure by a shameless group of privileged politicians who have no idea what working people are going through. In this moment of national, international, and human crisis, Senators remain sheathed in an old and damaging kind of politics. Let’s be clear how that old politics works: An investment of public dollars is too expensive only when it might benefit working people. But when it comes to the rich, these Senators didn’t care at all about the deficit when they passed Trump's trillion dollar tax cut for corporations and the one-percent. But now — NOW — only NOW — in a moment of dire emergency for working people, they are suddenly fiscally responsible.” “This bill must have grants — yes, GRANTS — not just loans — directed to payroll to keep workers employed -- and protections for workers and their collective bargaining agreement during any bankruptcy after a bailout. Voting on this package without ensuring workers come first would make this a historically embarrassing day for the United States Senate.” — Mar 22
  • CWA Reaches Tentative Agreement with AT&T West
    San Ramon, Calif. -- The Communications Workers of America (CWA) bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement with AT&T on a new four-year contract for AT&T West workers. The CWA AT&T West contract covers technicians, call center customer support workers, and administrative staff in California and Nevada. The tentative agreement provides for pay raises, affordable healthcare, and increased pension benefits. It also maintains existing job offer guarantee provisions in the event of layoffs. "I am proud of our CWA bargaining team for negotiating a strong contract, under difficult circumstances, that protects good, family-supporting jobs in California and Nevada,” said CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce. "CWA members are out there every day installing, maintaining, and supporting critical communications services so businesses can continue operations and customers can stay in contact with their loved ones. Our member mobilization meant that our bargaining team had the support they needed to win a fair agreement well before the current contract expired." Details of the proposed contract will be provided to local leadership as soon as practicable based on the current conditions, and a ratification vote will be held once the members have an opportunity to review the details of the agreement. If ratified, the new contract will go into effect on April 5, 2020. — Mar 21
  • CWA Urges Government and Elected Officials to Provide Real Relief for Airline and Transit Workers
    On Thursday, CWA President Chris Shelton joined with leaders of all the unions that represent workers at American Airlines and American Airlines CEO Doug Parker to send a letter calling on Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Congressional leaders to take steps to protect the airline industry as a whole, American Airlines, and its employees during the COVID-19 crisis. “We urge you to take all available steps to invest in the continued viability of the industry and our airline so that we can properly lead our country’s return to stability when this crisis inevitably subsides,” the union leaders and Parker wrote. “The investment being sought by our airline is necessary to ensure its continued viability and to, most importantly, lessen the impact of this pandemic on our employees and passengers.” The letter points out the extraordinary erosion in demand for air travel during the COVID-19 crisis, with American reducing its international capacity by 75% and domestically by nearly 30%, and urges Mnuchin and congressional leadership to step in to protect workers. “Without airplanes to fly, mechanics, flight attendants, pilots, dispatchers, fleet, and airport workers, just to name a few, will lose the ability to provide for their families. Importantly, we share a common goal to keep employees on payroll so that American is ready to fly when this crisis is behind us,” the letter says. Read the letter here: https://cwa-union.org/sites/default/files/20200319-joint-labor-letter-american-airlines-covid-19.pdf Earlier this week, CWA President Shelton and other union leaders with members working in the transportation industry released a joint statement calling for elected officials to put transportation workers front and center as they consider how to respond to the crisis. The statement calls on governments and employers to ensure that workers are given the guidance, training, resources and equipment to both keep themselves healthy and to prevent further spread of the virus; for mandatory paid sick leave and that Congress designate COVID-19 as a serious health condition for the purposes of the Family and Medical Leave Act; and for a serious economic stimulus effort that provides adequate support for workers and contains protections to ensure that companies that receive public funds cannot use this money to undermine workers’ livelihoods by offshoring or outsourcing jobs, or by handing the money over to shareholders in the form of increased dividends and stock buybacks. CWA has long raised concerns about stock buybacks as a harmful extraction of profits that undermines long-term investment. Now the pandemic has shown that the  airline industry has little cash cushion because the top carriers have used much of their record-high profits on buybacks -- 96% of free cash flow in the last decade. “Half-measures, jumbled guidance, and corporate welfare will not contain this pandemic, and will certainly not provide the economic stimulus that we desperately need. We need policies that put workers first and position our country to flourish once this crisis is over,” the union leaders wrote. Read the statement here: https://cwa-union.org/sites/default/files/20200318-transportation-labor-joint-statement-on-covid-19-response.pdf “As the government and our elected officials consider how to respond to the pandemic, our union is fighting on the front lines to make sure that passenger service agents and their families are not being left behind,” said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt, Chair of CWA's Passenger Service Airline Council. “Passenger service agents work hard every day to keep the flying public safe as they travel. In order to save the airline industry, we must reocgnize that service and keep agents safe by doing everything we can to provide real relief in this time of crisis.” — Mar 20
  • A message from President Shelton on the COVID-19 Pandemic
    Brothers and Sisters, I know that each and every one of you has felt the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis is unprecedented, and CWA members are on the front lines doing the work necessary to keep people informed, connected, and safe during this difficult time. We are devoting every available resource to make sure that employers are doing everything possible to protect and support CWA members during this pandemic. Over the past few weeks, District, Sector, and Division Vice Presidents have been contacting all of our employers to request detailed information about their health and safety precautions, sick leave accommodations, and plans for continuity of pay. They have been making sure that existing collective bargaining agreements are followed and negotiating additional protections to address the special challenges that you are facing in this rapidly changing environment. This early engagement spurred many employers to take a variety of precautionary measures and get prepared for the onslaught of the pandemic. Unfortunately, while CWA has established agreements with many of our employers, many companies are failing to update front-line managers about new sick leave and safety protocols. While some employers have been proactive by working with CWA in setting up enhanced safety procedures, others have not taken necessary action. We are following up to identify and resolve these problems. Our legislative and political teams are also keeping their eye on the larger picture. Federal, state, and local governments are moving quickly to address the crisis. Sadly, even during times like this that demand national unity, some corporations are instructing their lobbyists to resist programs that would provide immediate help to working people and retirees and lay the groundwork for a recovery that includes everyone, not just the 1%. We are also frequently updating the resources on our COVID-19 information page at cwa.org/covid-19. There you will find information on what to do if you believe that your working conditions are unsafe and links to reliable sources of information about the virus. In the coming days, we will be posting best practices recommendations for different types of work and information about the policies that specific employers have implemented. Conditions vary across the country and are changing constantly. Your local leadership will have the most up-to-date information on policies in place at your work location. If you have a question and are unable to contact your steward or local officers, there is a link on our COVID-19 information page where you can submit a question that we will route to the appropriate person for response. While we have many difficult months ahead of us, I know that we will do what we do best – take care of each other, make sure our health and safety is protected on the job, and fight for legislative and political change that puts working people first. Chris Shelton p.s. Please note that CWA National, District, Sector, and Division staff are also following social distancing guidelines in order to do our part in stopping the spread of this virus. Although most of our office buildings are closed, we have implemented a work-from-home plan that allows us to continue functioning at full capacity. Larger meetings have been postponed and smaller meetings have been moved to audio- and video- conferencing platforms. — Mar 19