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District Court Decision to Approve T-Mobile Merger Puts Jobs at Risk New York, N.Y. -- U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero’s decision to allow the T-Mobile/Sprint merger to go forward without changes despite the serious anti-trust concerns raised by attorneys general from 13 states and the District of Columbia will put 30,000 jobs at risk. “Throughout this process, regulators who are supposed to be protecting the public interest have ignored clear evidence that this merger would result in significant job loss for wireless workers,” said Communications Workers of America President Chris Shelton. “We are grateful to the attorneys general who stepped in to try to protect workers and customers after President Trump’s appointees at the FCC and Department of Justice ignored their concerns. This decision does not mean that we will stop fighting to protect jobs and raise standards for workers across the industry. During this merger approval process, workers at T-Mobile have become more determined than ever to join together and win union representation, and we saw the first signs of serious dialogue with management about ensuring workers' freedom to organize. That freedom will be critical for workers to protect their interests if the merger proceeds.” ### About CWA: The Communications Workers of America represents working men and women in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, and manufacturing. — Feb 11
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U.S. House Passes Pro-Worker Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act Yesterday, thanks to the tireless work of CWA members and a broad coalition of labor, civil rights, environmental, religious immigrant rights, and women's groups, the U.S. House passed the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, historic legislation to make it easier for workers to join a union. “The voices of America's working people are finally being heard,” said CWA President Chris Shelton. “Members of Congress are starting to understand that the reason our economy has left so many families behind is that corporations have bent labor law to their will. The PRO Act restores balance to our system by putting power in the hands of working people. It will make it much easier for workers to join a union, and crack down on the dirty tricks that companies use to make workers afraid of taking collective action to improve their lives.” On Wednesday, Jennifer Womack, who has worked at a Verizon Wireless call center in Irving, Texas for the last three years and has been organizing with her coworkers to join CWA, spoke at a press briefing hosted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott how the PRO Act would help her and her coworkers. Womack described how after she and her coworkers started discussing forming a union at Verizon Wireless, the company began forcing them to attend mandatory anti-union meetings, sometimes pulling workers they suspect may support organizing into those trainings at a moment’s notice. “Those trainings terrified a lot of people,” Womack said. “Eventually, I asked our CEO about this at Verizon's shareholder meeting. But after that happened, my work life got even worse. The company isolated me from my co-workers and some people I was close to were afraid to even talk to me. This retaliation makes it very difficult for workers to form a union if we want to.” The Senate has not yet taken action on the bill, and the Trump administration has indicated that the President would veto the bill. — Feb 7
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CWA Members Push PRO Act Forward Over the past few months, CWA members have worked tirelessly to build support for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. All of the emails, calls, and visits with members of Congress are paying off – the House of Representatives is expected to pass the bill on Thursday evening. CWA's critical role advancing the bill was evident this week on Capitol Hill. Jennifer Womack, who has worked at a Verizon Wireless call center in Irving, Texas, for the last three years and has been organizing with her coworkers to join CWA, spoke at a press briefing hosted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott on the bill. CWA President Chris Shelton and CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens also attended the event. Womack described how, after she and her coworkers started discussing forming a union at Verizon Wireless, the company began forcing them to attend mandatory anti-union meetings, sometimes pulling workers they suspect may support organizing into those trainings at a moment's notice. "Those trainings terrified a lot of people," Womack said. "Eventually, I asked our CEO about this at Verizon's shareholder meeting. But after that happened, my work life got even worse. The company isolated me from my co-workers and some people I was close to were afraid to even talk to me. This retaliation makes it very difficult for workers to form a union if we want to. "That's why I'm so glad that the House is taking up the PRO Act. This bill would put power back in the hands of workers like me to make our own decisions about forming a union without risking our jobs. I'm especially glad that the bill would ban the sort of mandatory anti-union trainings that we faced. It's also really important that the bill imposes real penalties on companies that break the law, since right now it seems like companies can get away with pretty much anything with a slap on the wrist. I believe that everyone should be treated fairly and be able to have a voice on the job. The PRO Act is a great step to help achieve that." On Thursday morning, Secretary-Treasurer Steffens addressed a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus. Steffens stressed the historic importance of the bill and shared her story of being wrongfully fired after organizing a union at the Contra Costa Times. The CWA Executive Board has said that if an incumbent member of Congress or a Senator does not vote for the PRO Act, they will not receive an endorsement for reelection from CWA this year. CWA members have worked tirelessly to build support for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, including CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens (top right) and Jennifer Womack (top left). — Feb 6
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Bargaining and Mobilization Update AT&T Southwest Mobility At the opening of bargaining this week for more than 8,000 AT&T Southwest Mobility employees in Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas, the CWA bargaining team urged AT&T to negotiate a contract that includes wage and benefit improvements and a commitment to keeping good, family-supporting jobs in the region. Workers set up informational picket lines at retail stores and call center locations across the region in support of the bargaining. Despite record-breaking profits, the company has cut more than 37,000 jobs since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) went into effect in 2018, including 4,040 in the fourth quarter of 2019. "The employees of Mobility handle every technology offered to consumers and play a critical role in AT&T's core business. It's time for the company to stop focusing so much on pumping up its stock price and focus on investing in its employees and the next generation networks that our communities need," said Jason Vellmer, a CWA Staff Representative who is leading the bargaining team. AT&T has continued to cater to the demands of controversial vulture hedge fund Elliott Management, which purchased a small stake in AT&T in September 2019. Elliott is pushing AT&T to extract profits from the company by eliminating jobs, outsourcing work, and divesting critical assets. The current contract expires on February 21, 2020. ### T-Mobile As bargaining opened yesterday for T-Mobile retail workers in Pinole, Calif., members of CWA and other labor unions gathered outside of the bargaining location to show their support. Addressing the rally, CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce said, "This T-Mobile store in tiny Pinole has set the example for not just T-Mobile, but for the wireless industry to take the next step." ### Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Airlines Flight Attendants, members of AFA-CWA, along with labor allies, took the fight for a fair contract to the quarterly Hawaiian Airlines Board of Directors meeting this week. Flight Attendants also demonstrated at six different airports to tell the public about their working conditions and demands for better wages. "We are now trying to get more members of the larger working community to share our message," Jaci-Ann Chung said. "We live in these communities and it's important to let Hawai'i residents know what is going on." — Feb 6
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Organizing Update South Bend Tribune Journalists at the South Bend Tribune voted to join the NewsGuild-CWA on Wednesday, adding momentum to the wave of union organizing at Gannett-owned publications and throughout the industry. The South Bend Tribune is the third Gannett-owned newsroom to win union recognition in less than four months, following the Arizona Republic and Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader. The three new Gannett units join 32 long-established units at what has become the largest chain in the industry, following the company's merger with GateHouse Media in November. "This union is us, we are the reporters, photographers, designers, and editors that bring Michiana the highest quality news we can," said Michael Caterina, Tribune photographer. "This union will give us, the people that live here, a seat at the table when it comes to our employment." — Feb 6