Tag Archives: Communications Workers of America

Fetterman Bill Would Ensure Striking Workers Can Receive Federal Food Aid

“I’m proud to introduce this bill that will eliminate the need for workers to choose between fighting for fair working conditions and putting food on the table for their families,” said the Pennsylvania Democrat.

By Kenny Stancil. Published 7-27-2023 by Common Dreams

Senator John Fetterman. Photo: Governor Tom Wolf/flickr/CC

As multiple work stoppages continued across the United States, Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania on Thursday introduced legislation that would enable striking workers to qualify for federal food aid.

Called the Food Secure Strikers Act of 2023, Fetterman’s bill would amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to ensure that striking workers aren’t excluded from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. In addition, the bill would preserve food stamp eligibility for public sector workers who are fired for striking and clarify that any income-eligible household is entitled to SNAP benefits even if a member of that household is on strike.

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After Amazon and Starbucks, what’s next for revamped US labor movement?

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Workers across the country are beginning to reverse a 40-year decline of labor organising. But deeper problems remain

By Aaron White Published 4-29-2022 by openDemocracy

Starbucks employees protesting outside the Magnolia Dr. location in Tallahassee, FL. Photo: Ethan B./Wikimedia Commons/CC

“Starbucks has this image of being a progressive company that takes care of its employees. But really that hasn’t been the case,” Will Westlake, a barista at a Starbucks in Buffalo, tells openDemocracy.

Will got a job at Starbucks nearly a year ago, and was one of nearly 50 people from the Buffalo New York region – as part of Starbucks Workers United – to sign a letter in August asking then-CEO Kevin Johnson to support a fair union election. Continue reading →

Google Workers Form Union to ‘Promote Solidarity, Democracy, and Social and Economic Justice’

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The tech titan “has a responsibility to its thousands of workers and billions of users to make the world a better place,” two of the union’s leaders wrote. “We can help build that world.”

By Brett Wilkins, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 1-4-2021

The Googleplex (Google headquarters) in Mountain View, CA. Photo: The Pancake of Heaven!/CC

Decrying numerous policies and practices they say violate Google’s “don’t be evil” founding principle, more than 200 of the Silicon Valley tech giant’s workers on Monday announced they are forming a union, a move that was applauded by progressive lawmakers and labor advocates nationwide.

The Alphabet Workers Union (AWU)—named after Google’s parent corporation—says it “strives to protect Alphabet workers, our global society, and our world,” and to “promote solidarity, democracy, and social and economic justice.” It will operate as part of the Communications Workers of America and will be open to all 120,000 of the company’s employees.

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In ‘Tremendous Victory for the Public,’ Federal Appeals Court Quashes FCC Attempt to Weaken Media Ownership Rules

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“The FCC must now do the job it’s long refused to do: properly weigh all of the evidence showing the impact of media consolidation on local communities.”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 9-23-2019

FCC chairman Ajit Pai, seen here at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/flickr/cc)

Public interest groups celebrated Monday after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit quashed an effort by the Republican-led Federal Communications Commission to relax local media ownership rules.

“Today’s ruling is a tremendous victory for the public,” Free Press vice president of strategy and senior counsel Jessica J. González said in a statement. “It admonishes the Trump FCC for its complete failure to consider the impact of its ownership policies on women and people of color.” Continue reading →

‘Take Away Our Poverty, Not Our Children!’: Poor People’s Campaign Caps Off 40 Days of Action

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‘We will keep coming back until everyone has housing, voting rights, clean water, peace, and justice!” says Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 6-23-2018

A portion of the Poor People’s Campaign’s poster for the action on Saturday.

Thousands of people gathered in Washington, D.C. on Saturday where the Poor People’s Campaign capped off 40 days of action with a rally and march to further energize its call for a “moral revival” and intention to “move forward together, not one step back.”

Twin banners declaring “Fight Poverty Not the Poor” flanked the stage, where rousing speeches by noted figures including Rev. William Barber, Rev. Jesse Jackson, American Federation of Teachers leader Randi Weingarten, as well as others on the front-lines of the fight for justice—and those who amplify their voices—drew cheers. Continue reading →

Countering Trump’s ‘Hostility’ Toward Media, Bill Would Protect Journalists From Intimidation and Assault

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“It is clear that not only is the role of the news media in our democracy under attack, but the safety of individual journalists is threatened.”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for CommonDreams. Published 2-5-2018

Condemning President Donald Trump for creating a “climate of extreme hostility to the press,” more than a dozen Democrats in the U.S. House, with support from the largest communications labor union in the country, have proposed the Journalism Protection Act, which would make it a federal crime to attack or intimidate reporters on the job.

“President Donald Trump’s campaign and administration have created a toxic atmosphere,” said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), the bill’s lead sponsor. Continue reading →

Protesting ‘Shameful’ Greed, 40,000 Verizon Workers Set to Strike Wednesday

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“If Verizon gets its way, we’re allowing corporate CEOs to rewrite the rules in their favor yet again,” writes Jobs With Justice organizer

By Deirdre Fulton, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 4-11-2016

“Verizon wants to force through changes that would make it easier to uproot workers and hurt our communities,” said Betsy Derr, a customer service representative and CWA member in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, who’s worked at Verizon for over 16 years. (Photo: Matthew Bednarik/flickr/cc)

In what has the potential to be the largest work stoppage in the country in recent years, up to 40,000 Verizon workers from Massachusetts to Virginia will go on strike at 6 am on Wednesday, unless the company “reconsiders its shameful, and I do mean shameful, demands,” Communications Workers of America (CWA) president Chris Shelton has warned.

In a call with reporters on Monday, Shelton said, “nobody wants to go on strike.”

But after trying for ten months to reach a fair contract, “we have to take a stand now for our families and every American worker,” explained Myles Calvey, IBEW Local 2222 business manager and chairman of T-6 Verizon New England. Continue reading →

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The Movement Continues – Globally

Tag Archives: Communications Workers of America