Flight Attendants Call for Air Traffic Control Overhaul

Last week, nearly 200 video game developers behind Activision Blizzard’s hit franchise Overwatch formed a union with CWA, joining over 2,600 worker-organizers at Microsoft-owned studios who are fighting to build better video games, workplaces, and a better industry overall as part of the Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA).

The wall-to-wall unit is composed of workers across all disciplines, including design, production, engineering, art, sound, and quality assurance, and will be represented by CWA Local 9510 in Orange County, Calif. It is the second wall-to-wall unit to organize at Microsoft, following in the footsteps of World of Warcraft workers who made history when they formed a union last year.

“After a long history of layoffs, crunch, and subpar working conditions in the global video game industry, my coworkers and I are thrilled to be joining the broader union effort to organize our industry for the better, which has been long overdue,” said Foster Elmendorf, senior test analyst II and organizing committee member. “Workers organizing themselves and striving for better conditions as a group allows us to present initiatives that would not only improve our workplace but video games overall.”

Read the full press release here. Video game workers interested in organizing their workplace can reach out to a CODE-CWA organizer at code-cwa.org/organize.

With the recent air traffic control disruptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Flight Attendants with AFA-CWA signed on to a letter to the Trump Administration and Congress last week calling for additional investments to modernize and adequately staff the nation’s air traffic control system.

Air traffic controllers with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) have been calling for an overhaul for decades. Industry experts caution that the turmoil at Newark should be taken as a warning for what could happen at other airports.

The letter opens with, “We strongly support Secretary Duffy’s plan to rebuild our nation’s air traffic control system. Recent issues—especially those at DCA and Newark—remind us of the urgent need for a sharp focus on the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System (NAS) and the dire necessity to address antiquated technology and the staffing shortage.”

AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson addressed attendees at the NATCA 20th Biennial Convention last week, delivering a message of solidarity and the need for all aviation industry workers to unite for aviation safety and workers’ rights.

Click here to read the full letter of support.

On Tuesday, CWA Local 7777 members and retirees, labor leaders, community partners, legislators, and other supporters held a community block party in Denver, Colo., to promote a pro-worker 2026 ballot initiative (Initiative 43), which would make Colorado the second “just-cause employment” state in the country. If approved by voters, private employers will be prohibited from firing workers without proving substandard performance, policy violations, or economic circumstances impacting the employer. The coalition, Colorado Worker Rights United, planned the event and is composed of nearly 80 labor unions, community organizations, and small businesses.

Worker activists also used the event to call on Governor Jared Polis to sign into law the Worker Protection Act (SB25-005), a bill to remove the added burden of a second election to negotiate a union security clause in the collective bargaining process. Polis has indicated he would not sign the bill.

Workers and allies ate a picnic lunch, enjoyed live blues-rock music, and encouraged thousands of workers and community members to make phone calls, write postcards, attend rallies, and engage collectively to improve the lives of working families in Colorado.

CWA members joined nearly 80 labor unions, community organizations, and small businesses to promote a pro-worker ballot initiative in support of legislation to ease the formation of unions in Colorado. Pictured, left to right: CWA Independent Driver Union (CIDU) Organizer and rideshare driver Elliot Awatt, Executive Director of Towards Justice and candidate for Colorado Attorney General David Seligman, CWA Legislative and Political State Coordinator Sandra Murray, and CIDU drivers Cliff Smedley and Steve Lustig.

In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage (AAPI) Month, the AFL-CIO is honoring the contributions of AAPI workers to the labor movement in the United States.

CWA Local 9510 Secretary-Treasurer Kristy Pham has been singled out for her passionate advocacy for equity, fair wages, and social justice. Pham serves on the CWA National Minority Caucus, representing CWA District 9, and is the Chair of the Women’s Committee. She has worked for the betterment of workers as a shop steward and executive board member. In 2022, the Orange County Labor Federation honored Pham as “Delegate of the Year” for her tireless efforts to promote the well-being of workers.

Pham will celebrate 30 years of marriage this year and enjoys movie nights with her husband. She has two adult daughters and hopes to retire and travel the world.

Congratulations to Kristy Pham!