Corporate executives want to\nkeep things the way they are so they can keep calling the shots. They’re doing\nwhatever they can, including spreading misinformation about the bill, to hold\non to their power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To loosen the hold corporate\nmoney has on our country, we must build worker power, and to do that we need\nthe For the People Act<\/em>.\nOver the next few weeks, we will share information about how the For the People Act<\/em>\nensures that eligible voters can participate in elections and reduces the role\nof large donations in political campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s start with giving\npeople more choices about where and when they vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In many states, the only way\nto cast a vote is to show up in person at a polling place during a limited\ntimeframe on a single weekday. Often there are only a few polling locations,\nresulting in long waits. This means that only people who have flexible work\nschedules and who are physically able to endure a long wait can vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The For the People Act<\/em> gives\neligible voters in every state the ability to vote using secure methods like\nearly voting, vote-by-mail, drop boxes, and absentee voting. This means that\neveryone will have a chance to vote for the candidates who they think would best\nrepresent them and to weigh in on ballot measures. It will be harder to exclude\nvoters and manipulate results by limiting voting to a handful of hand-picked\nlocations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tell Congress that it is time\nto update our voting system to give every eligible voter the chance to vote. Click here to send an email<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congratulations to the newest class of military veterans who completed the CWA Veterans for Social Change<\/a> training last week, conducted in partnership with the Veterans Organizing Institute (VOI) and Common Defense! The training provided eight CWA veterans the opportunity to gain critical skills and knowledge they can apply to ongoing CWA campaigns to build power for all working people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Medium<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Workers at Medium, including\nthose in the engineering, editorial, design, and product departments, announced today<\/a> that they are organizing to join CWA Local\n9410 as part of the CODE-CWA (Campaign to Organize Digital Employees)\ninitiative. The workers are calling for management to voluntarily recognize the\nunion and commit to participating in a good faith relationship with the unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We care about each\nother, we care about our work, and we care how our work impacts the Medium\ncommunity. Together in our union, we can ensure Medium is a force for good,\ninside and out,” said Lyra Naeseth, an engineer for Medium’s Creator Platform\nGroup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I joined our union\nbecause I really love working at Medium, and want to make sure that its workers\nhave a seat at the table in decision making as the company continues to grow. I\nthink Medium needs our union because all workplaces who value their teams need\na union. A more democratic style of company benefits us all. I want our union\nto establish stronger baseline protections for workers,” said Peter\nSlattery, an audience development editor at Medium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ###<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Daily Kos<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On Monday, employees at the\nprogressive news site Daily\nKos<\/em> announced the creation of the Daily Kos Guild, with the\norganization’s management agreeing to voluntarily recognize their union. They\nwill join the Pacific Media Workers Guild\/CWA Local 39521.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In recent years, the digital\nprogressive media and activism hub, which reaches over 18 million readers per\nmonth, has grown to more than 80 staffers across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Daily Kos<\/em>, as a\nprogressive organization, touts the ideals of labor rights and worker power,\nand we strongly agree,” said Guild member Ntebo Mokuena. “But we\nbelieve these values can and should be better reflected and infused into every\npart of the work we do. During these difficult times, and as we look towards\nthe future, we must ensure that our work remains sustainable and puts workers\nfirst.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n ###<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n New Jersey Media<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Journalists at three\nGannett-owned New Jersey publications \u2013 the Record\n(Bergen)<\/em>, the Daily\nRecord<\/em> and the New\nJersey Herald<\/em> \u2013 announced that they are joining the NewsGuild of\nNew York\/TNG-CWA Local 31003 on Wednesday. With nearly 90% of eligible staffers\nsigned on, the Record Guild has requested voluntary recognition from\nmanagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The three papers\nrepresented by the members of our union have provided local news to northern\nNew Jersey for more than 100 years,” said Terrence T. McDonald, reporter\nwith the Record<\/em>.\n“In fewer than five years, Gannett has turned each into a shadow of their\nformer selves. We organized to bring more power to the writers, photographers,\nand web producers who are dedicated to providing our communities with the\njournalism they deserve.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jessie Gomez, a reporter at\nthe Daily Record<\/em>,\nsaid, “Journalists are never the story, but as we continue to see layoffs,\npoor healthcare benefits, and unequal pay, we can no longer stay silent. My\ncolleagues, along with the communities we serve, are suffering. As a young\nLatina, I’m invested in North Jersey’s diverse communities and after a year of\nracial reckoning, it’s time we hold our leaders to their pledges for diversity\nand fair treatment of all. That starts with our newsroom.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n ###<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n New York\nDaily News<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The editorial staffers of the\nNew York Daily News<\/em>\nannounced Friday that they are organizing with the NewsGuild of New\nYork\/TNG-CWA Local 31003. More than 80% of eligible staff are standing together\nto request voluntary recognition from Tribune Publishing, the News<\/em>\u2019 parent company.\n\n“For 101 years,\nthe Daily News<\/em>\nhas served as the watchdog and storyteller of New York City. Now, during a\nparticularly precarious moment for media professionals and local news outlets,\nthe editorial workers of The\nNews<\/em> seek job security, fair compensation, and a more diverse and\ninclusive newsroom that reflects the city’s dynamic population,” the\nworkers said in a statement<\/a>.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n This week, a coalition of 17\nattorneys general, led by Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, urged the\nFederal Communications Commission (FCC) to further investigate Verizon\u2019s\nproposed acquisition of TracFone. In a letter to the Commission, the attorneys\ngeneral detailed how Verizon’s acquisition of TracFone could negatively impact\nthe Lifeline program, which provides a subsidy for communications services to\nmillions of low-income consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a statement<\/a>, CWA applauded the action by the attorneys\ngeneral, emphasizing the need for further scrutiny on the proposed transaction\nto protect consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Verizon’s acquisition\nof TracFone as it stands today could harm millions of low-income families\nduring a pandemic,” said CWA Senior Researcher Brian Thorn. “Now is\ncertainly not the time to depend on the generosity of a corporation to continue\nproviding communications services that millions of low-income Americans rely\non. The FCC has a responsibility to step in and ask what Verizon will do to\nprotect consumers from further consolidation of the wireless industry.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n TracFone is the largest\nprovider of Lifeline services nationally, with approximately 1.7 million\nlow-income subscribers in 43 states and the District of Columbia, or 22 percent\nof total Lifeline subscribers. By contrast, Verizon only offers its mobile\nwireless service to Lifeline customers in parts of four states. TracFone\u2019s\ncritical role in providing Lifeline services could be undermined if the\ntransaction is approved without binding conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CWA has established a memorial page<\/a> for members who have lost their lives to\nCOVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This week we honor the memory\nof Mario Garcia,<\/strong>\na member of CWA Local 6132 who worked for AT&T in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For the People: More Choices for Voting The ability to vote and to have a voice are critical to the health of our democracy. But laws regulating voting, the role of money in politics, and corporate lobbying have not kept … Continue reading
\n\n\n\nCWA Veterans Acquire New Skills to Build Power for Working People<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nOrganizing Update<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nAttorneys General Urge FCC to Further Investigate Verizon Acquisition of TracFone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nIn Memoriam \u2013 February 11, 2021<\/h2>\n\n\n\n