Read on the web:
- Statement on Verizon Contract Extension Bargaining
- CWA Local 1168 Members Settle Big TA, Narrowly Averting a Strike Vote
- The Fight Continues—Led By CWA—for Affordable Healthcare in New Jersey
- NewsGuild-CWA Members Demand: Protect the Daily News and Settle a Fair Contract Now!
- Cuts = Death. CWA 1180 Members at the Trevor Project Rally to Protect Life-Saving Services
- CWA Membership Grows In Buffalo! Healthcare Workers Vote to Join CWA 1133
- Protecting Our Telecom Work, Strengthening Our Strike and Bargaining Power, Protecting Press Freedom, Ending Grad Worker Fees: Big Wins in the NYS Legislature This Year
- Big Win for NJ Municipal Workers; CWA 1032 Member Wins Seat on the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) Board
- You’re Invited! Union Strong Day at Yankee Stadium Hosted by CWA District 1 and the NYS AFL-CIO
Statement on Verizon Contract Extension Bargaining
In late May, CWA, IBEW, and Verizon began negotiations to determine whether an agreement could be reached to extend the current collective bargaining agreements.
By late June, significant differences remained between the parties’ proposals, and the Unions informed the Company of our intention to conclude negotiations. At the Company’s request, a high-level meeting was held, during which the Unions agreed to continue discussions, with the understanding that the Company was prepared to more fully address the Unions’ concerns.
Despite these continued efforts, the Company has not adequately responded to the needs and priorities of our members. Instead, the Company has chosen to end the bargaining process.
CWA will begin preparing for formal bargaining which will take place in 2026.
CWA Local 1168 Members Settle Big TA, Narrowly Averting a Strike Vote
CWA Local 1168 members at Kaleida Health in Buffalo, NY, along with members of 1199SEIU, reached a tentative agreement earlier this month after several months of tough bargaining and strong member mobilization. The three-year contract covers approximately 8,000 workers between the two unions, including nurses, professional, technical, clerical, service, and maintenance workers across multiple worksites.
The TA includes wage increases every year of the contract; increases in a number of differentials including shift differential and training pay, as well as increases to pension pay; improvements to staffing levels; an expedited arbitration process; and, importantly, no givebacks.
“With the combination of this contract and New York State staffing law, we can positively impact working conditions for members and provide safe, quality care to our community. We believe this agreement will keep Kaleida Health as the premier employer and best place to receive care in Western New York,” said Cori Gambini, RN, President of CWA Local 1168. “We reached an agreement the bargaining committee can be proud to bring back to our membership with a strong recommendation for ratification.”
The 60-person mobilization team ramped up both workplace actions and online actions lifted up on social media, and after several contract extensions as the unions attempted to reach a deal, members were prepared to take a stand and vote on whether to authorize a strike.
Ratification is taking place now through July 24.
The Fight Continues—Led By CWA—for Affordable Healthcare in New Jersey
CWA members and retirees in New Jersey have continued to build on a massive campaign this year to put a stop to skyrocketing healthcare costs for State and Local Government workers, reaching a pressure point in the final days of the 2026 State Budget negotiations at the end of June.
CWA led a mass mobilization at the state capitol in opposition to Governor Phil Murphy’s budget, which would deepen the already crisis-level situation for 90,000 public sector workers throughout the state with roughly $200 million in cuts to the State Health Benefits Plan.
In addition to packing the room during Senate and Assembly budget hearings, CWA members made roughly 700 calls and sent nearly 1,500 emails to their legislators, and sent over 3,100 emails to Governor Murphy urging him to stand with working families and stop the cuts that will shift healthcare cost increases onto workers. Despite these efforts, lawmakers voted the budget into law, and the governor has signed it. But the budget doesn’t take effect until January 2026, and CWA is keeping up the fight on multiple fronts.
In addition to the cuts in the budget being made on the backs of workers, the State Health Benefits Commission, which maintains the healthcare plan for our members working for the State of NJ, released a proposal for a 19.7% increase in State worker healthcare premiums.
“Let me be clear,” said Billy Gallagher, CWA District 1 Assistant to the Vice President, during a Member Town Hall last week. “This is a crisis, and CWA is not standing by. We’ve spent the past several months organizing our members, lobbying legislators, and building a broad coalition with a dozen other public worker unions to demand a solution to these unsustainable healthcare cost increases. And while the Governor has refused to negotiate or include us in the process, we have legislative allies who are standing with us, and a plan to fix this.”
In June, CWA endorsed Mikie Sherrill for Governor of New Jersey citing a strong track record of fighting for working people and working collaboratively with CWA on our legislative priorities—and she has already spoken out on behalf of CWA members, retirees, and working families. She has committed to working with CWA to make healthcare more affordable for New Jersey residents. Dozens of lawmakers have also signed on in support, issuing statements affirming their dedication to working with CWA toward a solution.
CWAers are mobilizing for several big action days over the next couple of weeks at the State House in Trenton to urge lawmakers to pass new legislation to put a stop to these rising costs:
- Thursday, July 24 – Committee Hearing in the Assembly on our healthcare bill, A5903
- Monday, July 28 – State Health Benefits Plan (SHBP) Meeting
If you’re a member or retiree in New Jersey, reach out to your CWA local for more info on how to get involved!
NewsGuild-CWA Members Demand: Protect the Daily News and Settle a Fair Contract Now!
For three years, NewsGuild-CWA members at the New York Daily News, one of NYC’s oldest news outlets, have been fighting for a first union contract that would ensure:
- Fair wage floors and guaranteed annual cost-of-living raises amidst skyrocketing inflation in one of the nation’s most expensive cities
- Job protections and fair benefits for part-time workers
- Job-security provisions that protect their work from being subcontracted permanently
- Maintaining standard benefits like time off, sick time, parental leave and 401(k) match
But they’re being stonewalled by the destructive practices of Daily News owner Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund that has been taking over newspapers across the country and cutting costs, staff, and production.
Last week, CWA District 1 and CWA Local 1101 joined the NewsGuild of NY along with other union and legislative supporters as NYC City Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa introduced a resolution calling out Alden’s destructive practices urging them to reach a deal with the members.
“Alden Global Capital is determined to try to union-bust this newsroom,” said Susan DeCarava, President of the NewsGuild of NY. “Well we’re here to say ‘Not on our watch!!’ The Daily News is making money. It’s not that this is a paper that can’t afford to pay their newsroom; it’s that they’re choosing not to. Why won Alden Global Capital support the hometown paper of this city? The answer is simple: greed.”
“This is not just about union busting,” said Dennis Trainor, CWA District 1 Vice President. “It’s about silencing the truth, rolling back our democracy, and leaving working New Yorkers in the dark. But we know the power of the press belongs to the people who do the work — not the hedge funds trying to bleed it dry. We will keep fighting. We will keep organizing. And we’re sure as hell not going away!”
Cuts = Death. CWA 1180 Members at the Trevor Project Rally to Protect Life-Saving Services
CWA Local 1180 members working at non-profit organization The Trevor Project provide life-saving support to at-risk LGBTQ+ youth—but now their jobs and the vital services they provide are being cut.
On June 17th, the Trump administration announced that it would be dismantling the 988 crisis hotline—a crisis hotline that receives more than 400,000 calls per year from LGBTQ+ youth who need care and support. These cuts will eliminate more than 220 jobs held by CWA Local 1180 members, as well as others from crisis workers at other organizations, putting thousands of lives at risk. On July 12 hundreds of people, led by CWA Local 1180 and CWA District 1, turned out in New York City to protest in front of Trump Tower and tell our elected leaders that they must stand with workers and with our LGBTQ+ community.
“I got a notice from The Trevor Project saying that as of July 17th 200 workers would be laid off,” said Gloria Middleton, President of CWA Local 1180. “And they sent each name. And as I read each name, my heart broke for each one of those workers. This is unconscionable.”
“Not only did workers have to grapple with the fact that they will lose their jobs,” said Billy Gallagher, CWA District 1 Assistant to the Vice President. “It was literally the same day that a devastating Supreme Court decision for the queer community was released. So they also had to face one of the hardest days at work, talking to hundreds of suicidal teenagers . THAT’s what ‘the cruelty is the point’ means. It’s sick. It’s disgusting and it’s shameful. Let’s be clear: terminating the LGBTQ+ Youth Suicide Lifeline isn’t just a policy decision—it’s an act of cruelty. It’s an act of violence.”
“Many of these youth will die from the challenges they unfairly face day-to-day,” said Jack, a CWA Local 1180 member and Trevor Project 988 worker. “As a 988 Lifeline Counselor, I have heard many calls, whether they’re in pure despair or actively killing themselves; the cries, the agony, and the eerie silence on the phone; not knowing if the caller is still alive are moments I will never forget for the rest of my life. With the suffering in mine, we must commit today to providing unconditional love and support to these youth, and all marginalized communities, now and forever.”
CWA Membership Grows In Buffalo! Healthcare Workers Vote to Join CWA 1133
Residual service and clerical workers at Kenmore Mercy Hospital in Buffalo, NY, voted in late June to join CWA Local 1133, joining over 2,700 healthcare workers within the Catholic Health system who are already CWA members. The new members include sterile processing techs, switchboard operators, EKG techs, transport and supply staff, operating room schedulers, physical therapy assistants, and more.
Workers cited job security, lack of pay raises, inadequate staffing, and security issues as reasons for joining CWA, with some staffers reporting waiting over a decade for the opportunity. Organizing was led by a strong committee of 15 workers who consistently challenged management during their many captive audience meetings and encouraged others to be vocal and visible in their support of the union.
To assist the organizing committee, CWA Local 1133 has built a strong mobilizing structure among their current members at Kenmore Mercy.
Protecting Our Telecom Work, Strengthening Our Strike and Bargaining Power, Protecting Press Freedom, Ending Grad Worker Fees: Big Wins in the NYS Legislature This Year
We made some big progress in Albany this year on legislation that will have a huge impact on New York’s working families—and it’s thanks to months of hard work by our Legislative & Political Action Team and hundreds of others who took action!
Protecting our work from anti-union “One Touch Make Ready”: Make-ready pole attachment work is complex, and best done by company employees who’ve been trained to properly do this work. This bill protects our work and our contracts by:
- Requiring other companies to identify their make-ready work and equipment.
- Requiring the Public Service Commission to create a complaint form for violations of the law.
- Creating a penalty structure to hold companies who violate the law accountable and prevent those companies from getting public funding in the future.
Shortening the waiting time for striking workers to collect Unemployment: After successfully shortening the waiting time from seven weeks to two in 2019, we won another reduction to just one week.
Safety standards and transparency in the Tower Climbing Industry: Requires contracts between tower companies and NYS to include certified safety trainings for tower climbers, and for companies to share details about the contractors and subcontractors employing tower climbers, including any previous labor law violations.
Phase-Out of SUNY Graduate Worker Fees: In 2022, we won a commitment to phase out mandatory fees for SUNY graduate workers (members of CWA Local 1104). This year we won language ensuring that this victory is codified and graduate workers are protected in perpetuity.
Protecting press freedom and emergency services transparency: Members of the news media rely on police radio transmissions to respond quickly to emergencies in order to provide vital information to the public. This bill ensures emergency services organizations and journalists have real-time access to encrypted radio communications—it’s vital in order for our NewsGuild-CWA members to do their jobs.
Our work made the difference on these victories. More than 100 CWA members—from telecom field techs, to nurses, call-center reps, reporters, graduate and county social workers—held over 160 meetings with lawmakers in Albany, while hundreds of other CWAers made phonecalls and sent emails to legislators to advocate for these bills.
Big Win for NJ Municipal Workers; CWA 1032 Member Wins Seat on the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) Board
CWA invests in the Public Employees’ Retirement System in New Jersey in order to ensure that our members are able to live a comfortable lifestyle after finishing their service to New Jersey—so we’ve worked hard to make sure that the Board of Trustees will continue to act in our best financial interests and electing Trustees who will put fellow workers first.
In late June, CWA Local 1032 John Wisniewski won his election to be a watchdog on our members’ behalf and ensure that State pension funds are managed wisely. Congratulations John, and thanks to all who voted!
You’re Invited! Union Strong Day at Yankee Stadium Hosted by CWA District 1 and the NYS AFL-CIO
Sunday, August 24: Join CWA D1 Vice President Dennis Trainor, CWA District 1, NYS AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento, and the New York State AFL-CIO for a fun-filled day at Yankee Stadium!
Click here to get tickets.
Each ticket includes a New York Yankees/Union Strong/CWA hat. Instructions for item pickup will be sent to buyers prior to the event.
