In Sympathy
COVID-19 Funeral Assistance
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought overwhelming grief to many FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters. We are dedicated to helping ease some of the financial stress and burden caused by the virus.
Under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, FEMA is providing financial assistance for COVID-19 related funeral expenses incurred on or after January 20, 2020.
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Organizing Update
- Monday - January 23, 2023
Threespot
A supermajority of workers at Threespot, a progressive digital advertising agency, signed authorization cards in favor of forming a union with CWA. The workers, who organized with CODE-CWA, will join CWA Local 2336 in Washington, D.C. Their win reflects the growing trend of tech workers interested in the power of collective bargaining.
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Yulista Support Services
Aircraft mechanics at Yulista Support Services, a firm serving military customers in the aerospace and defense industry across the globe, have voted to join IUE-CWA Local 83226. The workers, who are employed at the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Elizabeth City, N.C., are joining a larger group of workers on the base who organized to join the union in 2019.
Bargaining Update
- Monday - January 23, 2023
Silver Airways
AFA-CWA Flight Attendants at Silver Airways voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new contract that raises wages and per diem, establishes a minimum pay policy for days on which Flight Attendants fly, and more improvements. Founded in 2010 from the former Gulfstream International Airlines, the independent regional airline operates flights between gateways in the Bahamas, Florida, and the Southeastern United States.
Communications Workers of America Responds to Microsoft Layoff Announcement
- Monday - January 23, 2023
Yesterday's announcement that Microsoft will be laying off more than 10,000 workers, like similar recent announcements at other companies, highlights the growing need for tech workers to organize and lock in meaningful worker protections.
Representatives from CWA have been in touch with Microsoft, and the company recognizes its obligation to bargain over any proposed layoffs of CWA members at ZeniMax. Members of the ZeniMax worker bargaining committee will be developing proposals that reflect their needs and provide alternatives to layoffs.
Working with Microsoft over the past year we have developed a blueprint for companies that want to take the high road when workers choose to form unions. We are optimistic that the collective bargaining process at ZeniMax will provide a similar opportunity to chart a new path in tech, with innovative, worker-developed alternatives to the boom-bust cycle of layoffs in the tech industry that have had devastating consequences for tens of thousands of tech workers and their families.
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Worker Power Update
- Monday - January 23, 2023
AFA-CWA Activists Meet with the New Congress
AFA-CWA activists visited Capitol Hill last week to meet members-elect to brief them on Flight Attendant issues. During their meetings, the activists discussed the union’s several priorities for the new Congress, including the upcoming FAA Reauthorization Bill, stopping disruptive passenger incidents with a banned passenger list, improving cabin air quality, updating evacuation standards for certifying cabin configurations and proper staffing, and establishing cabin temperature standards.
AFA-CWA activists visited Capitol Hill last week to meet members-elect to discuss the union’s priorities for the new Congress.
CWAers Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Monday - January 23, 2023
Every year, CWAers across the country celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day and honor his legacy. This year, CWA members and leaders, including IUE-CWA President Carl Kennebrew and District 4 Vice President Linda L. Hinton, attended the 2023 AFL-CIO Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference. The conference brought together organizers, activists, and leaders for a series of timely and important discussions on the labor movement’s pivotal role in protecting and strengthening our democracy and how we can make life better for workers across America.
CWA Public, Healthcare and Education Sector Vice President Margaret Cook attended United Campus Workers-CWA Local 3865’s MLK Day celebration in Knoxville, Tenn. The event featured AFA International Vice President Keturah Johnson as the keynote speaker.
In a video message, AFA International Secretary-Treasurer Dante Harris reflected on King’s legacy. "Today we honor a great leader, a pioneer for diversity, and an advocate for labor,” he said.
Bargaining Update
- Monday - January 16, 2023
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Workers at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, members of the Fort Worth NewsGuild (TNG-CWA Local 39213), ended their strike after 24 days. The workers went on an unfair labor practice strike because of the company’s continued refusal to bargain in good faith. They made history as the first media workers in Texas, and the first at a newspaper owned by McClatchy, to strike. They ended their strike two weeks ago after the company began to engage in good faith bargaining by making movement towards meeting the workers' demands for livable wages, proper parental leave, and other policies. During the strike, the workers picketed, wrote letters, spoke at local groups, and bargained for over 20 hours. The workers also received overwhelming community support. They return from this strike more empowered than ever to fight for better working conditions for all current and future journalists.
Cash Back Deals for CWA Members
- Monday - January 16, 2023
Start your new year off with up to 40% cash back! Union members get paid every time they shop with Union Plus and Be Frugal. Join today and get a sign-up bonus! Click here.
CWA Urges Swift Action on Sohn’s Nomination to the FCC
- Monday - January 16, 2023
We fully support the nomination of Gigi Sohn as Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and urge swift action on her nomination.
We are in a critical period of increased federal investment in broadband networks and digital equity initiatives, and the FCC has gone for too long without a fully seated commission. Continued delay on this nomination is inexcusable and only benefits large corporations who wish to avoid oversight and accountability.
Gigi Sohn has over 30 years of experience working on communications policy. Her meaningful leadership, dedication, and contributions cannot be overstated, as she has been instrumental in the success of many FCC programs, including on the issues of affordability, competition, open internet, modernization of the Lifeline program, and adoption of strong privacy rules for broadband providers. Sohn has also ensured that working people and underrepresented communities are front and center in charting the course for an equitable communications and media ecosystem. During the T-Mobile/Sprint merger, Sohn was a key ally in the fight to protect the jobs of the working families who ultimately ended up being harmed by the merger. Additionally, Sohn supports constructive collaboration with states to ensure effective mapping and oversight of broadband services and infrastructure.
Gigi Sohn is a highly qualified nominee. Her voice, experience, and expertise are just what the FCC and our country need to protect workers and consumers in our complex telecommunications and media landscape. The U.S. Senate majority must do what it should have done last year and end the needless delay tactics by a minority of Senate Republicans beholden to industry actors and swiftly confirm Gigi Sohn to the FCC.
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Quality Assurance Workers at Microsoft’s ZeniMax Studios Establish Company’s First Union with Communications Workers of America, Become Largest Certified Video Game Studio in U.S.
- Monday - January 16, 2023
(Rockville, Md.) — A supermajority of quality assurance workers at Microsoft’s ZeniMax Studios have indicated that they wish to join ZeniMax Workers United/CWA either by signing a union authorization card or voting via an online portal. In accordance with its stated labor principles, Microsoft has recognized the union.
ZeniMax is a video game production company with studios in Maryland and Texas known for its popular games such as Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Quake Champions, and Fallout. ZeniMax Workers United/CWA is the first studio at Microsoft to secure union representation, and the largest group of union-represented Quality Assurance testers at any U.S. game studio.
“We’re thrilled to kick off 2023 in a workplace that’s stronger and more equitable than it was last year. This is an empowering victory that allows us to protect ourselves and each other in a way we never could without a union. Our hope and belief is that this is the year in which game workers across the country exercise their power and reshape the industry as a whole,” said Skylar Hinnant, Senior QA Tester II, Rockville.
“Before us is an opportunity to make big changes and bring equity to the video game industry. We want to put an end to sudden periods of crunch, unfair pay, and lack of growth opportunities within the company. Our union will push for truly competitive pay, better communication between management and workers, a clear path for those that want to progress their career, and more,” said Victoria Banos, Senior QA Audio Tester, Hunt Valley.
Quality assurance workers across ZeniMax have been organizing for months to positively transform ZeniMax for the benefit of workers, the company, and the players who enjoy the studios’ games. Workers began signing union authorization cards in November 2022, and started the official voting process through a confidential online portal that opened on Friday, December 2 at 8am PST and closed on December 31 at 6pm PST. The unit includes all QA employees in the U.S. across ZeniMax's various studios.
Unlike other video game and tech corporations, Microsoft made a public commitment around its labor principles which included respecting its employees’ right to form a union. When ZeniMax employees announced that they were organizing a union in December, Microsoft agreed to remain neutral and allow workers to make their own decision about whether or not to join the union. The company swiftly recognized ZeniMax Workers United/CWA after a neutral third party confirmed that a majority of workers favored joining the union.
“Microsoft has lived up to its commitment to its workers and let them decide for themselves whether they want a union,” said Communications Workers of America President Chris Shelton. “Other video game and tech giants have made a conscious choice to attack, undermine, and demoralize their own employees when they join together to form a union. Microsoft is charting a different course which will strengthen its corporate culture and ability to serve its customers and should serve as a model for the industry and as a blueprint for regulators.”
"It's difficult to express in words just how much winning our union matters to us. We've been working so hard to get here that it would be impossible not to be excited. We know this is not the end of our hard work, but reaching this milestone gives us faith that when workers stand together, we can accomplish anything we set our minds to," said Dylan Burton, Senior QA Tester, Dallas.
Zenimax Workers United/CWA joins the wave of game and tech workers at Activision, Alphabet, Apple, and dozens of other companies who have organized with CODE-CWA to build a better workplace.
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Follow ZeniMax Workers United/CWA at @ZeniMaxWorkers
The Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA) is a network of worker-organizers and their staff working every single day to build the voice and power necessary to ensure the future of the tech, game, and digital industries in the United States and Canada. CODE-CWA is a project of the Communications Workers of America which represents hundreds of thousands of workers throughout tech, media, telecom, and other industries who stand together to fight for justice on the job and in our communities.
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