The Communications Workers of America (CWA) union released the following statement from CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. and CWA Public, Healthcare and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook:

On Monday, the Trump Administration and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon resumed its fanatical campaign to mold America’s higher education system into its extreme ideological vision. The so-called “National Call to Action to University Presidents and Governing Boards” is an attempt to bring back its extreme Higher Ed Compact, which campus workers and courageous higher ed leaders from across the country resisted and ultimately defeated last year.

Though some of the most severe elements of Compact 1.0 have been revised, this second version rehashes many of Trump’s grievances and mischaracterizations of our universities and the people who teach, work, and study there. Compact 2.0 may be disguised as concern for free expression, safety, affordability, and accessibility, but working people are not fooled by this fig leaf. This Administration has slashed funding for research, viciously repressed free expression and assembly, attacked student diversity, and repeatedly pursued punitive litigation against universities that resist its agenda.

What they want is to destroy higher education in America by attacking its faculty, staff, students, and institutions. 

No doubt there are real challenges with the higher education system in this country, from the rising price of tuition the Trump Administration will not help alleviate to the unregulated proliferation of AI the Trump Administration supports to the existential cuts to research and discovery the Trump Administration itself has made. Compact 2.0 does nothing to address these challenges.

Real change will come from the participation of the people who make our campuses work and run and the people who they serve; it will not come from threats nor from misleading claims and misinformation. Our union and our allies must mobilize to stop Compact 2.0 just as we helped stop Compact 1.0 and continue to push a program that defends our higher education system from these attacks, even as we seek to transform and expand it in support of our students, public education, discovery, and democracy.

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About CWA: The Communications Workers of America represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech, and other fields.

cwa-union.org @cwaunion

Support AFA-CWA’s Kaela Berg for Congress

Kaela Berg is an AFA-CWA union Flight Attendant and state representative running to represent Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District! Please join CWAers across the country to help turn out the vote ahead of Kaela’s primary election in mid-August.

In the Minnesota State House, she worked to fully fund Minnesota’s schools, prevent gun violence, protect health care, and end union busting.

Now, she wants to take that fight to Washington to lower the cost of groceries, healthcare, and housing. She believes the wealthiest must pay their fair share, that healthcare access should be protected, and that we must strengthen our education system.

Join us on Thursday, August 6, at 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT for a virtual phone bank. Register here: CWA.org/Kaela.

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Attend the CWA Human Rights Conference!

From August 16‒19, join the Human Rights Committee in Atlanta, Ga., for its annual conference. Guests include President of the Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW) David Huerta; politician, author, and activist Stacey Abrams; Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson; Georgia Congresswoman Nikema Williams; AFL-CIO Director of Civil, Human and Women's Rights Alex Rias, and many others.

Online registration has closed but you can still register at the event!

Contact Mikeya Jones for help booking accommodations.

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Tell Congress to Protect Workers From Dangerous Heat

Extreme heat has engulfed the nation, with cities coast-to-coast breaking all-time heat records this summer. But while workers continue to face dangerous and potentially deadly working conditions, anti-worker leaders in Congress are quietly attempting to stop any heat safety protection laws from being passed, now or in the future.

H.R. 6213, the misnamed Heat Workforce Standards Act, would prohibit the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from creating or enforcing any national heat safety law.

Tell Congress to protect workers from heat—and not block heat safety protections. Dial 844-937-2517 or fill out the form on this page to make a call.

Visit aflcio.org/heat to find resources on how to protect yourself and your co-workers from extreme temperatures.

NewsGuild of New York-represented staff (TNG-CWA Local 31003) at ProPublica have won a first contract with the nonprofit investigative newsroom in a deal that gives staff up to 24% raises over the life of the agreement, mandates transparency around the use of AI, protects hybrid work, offers significant healthcare savings, and more.

Last week, members of the ProPublica Guild-CWA, which represents more than 150 reporters, video journalists, development professionals, copy editors, and other staff, overwhelmingly voted to ratify their four-year contract.

“This contract is a major step forward for our members,” said Agnel Philip, a data reporter and unit chair of the ProPublica Guild-CWA. “What we won is a testament to our hard work and shows what we can achieve when we stand together.”

Click here to read more about the first contract reached by ProPublica Guild-CWA members.

Congratulations to our ProPublica Guild-CWA members on their victory!

 
Members of the ProPublica Guild-CWA (TNG-CWA Local 31003) held a one-day unfair labor practice strike in April.

Last week, after three years locked in a union certification battle with TV station operator Nexstar Media Group, a federal appeals court sided with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), ordering the company to recognize and bargain with NABET-CWA Local 51022.

The unit, representing broadcast media workers at WROC-8 in Rochester, N.Y., voted on February 15, 2023, to be represented by NABET-CWA. Nexstar raised challenges that delayed the certification but when the NLRB certified the unit, Nexstar refused to recognize the union. The company began litigation that made arguments about alleged supervisors, Board Agent misconduct, and improper influence on the election by a promised reduction of dues rates.

On June 30, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued its Order and Opinion enforcing the Board's decision in NLRB v. Nexstar (WROC-TV). The appellate court addressed and dismissed Nexstar's arguments, including alleged Board agent misconduct.

Members of the bargaining unit hope that Nexstar representatives will learn from this appellate court ruling. The unit has issued a new request to commence bargaining with WROC-8 on a first contract, for which these members have fought for nearly 42 months.

In July, workers at Schneps Media Network voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees (IAPE-CWA). The union victory marks an important step forward toward better pay and news standards for community papers in the greater New York City area. IAPE is a part of The NewsGuild-CWA Local 1096.

The worker-led organizing campaign lasted for a year and a half, across numerous local N.Y. news offices, despite a concerted anti-union effort from management, including an onslaught of emails, calls, and one-on-one meetings aimed at swaying workers to vote against forming their union. Workers focused on their goals of livable wages, affordable health care, and stronger editorial guardrails.

“IAPE is thrilled with the monumental win of the Schneps Media Union and looks forward to negotiating with the company to create a fair contract that protects worker rights, ensures fair treatment, and guarantees employees are paid what they deserve for the great work that they do,” said IAPE Local President Jodi Green.

Follow the workers on their website, Instagram, Twitter, and Bluesky. A full mission statement and additional information about the Schneps Media Union is available here.

After winning a three-year strike, only to be largely purged from the staff of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by new owners, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh (TNG-CWA Local 38061) refused to be beaten. On Monday, they launched the Pittsburgh Progress, a worker- and reader-owned daily news cooperative featuring worker-centered reporting hard to find elsewhere.

The outlet’s mission is to “serve as a source of communication and connection that reflects the needs of working-class people in the region.” True to their ethos, they are working with CWA union co-op members at the Sassafras Collective (CWA Local 7250), who designed their website.

We can support the former strikers today by becoming members of their co-op and subscribing; following their accounts on Bluesky, Facebook, or Instagram; and reading and sharing their work.

If you or your Local would like to discuss directly supporting or investing in the Progress financially, you can contact them at PGHGuild@gmail.com.

During the John Lewis Weekend of Action, July 17-19, 2026, Human Rights members participated in events across the country to honor Congressman John Lewis's legacy of justice and civic engagement.

 
Above: Kwami Barnes (CWA Local 4603, fourth from left) volunteered alongside CWA members and members of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council at the Guest House, where they prepared and distributed over 400 lunches for unhoused individuals. 

Below: Cindy Krebs (CWA Local 4502, left) participated in a rally calling for accountability regarding ICE agent misconduct, while Ilesa Daniels (CWA Local 6186, right) joined fellow activists from Dallas, Texas, for a special screening of the documentary “Good Trouble,” celebrating the life and legacy of the late Congressman John Lewis. 

On Tuesday, over 200 CWA members and retirees joined union leadership for an in-depth look at artificial intelligence (AI) and its impacts on our work and daily lives. Participants from across the United States and Canada heard from CWA Vice Presidents Trainor (CWA District 1), Honeycutt (CWA District 3), Osobase (CWA District 6), McAllister (CWA District 7), and Arce (CWA District 9), as well as NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss and CWA Public, Healthcare and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook. CWA District 1 Area Director for Legislation & Politics Rebecca Miller hosted the virtual town hall.

Other speakers included members representing CWA’s telecommunications, airline, healthcare, and medical industries, elaborating on the many abuses and misuses of AI that members currently face. CWA Local 7799 President Jade Kelly described medical professionals being forced to use AI for patient notes even though AI often makes errors that can be fatal if not caught, thereby creating unsustainable workloads as workers try to correct the generated content. Said Kelly, “AI is a shop floor issue—a working-class issue that is deeply felt by workers everywhere.”

Mike Davis, a media worker at The New York Times (TNG-CWA Local 31003) shared CWA victories in regulating AI through the power of a union contract and plans to roll out “AI Rights” cards, much like the “Weingarten Rights” cards CWA has distributed for years. NewsGuild-CWA President Schleuss shared that 90 contracts have been forged with language protecting workers from AI abuses by management.

CWA National Political Field Director Curtis Hierro provided details of our CWA legislative agenda as we push for bills, including the No Robot Bosses Act, to install important guardrails protecting workers and job applicants from the harms of automated decision systems. This legislative work is made possible by contributions from members and retirees to our Political Action Fund. Hierro also spoke about our ongoing “Fighting Oligarchy” trainings happening right now and the rollout of virtual versions of those trainings.

Click here to learn more about virtual Fighting Oligarchy trainings!

Participants also received several useful links, including one to our CWA AI Resource Hub as well as a GoFundMe link to help our CWA siblings (represented by TNG-CWA Local 37082) at Skagit News as they strike for AI protections.

CWA District 9 Vice President Arce helped wrap up the call, saying, “The future will either be like Star Trek or The Terminator. It’s up to us to decide which we are fighting for.”

Earlier this month, the Department of Justice issued subpoenas to New York Times journalists after they reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One. The federal government subpoenaed several journalists represented by NewsGuild of New York (TNG-CWA Local 31003) after they reported that the plane lacked advanced security features found in the traditional Air Force One and that the Secret Service had urged the president to fly home in the older model.

The Trump administration has also sought the phone records of several journalists and their relatives in an effort to unmask confidential sources who provided information for articles about the security capabilities of the new jet.

The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that the federal government can neither restrain nor control reporting on matters in the public interest, which is protected under the First Amendment.

On July 23, a federal judge grilled Justice Department lawyers for nearly an hour over the State’s omission of pertinent information, violation of regulations regarding investigations, and the scope of the requested phone records, which included records belonging to the mother of one journalist and the spouses of two others.

Lawyers for the Department of Justice withdrew their subpoenas rather than face the court denying them.

Click here to read more about the hearing.

“It’s our job as journalists to seek truth, ask questions, and ethically report our findings,” said Jim Luttrell, unit chair and senior staff editor at The New York Times.

Last week, CWA Local 3204 Vice President Tony Barlow testified at an Education and Workforce field hearing in Augusta, Ga., titled “Building an AI-Ready America: How AI is Creating Opportunities Across America’s Workforce.”

Barlow, an outside plant technician for AT&T in Atlanta spoke about the potential pitfalls of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption if the technology is put in place without proper guardrails to ensure worker safety and job security. Said Barlow, “CWA call center workers nationwide report that AI tools are designed to automate both frontline tasks, like note-taking, and management functions, like scheduling, training, and performance evaluations. In a 2023 survey, nearly 3,000 CWA call center members reported AI tools negatively impact their job quality. Rather than improve their jobs, most workers felt AI tools sped up work, expanded monitoring and discipline linked to surveillance, increased workplace stress, lowered job satisfaction, and did not improve customer service.”

Barlow went on to reference both the “No Robot Bosses Act” and the “Keep Call Centers in America Act.” Both bills are legislative priorities for CWA designed to minimize harm caused by AI to workers and customers.

Click here to watch his full testimony.

 
CWA Local 3204 Vice President Tony Barlow (left) testified about the real-world impacts of artificial intelligence on workers at the Education and Workforce field hearing last week before a panel of representatives, including Congresswoman Lucy McBath (right).