From May 3 to May 5, members, staff, and retirees from CWA District 7 gathered in Park City, Utah, for their annual conference. Attendees celebrated victories, shared skills, and strategized for the upcoming year. The meeting also included workshops and breakout sessions dedicated to such topics as telecom organizing, environmental justice, and fighting oligarchy.

During the opening session, attendees heard from several speakers, including CWA President Claude Cummings Jr.; CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister; Public, Healthcare, and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook; Summit County Council Member Megan McKenna; and Central Utah Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO President Brandon Dew.

President Cummings spoke passionately about the work happening within our union, saying, “We are waging battles over BEAD funding and broadband buildouts. We are winning strong language on artificial intelligence to protect our workers in industries from tech to journalism to video gaming. We are winning protections for our healthcare workers so they have the staffing levels and security they need to do their jobs and get home safely after their shift is over. But, more than this, we are defending our shared values of equality, fairness, and justice. And we are fighting for what matters most to us.”

Attendees also heard directly from CWA Local 7250 officers about their Local’s fight against the illegal occupation of Minnesota communities by federal troops.

“We all need to ramp up our efforts to defend elections from interference and be prepared to fight,” said Vice President McAllister, “just as every day Minnesotans have done—with everything at our disposal. Our union needs to unlock the resources we have in order to fight back—not just defending ourselves from attack, but also building the world and workplaces we want to see.”

 
CWA members, staff, and retirees gathered in Utah for the CWA District 7 Annual Conference. In the photo above, attendees held up fists of resistance, joined by CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister (at center in pink) and CWA President Claude Cummings Jr (right of McAllister in black).

On May 1, members of the NABET-CWA bargaining team reached an overall tentative agreement with ABC-TV on a successor Master Agreement. This milestone comes more than four months prior to the expiration of the existing contract extension.

The new Master Agreement will include provisions like significant increases in benefit payments for daily hire employees; increased work opportunities for NABET-CWA members on sports productions airing on broadcast networks, cable, and streaming services; and new guidelines and protections related to the use of generative artificial intelligence.

The general economics of the tentative agreement are substantial. General wage increases during the term of the agreement are 3%, 4%, 3%, and 3.75%. These wage increases follow two previous increases negotiated during the contract extension period of 5%, effective April 1, 2025, and 3.5%, effective April 1, 2026.

With information about the deal belonging first to the members, both parties agreed to avoid publicity until members could learn details directly from Local and Sector leadership. NABET-CWA Locals will hold informational meetings about the content of the tentative agreement. Members should be on the lookout for notifications of the dates and times for those meetings.

If ratified, the new contract will take effect on October 1, 2026, and will run through March 31, 2031.

Congratulations, NABET-CWA members!

On Monday, members of CWA Local 2336 at MissionWired voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying their first union contract. MissionWired is a digital marketing and fundraising agency for non-profit organizations and Democratic campaigns based in Washington, D.C., with approximately 136 members in the unit.

“When we started organizing, we wanted a real voice in the decisions that shape our work and our lives. This contract gives us that voice to make sure the tools that we work with every day enhance our jobs, rather than replace them,” said Data Engineer and CWA Local 2336 member Kelsey Evans. “We’re super proud of what we were able to build into the workplace with a first contract.”

The three-year contract guarantees annual wage increases and raised salary bands, protections against the misuse of artificial intelligence, remote work arrangements, and compensatory time for holiday and weekend work.

“After more than two years at the bargaining table, MissionWired workers secured real, enforceable protections on wages, on the use of AI in the workplace, and on the flexibility they need to do their best work,” said CWA Local 2336 President Melissa Smith-Kupihea.

Click here to read the full CWA press release.

Learn more about CWA resources for bargaining AI protections with the CWA Resource Hub on Artificial Intelligence.

Congratulations to our MissionWired members at CWA Local 2336!

In April, CWA Local 1037 members at Bergen’s Promise, a nonprofit care management organization in New Jersey, voted unanimously to ratify a new union contract. Negotiations began in late 2025, and members had been working without a contract since January 1, 2026. In March, members sent a strong message to management, with 97% signing a petition in solidarity.

The new contract includes significant wage increases, a second telework day, lower healthcare contribution percentages, and protects workers from being forced to work on weekends.

“Working in the mental health field, we know as well as anyone how important it is to prioritize our weekends and know in advance when we can decompress. That was non-negotiable in this process,” said Nigera Minkins, Shop Steward and Care Manager. “It was a long fight but worth it. It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon. And our members being so engaged all the way made us feel like we could win this and not have to just accept the first offer management made.”

Congratulations to CWA Local 1037 members at Bergen’s Promise!

 
Nearly every member at Bergen’s Promise signed petitions, participated in sticker drives, and participated in other direct actions during their bargaining process. The result: a fair contract won by unanimous vote.

Earlier this month, members of The NewsGuild of New York (TNG-CWA Local 31003) joined allies from the New York State AFL-CIO, Writers Guild of America East (WGAE), Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), and the Directors Guild of America (DGA) at a press conference inside the New York State Capitol in Albany. The coalition is urging state lawmakers to pass the New York Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Requirements in News Act (the NY FAIR News Act).

The proposed bipartisan legislation would establish critical protections for journalists, media professionals, and the broader public against misuse of artificial intelligence. It would require news media companies to fully disclose to workers when and how AI is used in the workplace to create content and require clear disclaimers for the public whenever AI is used for any published news content.

Transparency, job protections, and human-in-the-loop requirements in this legislation specifically align with our demands as a union. You can read more about them on our campaign website, News Not Slop.

 
At a press conference for the NY FAIR News Act, Unit Chair of the Ziff Davis Creators Guild, a bargaining unit of The NewsGuild of New York (TNG-CWA Local 31003), Jason Cohen, spoke about the strong AI guardrails his union members won as part of their contract.

Earlier this month, warehouse workers at the Coast Guard aviation logistics center in Elizabeth City, N.C., won their NLRB election. Workers handle aviation maintenance, engineering, supply, procurement, and information services to enable the U.S. Coast Guard to successfully complete missions. These professionals voted 96% in favor of forming their union and are now members of IUE-CWA Local 83226.

Workers chose to organize themselves over concerns about wages, benefits, and paid time off. Some workers have not had wage increases since 2022. Another major concern is seniority in regard to movement of personnel.

The new members look forward to addressing these concerns during bargaining for their first contract.

The workers received significant support from IUE-CWA Local 83226 President Keith Lane and Local members. Staff Representative Tommy Thurston helped workers organize themselves for an efficient and effective campaign.

Congratulations to our newest IUE-CWA Local 83226 members!

CWA political activists participated in Accountability April, holding elected officials accountable for their support of the disastrous SAVE Act, which could disenfranchise millions of voters, including CWA members. Pictured above, clockwise from upper left: CWA members called out elected officials, including Representatives Mike Turner of Ohio (IUE-CWA), Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida (CWA District 3), David Schweikert of Arizona (CWA District 7), David Valadao of California (CWA District 9), and Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin (CWA District 4).

Other legislators who faced accountability included Representatives Cory Mills of Florida (CWA District 3), Greg Murphy of North Carolina (CWA District 3), Tom Barrett of Michigan (CWA District 4), Darin LaHood of Illinois (CWA District 4), and Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska (AFA-CWA).

On May 1, International Workers’ Day, workers at the Gen-Z-led nonprofit organization Florida Youth Action Fund (FYAF) announced in an open letter on Instagram their intent to form a union with The NewsGuild-CWA. They have asked management for voluntary recognition. If management refuses, the workers are committed to undertaking an NLRB election.

These workers specialize in educating and supporting other young activists, providing resources, connections, and funding necessary to run effective campaigns for positive change. According to their letter, FYAF staff formed their union out of concern over recent changes in their workplace. “The economics of the workplace,” they wrote, “do not simply vanish because we are a nonprofit. We should strive to support our staff and to model the truly equitable world we envision for ourselves and our communities.”

You can learn more about FYAF and these members by following them on Instagram.

New union contract secures guardrails on use of artificial intelligence in the workplace

Washington, D.C. — A strong majority of workers, represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA Local 2336), overwhelmingly voted to ratify a first union contract at MissionWired after more than two years of bargaining. MissionWired is a digital marketing and fundraising agency for nonprofit organizations and Democratic campaigns based in D.C. with approximately 136 members in the unit.

“When we started organizing, we wanted a real voice in the decisions that shape our work and our lives. This contract gives us that voice to make sure the tools that we work with every day enhance our jobs rather than replace them,” said CWA Local 2336 member Kelsey Evans, a Data Engineer at MissionWired. “We’re super proud of what we were able to build into the workplace with a first contract.”

Highlights of the three-year contract include:

• Guaranteed annual wage increases and raised salary bands for the duration of the contract;
• Guardrails and protections on artificial intelligence (AI) usage in the workplace;
• Remote work arrangements and compensatory time for holiday and weekend work.

“This contract is a testament to what workers can win when they stand together,” said Melissa Smith-Kupihea, President of CWA Local 2336. “After more than two years at the bargaining table, MissionWired workers secured real, enforceable protections on wages, on the use of AI in the workplace, and on the flexibility they need to do their best work. CWA Local 2336 is incredibly proud of this unit. They organized, they bargained, and they delivered a first contract that raises the standard for the entire digital campaign industry.”

The ratification marks the latest milestone in a wave of worker-organizing across the digital and tech industries led by CWA’s Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA). Since launching in 2020, CODE-CWA has helped thousands of workers organize new unions at digital agencies, nonprofit fundraisers, advocacy organizations, video game studios, and tech companies, bringing collective bargaining protections to industries that have historically operated without them.

“We’re so thrilled to have reached this moment with our employees,” said Kate Kline, CEO of MissionWired. “Our employees are uniquely talented and dedicated, and so much of our innovation and excellence is a credit to them. This is only going to make us better partners to the campaigns and causes that rely on us, as well as future partners.”

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About CODE-CWA

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.

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

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) union issued the following statement in response to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s decision to veto historic legislation that would have allowed public service workers to collectively bargain for fair wages, benefits, and working conditions:

Governor Spanberger has broken faith with working people across the Commonwealth, turning her back on 500,000 Virginians working in public service. Spanberger campaigned on a promise to address the affordability crisis and give public service workers the same right to negotiate collectively for a better life as private sector workers. But this veto aligns the Governor with her predecessor, Glenn Youngkin, rather than the working people who gave her their trust.

For six years, this bill was debated fully by the General Assembly, with all sides having the chance to weigh in. This year, when universities successfully lobbied to remove higher education faculty, we called on the Governor to restore their rights. She instead cut more workers and sent down a version that would take away the ability of workers to have an equal and fair footing in negotiations. With this action, Spanberger has shown that she was never truly on our side.

Since 2020, CWA has worked tirelessly and invested our members’ resources to win these fundamental rights for public service workers, from state services to our university campuses. These workers include correctional officers who have fought for decades for the right to address longstanding concerns over their safety and staffing. Campus workers across the Commonwealth have been organizing to bargain over stable jobs, predictable course loads, and academic freedom. Instead of keeping her promise to make their lives better by granting this fundamental labor right, the Governor chose to veto historic legislation that would empower hundreds of thousands of workers. It is stunning that any Democratic Governor, who ran on easing the cost burden of the working class, would say no to an opportunity to make such a big difference in so many Virginians’ lives.

We will continue to fight for the working people who serve the common good until every worker in Virginia has the right to bargain for the living wages, affordable benefits, and safe workplaces.

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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