Tell USA TODAY Co.: We want news, not AI slop!

USA Today has begun using the artificial intelligence (AI) tool “DeeperDive” to summarize news articles. The problem…DeeperDive violates company standards requiring a “human in the loop” prior to publishing computer-generated content online or in print. DeeperDive has regularly hallucinated facts, including transposing the name of a murder suspect with the reporter covering the case.

The NewsGuild-CWA believes journalism should be union, local, and human!

Join them in demanding the company fully pause the use of DeeperDive and follow its own AI policies.

Earlier this week, CWA members across the country saw the results of their hard work as millions of union voters flooded polling stations to cast ballots for pro-worker, pro-union candidates. Led by the CWA Legislative and Political Team (LP Team), our political activists joined tens of thousands of other unionists for an historic voter engagement push that resulted in incredible turnout and unprecedented wins. The “blue tsunami” was brought to you by union power.

To meet this political moment, CWA trained a record 1,046 members across 51 sessions of the CWA Fighting Oligarchy and CWA Political Activist programs. CWA members received a world-class level of preparation that few unions can match. And our activists left it all on the field.

In January, the LP Team launched a multi-year, political power-building program focused on building a robust cadre of activists capable of record-breaking door knocking, phonebanking, text banking, post card writing, and holding persuasive conversations with workers. CWAers were on the ground conducting these activities in 27 states. Our union also sent activists and staff to work directly with the AFL-CIO in another 22 states. Those activists made the difference in key races, contributing to electoral wins that will set the stage for future policy gains and the eventual presidential showdown in 2028.

During this cycle, our members did more outreach to educate and mobilize union voters than ever before, conducting 40% more voter contact attempts than in the 2024 election cycle.

This work helped fuel the seismic shift in political power the American public has been calling for, with decisive victories in formerly unreachable races. We are sending champions of working people to the U.S. Senate—from Sherrod Brown in Ohio to Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan to Troy Jackson in Maine to Roy Cooper in North Carolina to James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa, CWA members who turned Texas blue. Our activists’ work helped us win six of our ten priority Senate races outright, with another two Senate champions leading in races yet to be called.

When we fight, we win.

Led by CWA National Political Field Director Curtis Hierro, the CWA Legislative and Political team hosted a national debrief session on Wednesday, where CWA political activists shared their triumphs and their recommendations for where to go from here. CWA District 4 Vice President Linda L. Hinton attended the meeting.

Members thanked the CWA National, District, and Sector staff for consistent support throughout the electoral season. CWA Local 4320 Secretary-Treasurer Niki Yemi summed up the sentiments of many on the call, saying, “You got about 48 hours to celebrate, then it’s back to work. We have to hold these elected officials accountable now. We have to make sure they are standing firm on what they ran on.”

Hierro ended the meeting, saying, “Our plan is to be as aggressive as possible to implement our Worker Power Agenda.” This political action plan was formed through extensive listening sessions and feedback from over 6,000 CWA members and details our political priorities, which have higher chances of success now that more pro-union candidates will be taking office, especially at the state level.

Congratulations to all of our political activists for their hard work and dedication!

 
CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. spent the weeks leading up to the 2026 midterm elections speaking at numerous events to help drive voter turnout. He is pictured above with Texas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Lorraine Montemayor (right) and Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation Executive Director Hany Khalil (left) at an October 31 door knocking rally in Houston, Texas.

Last week, workers at Local Progress—represented by the Washington-Baltimore News Guild (TNG-CWA Local 32035)—walked off the job for 24 hours over delays at the bargaining table. The Local Progress Guild-CWA (LPG-CWA) members have been working without a contract for over 200 days as they do the important work with elected officials to empower and mobilize political champions for transformative, progressive change.

LPG-CWA has presented three comprehensive bargaining packages offering different combinations of wage increases and concessions on management priorities, including a no-strike, no-lockout provision.

Management has repeatedly declined to match that movement. After 16 hours of bargaining in the week of August 31, management responded with counters that reversed previously communicated positions and declared their offer “fixed and final.” Their latest counterproposal offered wage increases below LPG-CWA’s previous package, would weaken paid time off protections, and would give management more discretion to deny leave.

In addition, management has stopped meeting during work hours, a break from the ground rules both sides have followed since February.

Click here to learn more about this fight and sign a letter of support for LPG-CWA members.

You can also donate here to the LPG-CWA Strike Fund.

In October, workers at The Climate Reality Project, represented by CWA Local 2336 in Washington, D.C., ratified their first contract. The Climate Reality Project was founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore in 2006 with the mission, according to their website, “to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every sector of society.”

Members cited concerns over wages, especially in the bottom salary bands; the need for benefits in the event of layoffs; and more flexibility for remote work. They also expressed concerns prior to bargaining about scheduling, the promotions process, and healthcare costs. The new contract language includes improvements on all points, as well as a plan to implement fair compensation for work out of title and removing the cap on sick days used per year.

Climate Reality Project employee and bargaining committee member Ella Carlson said, “The fair and consistent language and benefits we were able to establish in this contract mean members can feel secure and supported while working to advance solutions for the climate crisis.”

Congratulations to members of CWA Local 2336 at The Climate Reality Project!

Last week, workers at ARBOC Specialty Vehicles in Middlebury, Ind., overwhelmingly chose to join IUE-CWA. The northern Indiana factory produces specialty and handicap-accessible buses. ARBOC is a wholly owned subsidiary of New Flyer, and the workers at ARBOC join over 1,400 workers represented by IUE-CWA and 1,000 represented by CWA District 7.

Workers had no paid time off (PTO) and a very punishing points system that made sick days and personal or family emergencies almost impossible to navigate. Winning PTO and lowering rising healthcare costs were driving issues in the campaign.

With support from both IUE-CWA and CWA members, these workers will be the fifth New Flyer facility IUE-CWA has organized since August 2022. They will be included in the New Flyer national agreement reached in May of this year.

Congratulations to our latest New Flyer members!

In a show of strength, members of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), with support and solidarity from allies, held a picket in Philadelphia, Pa., last week to demand management stop delaying the bargaining process and deliver a fair contract. AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson, AFA-CWA International Vice President Keturah Johnson, and AFA-CWA International Secretary-Treasurer Dante Harris joined allies from UNITE HERE Local 36, AFGE, the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, Teamsters Local 135, Flight Attendants, and more to call on management to stop stalling.

Click here to watch a video recap of the picket on Instagram.

Members plan to hold another picket in Atlanta, Ga., on November 17.

Click here to RSVP and show your support for your union siblings fighting for the contract they deserve!

As part of CWA's commitment to support the education, mobilization, and representation of our passenger service members, the union is introducing a brand-new training entitled "Building Passenger Services Power." The first train-the-trainer session for passenger service leaders was held last week.

This training was designed with the needs of our 23,000 passenger service members across American, Piedmont Airlines, and Envoy Air in mind. Over a full day of training, members covered four core areas: organizing, representation, mobilization, and movement building.

The full training will be made available to CWA passenger service members in the coming weeks.

Tribune Media Company

The Tribune company is refusing to include their own AI policy in union contracts at seven of their newspapers. This means that management alone would control how AI is used.

You can help Tribune workers by sending a letter to management asking for strong AI protection at the Orlando Sentinel, Hartford Courant, The Virginian-Pilot, The Morning Call, Suburban Chicago, Tribune Content Agency, and Design and Production Studio.

~~~

No Contract, No Coffee: Boycott Starbucks!

Starbucks workers (IG: @sbworkersunited) have been battling for a fair contract for over five years, involving thousands of workers across hundreds of union stores.

Click here to learn why AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson and Flight Attendants everywhere are joining the fight, and call on you to choose fair contracts over frozen cappuccinos.

~~~

Need Help Voting? We Got You!

It can be hard to cut through the political noise, especially with billions of dollars in false advertising clouding the view. But CWA has endorsed candidates in races across multiple states.

Click here to learn more about pro-worker candidates running near you!

Earlier this month, CWA members, retirees, staff, and leadership met in San Antonio, Texas, for the CWA District 6 Annual Conference. Led by CWA District 6 Vice President Derrick Osobase, the conference was a chance for CWAers to network, share ideas, and learn new skills. Attendees included new leaders and seasoned veterans from across the District and sectors.

This year’s theme was “Solidarity Ignites Power,” which shone through during the powerful political panel highlighting the hard work our activists are doing to raise money, train volunteers, get out the vote, and elect unionists who share our values. The organizing panel shared details of the work happening right now to strengthen our internal structures and grow our Locals.

“Solidarity ignites power when we put it into action,” said CWA District 6 Vice President Derrick Osobase. “Every conversation with a coworker, every new member we organize, and every voter we turn out builds our strength. The challenge now is to take the energy from this conference back to our Locals and turn it into lasting power for working people across District 6.”

CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. remarked, “The entire labor movement is at an inflection point. The current war on workers means we cannot sit still. We must either grow or we will be swept away in the current storm. Your commitment to each other and our future is needed now more than ever.

“We survive by digging deeper, branching out, and bringing in new members. Across organizations, we are mobilizing in support of one another. We are opening doors to sustainable wages and safer working conditions for millions of workers, whether they are members or not.”

Other CWA leaders in attendance included CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce; CWA Telecommunications and Technologies Vice President Lisa Bolton; CWA Public, Healthcare and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook; CWA Southeastern Region Executive Board Member Vera Mikell; CWA Central Region Executive Board Member Reginald Small; and CWA Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam.

Notable guests included Senate candidate James Talarico and candidate for Texas governor Gina Hinojosa, both card-carrying members of CWA Local 6186, the Texas State Employees Union. Other elected officials included Adrian Reyna (Texas HD 125), Montserrat Garibay (Texas HD 49), and Texas State Senator José Menéndez. Labor advocate and Texas State AFL-CIO President Leonard Aguilar also shared his thoughts with those gathered.

Conference-goers attended sectoral breakout sessions for AT&T Southwest, the Airline Industry, the CWA Retired Members Council, AT&T Mobility, Telecommunications and Technologies, and Public Workers. Workshops included “Our People, Our Ballot” and “Growing Our Union—From the Inside and the Outside.”

 
Senate candidate James Talarico (center) joined CWA members, retirees, staff, and leaders at the 2026 CWA District 6 Conference. He is flanked by (left to right) CWA President Claude Cummings Jr.; CWA District 6 Vice President Derrick Osobase; CWA Telecommunications and Technologies Vice President Lisa Bolton; CWA Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam; CWA Southeastern Region Executive Board Member Vera Mikell; CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce; and CWA Public, Healthcare and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook. CWA Central Region Executive Board Member Reginald Small (not pictured) also attended.

On October 8, on the eve of the three-year anniversary of the union’s voluntary recognition, reporters, editors, designers, and photo staff of the Embarcadero Community News Guild, represented by the Pacific Media Workers Guild (TNG-CWA Local 39521), voted overwhelmingly to ratify a three-year contract.

Highlights from the deal include a median 10% wage increase, just cause security protections, vision coverage for the first time, and protections against having to use artificial intelligence in any manner that goes against their professional ethics, legal standards, or journalistic goals.

“Local news is more important than ever, and our contract protects the reporters, editors, designers, and photographers who form the backbone of our newsroom and keep our communities informed,” said bargaining committee member Riley Cooke, who reports for the Palo Alto Weekly.

Click here to read more about the contract.