While Gigapower—the joint fiber venture launched by AT&T and private equity investment giant BlackRock—seeks to expand its footprint across the country, a new report from CWA investigates its latest deployment in Chandler, Ariz.

The report, “Gigapower’s Chandler Conundrum,” documents how poor contractor selection, substandard field supervision, and questionable project management practices are resulting in damage to critical utility infrastructure and work stoppages over public safety concerns. The findings underscore CWA’s belief that Gigapower’s questionable workforce model puts workers and communities at risk and contributes to the erosion of telecom job quality and stability.

“I believe we are witnessing in real-time how Gigapower’s dangerous, corner-cutting business model endangers workers and dismantles local telecommunication careers in cities like Chandler, Arizona,” said Fernando Roman, CWA District 7 Campaign Lead and a broadband technician of 25 years. “This is why highly trained, union broadband technicians have continuously raised the alarm over this dangerous partnership. Policymakers and investors must take action to ensure Gigapower’s fiber deployments support good jobs and protect communities.”

CWA is recommending several steps for policymakers and investors, including gaining a deeper understanding of Gigapower’s workforce plan, contract language for a standardized agreement between the project and municipalities on right-of-way, and increased oversight mechanisms.

Click here to read the full report.

On August 27, California CWA members in CWA District 9 entered contract negotiations with Frontier Communications.

After several meetings, Frontier submitted a plan for healthcare contributions that union negotiators describe as “outrageous and insulting.” The proposal included increases of over 60 percent to various items. Frontier has not provided any hard data to justify the necessity of such an increase.

Frontier has leveled concerning arguments and resistance to CWA’s proposal for safer working conditions for members. The company has also been slow to respond to repeated requests for financial information.

Members have been working without a contract since September 7. A strike vote is currently underway and will be finalized on September 16.

Follow CWA District 9 on Facebook for updates on bargaining.

Members of IUE-CWA Local 82130, along with IBEW Local 1805 members, have ratified a new contract after over 500 of them attended an impromptu mobilization meeting to crank up the heat on defense contractor Northrop Grumman. In Baltimore, Md., IBEW, SEA, and IUE-CWA were in coordinated bargaining with the company, though each had separate contracts and concerns.

At the economic portion of the negotiations, the company was refusing to raise wages adequately, prompting an informational meeting for members of both IUE-CWA and IBEW. Hundreds of members showed up for the IUE-CWA/IBEW meeting, while SEA, due to scheduling conflicts, held its own meetings with similar turnout.

Members agreed that a clear message needed to be sent from the workers to the company. After the meeting and during the next day, members plastered the facility with messages of solidarity for their bargaining team. In response, Northrop Grumman set up a webpage to convince workers their wages were adequate and also to threaten workers with termination for any strike activity. Members, however, kept up their pressure, and it worked.

On September 6, members voted to ratify a new six-year contract. Highlights include four percent wage increases per year totaling 24 percent over the course of the contract and two weeks of paid caregiver leave, as well as an improved bereavement policy. The new contract covers janitors, test technicians, and inspectors.

In an incredible display of solidarity, over 500 members of IUE-CWA Local 82130, in conjunction with IBEW and SEA workers at a Northrop Grumman factory in Baltimore, Md., successfully mobilized to pressure the company to resolve outstanding wage issues during the bargaining process.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) this month released a report that documents the critical role airport service workers play in the safety and security of our aviation system. The report is the result of continued advocacy from unions representing airport workers, including CWA, who worked alongside Congress to advocate for airport service workers in the FAA Reauthorization Bill.

The report is a comprehensive review of airport workers' labor, including its impact on the aviation economy. While airport service workers struggle to make ends meet, the GAO report finds that revenue generated from their labor accounts for nearly 30 percent of the annual operating revenue at the nation’s busiest airports.

“Air travel would not be possible without the dedication of airport and airline service workers—the workers who clean aircraft, handle baggage, operate on the tarmac, assist passengers, and ensure airport security,” said CWA President Claude Cummings Jr.. “The GAO's analysis makes it very clear: despite conducting these vital services, many of these workers are simply not being paid a fair day's wage for a fair day's work. We are committed to working with Congress to end poverty wages and ensure that this vital workforce has access to affordable healthcare, paid leave, and strong workplace protections.”

CWA represents more than 20,000 passenger service agents working for American Airlines and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Envoy Air and Piedmont Airlines. CWA members at Piedmont Airlines are still fighting for a fair contract. The bargaining team is continuing to meet with the company while awaiting the start of federal mediation. You can show your support by sending a letter to CEO Eric Morgan letting him know you stand in solidarity with CWA members at Piedmont Airlines in their fight for a fair contract.

You can read the full GAO report here.

Last week, CWA members took part in Labor Day celebrations across the country to honor the lives of workers both past and present. Pictured, top left to right: From CWA District 1, members rallied with Senator Chuck Schumer in New York, N.Y.; from CWA District 2-13 in Philadelphia, Pa.; from CWA District 4 in Milwaukee, Wis.; from CWA District 6 in Houston, Texas, with the Gulf Coast/Houston AFL-CIO; from CWA District 7 in Santa Fe, N.M.; and from CWA District 9 in San Jose, Calif.