Earlier this month, following a contentious hearing at the Interim Legislative Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee meeting, members of CWA Local 7076 sent a letter to New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham demanding she address ongoing issues with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) violations at state agencies.

At the hearing, legislators on the HHS Committee heard the stories of multiple disabled state employees whose civil rights had been violated by the state not providing appropriate ADA accommodations or adequate workplace accessibility. During the presentation, Overdose Prevention Coordinator for the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) Sarah Bowman testified that “it took over six months before [she] received any formal response” to her ADA request.

Other ADA violations presented by union members included inappropriate, discriminatory, and unprofessional comments by state human resources staff and supervisors; a lack of emergency safety procedures to protect the public and workers; and retaliatory threats of rescinding “off-the-book” accommodations.

In April, Governor Grisham vetoed HB 120, “Accessibility of State Agencies,” saying, “I wholeheartedly support the efforts to ensure that our state buildings and websites are accessible to everyone, regardless of disability. This is why my administration is already complying with the applicable ADA standards.”

CWA Local 7076 represents thousands of state employees at 13 agencies under the executive branch. In a survey of employees with a disability conducted by the union, 80 percent of respondents said they had considered quitting due to the difficulty of receiving adequate ADA accommodations.

“Our stewards are flooded with reports of abuse and discrimination and pleas for help,” said Sunny Gonzales, CWA Local 7067 Steward at DOH and Chair of the Local’s Disability Justice Committee. “We started the Disability Justice Committee in September 2024 because we were seeing patterns of discrimination and likely ADA violations across the agencies we represent.”

Last week, CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. and the CWA Advisory Committee on Artificial Intelligence hosted a town hall meeting for CWAers to discuss the ways AI technologies are impacting our jobs and how we can protect the dignity of our work in the AI age.

“CWA members and leaders do not accept that the effects of AI systems are inevitable or predetermined,” said President Cummings. “What we’ve learned in our decades of worker advocacy is simple: workers impacted by technology must guide how it is implemented. Otherwise, you risk technology being turned into a weapon by which the wealthy one percent hold on to power while impoverishing the rest of us.”

A recording of the town hall is available to watch here.

Mike Barfield, from CWA District 9, shared how a request for information during bargaining uncovered new uses of AI at AT&T that had been hidden from members, including the use of AI to do work previously done by members and using AI to change members’ task assignments. Barfield told CWAers, “We don’t just bargain for the here and now; we bargain for the future as well. And AI has the potential to greatly impact our jobs over time.”

Dorian Barranco, a member of the NewsGuild of New York (TNG-CWA Local 31003), spoke to how the use of AI at Business Insider is devaluing the work of union journalists. When Business Insider ran an article with an AI byline without notifying the Guild, Barranco and their coworkers mobilized to take collective action to stand up for their rights at work.

Renee Rouser, a member of the CWA Advisory Committee on AI, shared resources created by the committee, including fact sheets, a compilation of existing contract language on AI, a policy toolkit, case studies, webinars, and more. Rouser encouraged attendees, saying, “Together, we can make sure that worker voices are heard when decisions are made about implementing AI.”

“We will continue to fight tooth and nail at the bargaining table for the very best deals possible for our members,” promised President Cummings.

AI tools and resources are accessible to local union officers and staff through Aptify.

Earlier this month, members of the NewsGuild of New York-CWA (TNG-CWA Local 31003) hosted a huge rally to demand that mass media company Condé Nast reinstate Alma Avalle, Jake Lahut, Jasper Lo, and Ben Dewey. Dubbed the “Fired Four,” the group of union leaders were singled out from a larger cadre of nearly 20 NewsGuild-CWA members who approached the head of human resources, Stan Duncan, about the decision to dismantle Teen Vogue. Days later, the company suspended another five employees without pay.

At the rally, New York Attorney General Letitia James energized the crowd, saying, “I’m proud to stand here with CWA and the NewsGuild because, since when is it illegal for an individual to express their First Amendment rights? Since when is it illegal to speak truth to power?” Attorney General James finished her fiery speech promising to take legal action against the company.

A statement from the NewsGuild of New York reads, “This is Condé Nast taking advantage of the government shutdown and the Trump Administration’s repression of the National Labor Relations Board to illegally exploit and punish workers, to ignore the union contract they agreed to, and to try to scare the rest of their unionized workforce into silence. The company is attempting to silence its workers in any way possible while the Trump administration is openly muzzling the free press. It will not work.”

NewsGuild of New York members are asking supporters to sign a petition demanding the immediate reinstatement of the Fired Four, the reversal of the suspensions, and for the company to pay out lost wages and benefits. Click here to sign the petition.

Members of the NewsGuild of New York (TNG-CWA Local 31003), along with retirees, allies, and supporters, hosted a Rally for Our Rights. NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss (center) and TNG-CWA Local 31003 President Susan DeCarava (left of Schleuss) joined New York Attorney General Letitia James and impacted members calling for an end to Condé Nast’s union-busting.

This week, the 2025 IUE-CWA Next Generation Mentorship Program is in Washington, D.C., educating legislators on the Empowering Striking Workers Act and encouraging them to support legislation against price gouging.

Participants in the mentorship program learn skills to help strengthen their locals and build the labor movement. While on Capitol Hill, members bolster their relationships with their union siblings, learn about pending legislation most likely to impact working people, and how best to influence their elected officials. This year, CWA Director of Government Affairs Dan Mauer, CWA Deputy Government Affairs Director Elena Lopez, and Senior Campaign Lead Tysianna Marino led a lobby training as well as a training on authoritarianism and oligarchy.

The 14 mentees are IUE-CWA members from Ohio, Indiana, Alabama, Texas, New York, Kentucky, Missouri, Virginia, and New Jersey. They will continue with monthly assignments and Zoom meetings over the next few months. Graduation will be held at the IUE-CWA headquarters in Dayton, Ohio, in April 2026.

Participants in the IUE-CWA Mentorship Program visited Washington, D.C., this week, where they pushed legislators to support pro-worker legislation and learned about authoritarianism and oligarchy.

Earlier this month, the NewsGuild of New York (TNG-CWA Local 31003) and the Washington-Baltimore News Guild (TNG-CWA Local 32035) announced that they will provide new and future retirees with a Lifetime Membership in the CWA Retired Members Council (RMC).

The move came after RMC Media Sector Vice President Mark Pattison encouraged locals to revitalize their RMC membership at the NewsGuild Sector Conference during the CWA National Convention in Pittsburgh.

NewsGuild of New York President Susan Decarava said, “The Executive Committee unanimously passed a motion granting lifetime membership to the New York Guild Retiree Council and its chapter to all retirees, honoring their ongoing dedication to the labor movement. This motion was inspired by and celebrates the retirement of Kathy Wilmore, the longtime Scholastic Unit Chair, whose many years of dedicated service and unwavering commitment to the advancement of our members and all workers exemplify the true spirit of solidarity and leadership.”

To learn more about the RMC, including information on local chapters and how to form a chapter if your local doesn’t have one, visit cwa.org/rmc.

To become a member of the CWA RMC, simply follow this link. A one-time $25 payment gives you a lifetime membership, membership in the Union Plus discount program, and additional benefits.

You can also follow the RMC on Facebook.

Media Sector President of the CWA Retired Members Council, TNG-CWA RMC Chapter 31003 President, and TNG-CWA Retiree Coordinator Myra Kreiman posed proudly with her CWA Retiree Activist badge.

CWA and our allies filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission this week urging the agency to deny the merger between cable giants Charter and Cox, citing the companies' failure to demonstrate that this transaction serves the public interest.

The petition sounds the alarm on Charter’s track record of unfulfilled employment commitments from previous mergers and recent customer service workforce reductions. Charter's history of resisting worker organizing efforts suggests the merger would further entrench the employer’s power over workers. Without meaningful protections, the consolidation threatens job quality and workers' rights across the combined entity's operations.

The petition also addresses concerns about the impact on customers and communities. “Charter and Cox propose to combine in a transaction that would reshape the American broadband landscape, creating a communications giant that would become the nation's largest cable and broadband provider, controlling access to over 36 million broadband customers and 70 million homes and businesses across 46 states,” it reads. “This consolidation would result in substantial public interest harms, including increased gatekeeper power over internet distribution, diminished competition, higher prices for consumers, and unequal treatment of underserved communities.”

Following this filing with the FCC, Charter and Cox expressed concern that CWA and its allies published what they claim is a confidential document. The document in question is an FAQ that describes the impact of the transaction on Cox employees’ terms and conditions of employment, including that Cox employee health and retirement benefits will worsen as a result of the deal.

CWA Convention delegates recently passed a resolution to build power in the telecommunications industry by organizing new members. Mergers like the one proposed between Charter and Cox enrich executives and shareholders while making it even more difficult for workers to join unions to improve their workplaces and build a better future for themselves and their families.

Did you know?

CWA’s Charity of Choice, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), has been transforming the lives of children by fighting HIV for over 37 years.

Every year, CWA members and retirees help sustain this mission through our $1 per member contribution, a simple act that carries an extraordinary impact. Just $1 can transform the life of a child by supporting lifesaving care and treatment.

This World AIDS Day and Giving Tuesday, your dollar will help EGPAF reach children and families who need it most, especially now, as global HIV funding faces historic cuts.

If you’ve already contributed this year, thank you for your generosity. Would you consider donating an additional dollar in recognition and support?

If you’re learning about this partnership for the first time, there’s no better moment to get involved. Together, we can keep the promise of an AIDS-free generation alive.

Donate at www.pedaids.org/cwa.