CWA Collective Briefing | Updates on the Movement

HAPPENING NOW

NAFTA 2.0 Is Moving Through Congress

This week, Democrats in the House of Representatives were able to secure a few fundamental changes to the broken United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement (USMCA) or ‘NAFTA 2.0’. Adding provisions on labor and environmental rules and enforcement, and ensuring access to prescription drugs, which results in an agreement that improves on NAFTA and the broken proposal that the Trump administration put out last year.

From the beginning, CWA has been clear about what a successful new trade agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada should accomplish. First and foremost, it must reverse the incentives corporations have to move jobs from country to country in search of the lowest wages and weakest labor standards. It includes not only manufacturing jobs, but also call center and other service sector work. It must also include a robust enforcement process to hold the parties accountable to their obligations under the agreement.

Read the rest of CWA’s official statement about the agreement here: https://cwa-union.org/news/releases/revised-usmca-improves-on-flawed-trump-agreement

CALLS TO ACTION

Keep Pushing for the PRO Act

The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act (H.R. 2474) is nearing the final stretch. We anticipate a vote on the bill at the beginning of the new year. That means we must keep pushing to make our voices heard.

Sign the petition to tell Congress: Support the bill and put power back in the hands of workers.

Greedy CEOs and the 1% have made working people struggle for too long! A recent report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), showed that U.S. employers are charged with violating federal law in 41.5% of all union election campaigns.

WE NEED A BIG CHANGE! The PRO Act is the legislation that will make that happen. The bill will put power in the hands of workers and reverse decades of legislation meant to crush unions. The bill will completely change labor law as we know it and shift power away from CEOs to workers. Last week, CWA hosted a live Twitter chat with Representative Andy Levin, CWA members, AFL-CIO, TWU, Working America, and others to discuss how the PRO Act will affect workers. Learn more here: https://twitter.com/i/events/1205222754976444423

LABOR CHAMPIONS

U.S. Senator Brian Emanuel Schatz (D-Hawaii)

Senator Schatz is the senior Senator for the state of Hawaii. Throughout his career in public service, he has worked to pass legislation that benefits workers. He recently introduced a bill that would protect workers and ensure dignity in the workplace by requiring that all workers be provided a meal and bathroom break and time to attend to their medical needs. This issue has been a major problem at companies like Maximus, where call center workers with medical conditions have their wages deducted for bathroom breaks. He is a strong supporter of workers’ rights, including the PRO Act, a vital labor reform bill, and the Raise the Wage Act.

Schatz also played a key role in passing legislation to ensure that flight attendants receive 10 hours of rest between shifts, introduced a bill that CWA supports to impose a Wall Street sales tax, and called out Alden Global Capital for their predatory tactics of buying up local media outlets, gutting them, and leaving communities devastated in the process.

DEEP DIVE

Google Fires Another Worker for Exercising her Rights and Protecting Coworkers from Illegal Company Retaliation [Article]
This Solar Energy Company Fired Its Construction Crew After They Unionized [Article]
U.S. Employers Spend $340 Million a Year Busting Unions [Article]