Communications Workers of America: history, current issues, and growth

Communications Workers of America: Then and Now

The relevancy of unions is being increasingly questioned in the 21st century and many unions are suffering from dwindling members and are face with an uncertain agenda for the future. In sharp contrast, the Communications Workers of America has become one of the fastest-growing unions in the United States in recent years, due in large part to the concomitant growth of information and communications technologies. To gain some insights into how this has been possible, this paper examines the relevant literature to provide an overview of the Communications Workers of America and its history, followed by an analysis of current issues and trends that are affecting the union. Finally, a description of the steps that are used to form a Communications Workers of America union shop in a typical workplace is followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Overview and History of Communications Workers of America

Established in 1938 at New Orleans and Chicago, the Communications Workers of America (hereinafter alternatively "the CWA" or "the Union") was originally known the National Federation of Telephone Workers; however, in 1947, the union adopted its current name (About us, 2012). The CWA was initially founded in an effort to target the draconian business practices used by the telephone industry. In this regard, O'Farrell and Kornbluh (1996) report that the National Federation of Telephone Workers was comprised of "loosely affiliated independent unions. at&T was strongly opposed to any kind of national agreement and negotiated separately with the affiliated unions" (p. 237). Following the end of World War II, though, the National Federation of Telephone Workers dissolved and was replaced with the Communications Workers of America (O'Farrell & Kornbluh, 1996).

The early years were turbulent but proved to be formative for the Union during the last half of the 21st century. For example, O'Farrell and Kornbluh note that, "On April 7, 1947, the CWA called a national strike for national recognition and over issues such as across-the-board wage increases, a union shop, improved schedules, and pensions. Of the 345,000 strikers, 230,000 were women, the biggest walk-out in American history of women. The six-week strike ended without national recognition, but with a stronger union movement" (1996, p. 237). The stronger union movement that began mid-20th century would not last, though, and by the early 1990s, many were questioning the relevancy of unions altogether (Masters, 1997). To its credit, the CWA managed to survive by keeping a close watch on issues that affect their membership, an enterprise that has become especially challenging in recent years.

Since its founding, the CWA has subsequently expanded its original fields of interest and currently represents workers in a wide range of industries besides communications, including healthcare, public and customer service as well as others (About us, 2012). As the largest telecommunications union in the world today, the CWA represents more than 700,000 men and women in the public and private sectors. Of these union members, nearly three-quarters, or more than 500,000, are actively engaged in building the Information Highway (About us, 2012). Currently, CWA members work in telecommunications, broadcasting, cable television, journalism, publishing, manufacturing, airlines, customer service, government service, health care, education as well as numerous other fields (About us, 2012). In addition, the CWA has approximately 1,200 chartered local unions throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico with members living in about 10,000 communities, which means CWA is among the most geographically diverse unions in the world (About us, 2102). According to the Union's Web site, "CWA holds over 2,000 collective bargaining agreements spelling out wages, benefits, working conditions and employment security provisions for its members. Among major employers of CWA members are at&T, Verizon, and other telecom companies; General Electric; the New York Times and Wall Street Journal; NBC and ABC television networks; the Canadian Broadcasting Co.; United, U.S. Airways and other airlines; the University of California system, the state of New Jersey and various law enforcement agencies" (About us, 2012, para. 2). At present, the Union top leadership team consists of President Larry Cohen, Secretary-Treasurer Jeff Rechenbach and Executive Vice President Annie Hill (About us, 2012).

Among the unions that have recently affiliated with the CWA are the following major groups:

1. The Association of Flight Attendants merged with CWA in 2003, adding its professionalism and expertise on airline industry issues (CWA has represented airline passenger service employees since 1999).

2. The International Union of Electronic Workers merged with CWA in 2000, becoming the IUE-CWA Industrial Division.

3. The Newspaper Guild merged with CWA in 1997, as did the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees.

4. The National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET) merged with CWA in 1994.

5. The International Typographical Union, America's oldest labor union, merged with CWA in 1987 (About us, 2012).

Currently, the Union is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, the Canadian Labour Congress, the worldwide UNI Global Union, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the International Transport Workers Federation (ITWF), as well as the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) (About us, 2012).

Current Issues and Trends

A wide range of current issues faced the Union today, including those set forth in Table 1 below which the CWA highlights, as well as some others discussed further below that are less publicized but are perhaps equally salient.

Table 1

Current Issues Facing the Communications Workers of America

Issue

Description

Corporate money in politics

The 2010 Citizens United opened the gates to unlimited corporate money in politics, making a bad situation, even worse. CWA, our Legislative Political Action Teams in every district and our progressive allies are fighting back against the flood of corporate dollars that is destroying our democratic process.

Support the call center bill

Over the last decade, the U.S. has lost around half a million call centers jobs to off-shoring. Often companies pocket millions in taxpayer dollars to establish local call centers before shipping those jobs abroad just a few years later. The U.S. Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act strikes back by cutting off-shorers off from federal grants and loans, giving you the right to know where your operator is based and giving you the right to transfer back to a U.S.-based operator.

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting works with hundreds of national and local producers and community partners to ensure that Americans have universal access to high-quality non-commercial programming with a particular focus on the needs of underserved audiences, including children, minorities, and low-income Americans.

Forming New CWA Chapters

As the fastest-growing union in the world, the CWA has fine-tuned its chapter formation process in recent years but the process is not automatic. In fact, a great deal of preparatory work must be completed before the CWA will consider a new chapter, but the Union emphasizes that it stands ready to assist organizers at every step of the process if they require it. A summary of the steps required to form a CWA chapter are set forth in Table 2 below.

Table 2

Summary of Steps to Forming a CWA Chapter

Step

Description

Comments

Talk to co-workers.

The issues that should be discussed during this preparatory step include whether a majority of co-workers share the same concerns. At this point, the organizer should determine the top five or so issues to identify common themes such as lack of respect and dignity; no input with management; unfair, arbitrary treatment or favoritism. Are wages and benefits lower at the workplace than what workers are getting in similar jobs in the same industry? These findings should be written up.

The CWA cautions that although union-organizing activities are legal and protected under the laws of all states, organizers should ensure they only discuss these issues when they are on breaks, off of company premises, or away from designated work areas. It is also strategically advisable to avoid alerting management to the union-organizing activities as long as possible to delay retaliatory anti-union campaigns.

Building a committee.

After determining support for a union exists around key workplace issues, the CWA recommends that the organizer form a committee of co-workers that is representative of the workplace. Building a strong inside organizing committee is critical to building the majority support that is needed to establish the union chapter.

An excellent way to build support for the union chapter is to get workers to sign a public petition supporting the union that states the key issues and goals; however, the CWA recommends that the organizer postpone publication of this petition until a majority of workers have signed on.

Contact CWA

Once the key issues have been codified and an organizing committee formed, the CWA provides additional assistance in formalizing the union chapter.

Representatives of CWA will set up a confidential meeting with the organizer and/or organizing committee for this purpose.

Source: Adapted from How to organize a union, 2012

The decision-making process involved in determining whether it is in a group's best interests to join the CWA or not depends on the workplace. The process is described by CWA as follows:

1. At most private employers, workers make the choice through elections overseen by the National Labor Relations Board. Organizers get the union if a majority of the workers voting in the election vote for the union.

2. At some CWA employers, workers make the choice through a process called majority sign up. This is a much shorter way to get a union because the procedure is agreed to in advance between CWA and the employer. These employers also agree to remain neutral.

3. In the public sector, choosing a union depends on geographic location. Some states and localities permit workers to make the choice through majority sign up. Others require a traditional union election, where majority vote decides the question.

4. Airline workers have their own election process that can make it more difficult to form a union. In airline elections, the number of workers voting for the union must constitute the majority of all eligible workers -- including even those who choose not to vote (How to organize a union, 2012).

Finally, the CWA offers a broad array of free publications concerning how to organize a union and respond to management pressures in different languages and some of which are country-specific to facilitate organizing activities (How to organize a union, 2012).

Conclusion

The Communications Workers of America was shown to be one of the fastest-growing unions in the United States, with more than 700,000 current members in 1,200 chartered local unions throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. The CWA's members live in approximately 10,000 communities in North America and Puerto Rico, making it a highly diversified organization. The research was consistent in showing that the CWA has expanded its original focus on the telephone industry to embrace all things communication related, and while other unions languish into obscurity, the CWA is demonstrating how a union can remain relevant and influential in the 21st century workplace.