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CWA Participates in Black Trade Unionists Annual Convention

Last week, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) welcomed approximately 700 labor activists and leaders to Houston, Texas, for the CBTU 53rd Annual Convention. The event, themed “Never Back, Always Forward: Hate Cannot Erase Us,” drew attendees from across North America and Africa.

CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. delivered remarks at the opening session, speaking on the need for continued organizing in the South and for Black union members to focus on the political fight ahead. Said Cummings, “They want to drive all of us, Black, brown, old, young, straight, and LGBTQ—all of us—back, not just fifty years but a hundred and fifty years. This isn’t the time to give up. Just the opposite. We need to fight even harder for our values, for labor and civil rights, for economic and social justice.”

Convention participants also attended workshops ranging from Unionism 101 to Examining Discrimination in the Workplace.

CWA’s Human Rights Committee members escorted President Cummings to the stage for his opening remarks, attended the Women’s Committee voting workshop, and visited the KYOK radio station. They also recorded a live “Hour of Power” radio show episode at the convention, which you can listen to by clicking here.

CBTU 53rd Convention 
CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. (center) delivered remarks at the opening session of the 53rd Annual Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Convention. Members of the Human Rights Committee also recorded a live “Hour of Power” radio show episode from the convention.

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CWA Human Rights Committee at CBTU Convention with Sylvia Ramos 
CWA Chief of Staff Sylvia J. Ramos (center) joined members of the Human Rights Committee at this year's 53rd Annual Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Convention in Houston, Texas.

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CWA President Cummings Honored at CBTU Convention 
CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. (center) was honored by (left to right) Representative Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Representative Al Green (D-Texas), Texas Representative Ron Reynolds, and Coalition of Black Trade Unionists President Terry L. Melvin at this year’s 53rd Annual CBTU Convention.

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.