Strike Alert: CWAers on Strike at Five Companies

In a powerful show of solidarity and worker militancy, CWA members and workers organizing with CWA were on strike this past week at five different companies demanding fair treatment, equity, a voice on the job, and better protections for workers.

On Strike at Gannet

Newsguild-CWA journalists at Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper chain, walked off the job on Monday, the day of Gannett’s annual shareholder meeting. In the largest collective action that Gannett employees have ever taken to date, hundreds of journalists in two dozen newsrooms across seven states participated in the one-day strike to demand that Gannett get serious about reinvesting in local news. Some newsrooms walked off the job for two days or more. The journalists urged shareholders to take a vote of no-confidence against Mike Reed, Gannett’s chief executive. Newsguild-CWA, which represents more than 50 Gannett bargaining units covering more than 1,000 employees, sent a letter two weeks ago to Gannett’s Board making the case that under Reed’s leadership, newsrooms have been hollowed out, local news coverage has dwindled, and Gannett share prices have fallen nearly 70 percent. Gannett has also been stalling on bargaining at various tables across newsrooms, and not bargaining in good faith around demands for living wages and the resources journalists need to cover their communities.

Watch this newsclip with interviews from Asbury Park Press journalists in New Jersey who went on strike as part of the nationwide Gannett workers strike.

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On Strike at Northstar Aerospace

IUE-CWA Local 14430 members who work for Northstar Aerospace in Bedford Park, Ill., went on strike on Monday demanding a fair contract. The members have been bargaining for a new collective bargaining agreement and actively mobilizing to build strength at the negotiating table and secure a fair deal. The workers are an essential part of the defense industry, providing critical components for Apache and Chinook helicopters that are being flown by our brave service members and allies abroad. The tasks they perform require stellar skills and a strong work ethic. Throughout the pandemic, they risked their safety and health to continue to keep our service members flying. They are fighting for a fair and equitable contract that recognizes their hard work and sacrifice. Keep up-to-date on their fight by following their Facebook page.

Watch this video of striking IUE-CWA members at Northstar Aerospace on the picket line.

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On Strike at Maximus

In their largest worker action since November 2022, Maximus federal call center workers, members of Call Center Worker United-CWA, participated in a one-day strike across five states on Monday protesting the layoff of 700 workers last month. Their actions in Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia come as the call center workers play a key role in helping people transition into exchange plans amid a massive Medicaid redetermination effort. In addition to calling for protections against unfair layoffs, the workers also demanded a living wage of $25/hour, real opportunities for career advancement, and an investigation of Maximus’ labor practices by Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra.

Watch this newsclip highlighting the Maximus workers recent strike.

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On Strike at Insider

Insider union members, represented by the NewsGuild of New York (TNG-CWA Local 31003) began an open-ended strike that started at midnight last Friday after management refused to remedy its outstanding Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) and reach a fair contract with workers on wages and lower health insurance costs. After forming a union in 2021, the workers have been fighting for a first contract, demanding the company bargain in good faith and reach a fair agreement on wages and lower health insurance costs. In November 2022, company leadership illegally changed the workers’ health insurance unilaterally, forcing them to spend more on healthcare while significantly reducing their coverage. In response, the union filed a ULP and in May, 2023 the National Labor Relations Board found merit in the charges. However, management has refused to rectify these unlawful actions, forcing workers to strike in protest.

Watch this video of striking Insider union members demonstrating their solidarity.

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On Strike at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

CWA District 4 local leaders, activists, and staff showed solidarity with striking CWA and other workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last Friday by leafleting multiple businesses in Ohio including the Hancock Hotel in Findley and Auglaize Audiology in Wapakoneta. Both businesses have been advertising on the WLIO TV station, which is owned by the Toledo-based millionaire Block family. The Block family also owns the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where workers have been on strike for the last 7 months over not receiving a pay raise in over 15 years and illegal, unilateral cuts to their healthcare. During the action, the activists expressed how advertising on a Block Communications-owned network means supporting millionaires over working people and demanded that the Hancock Hotel and Auglaize Audiology stand with workers and stop their advertisements on WLIO until the strike is resolved.