Organizing Update

New York Times

It took almost a year, but 600 tech workers at the New York Times finally won their fight for union representation. They will join 1,300 editorial and business employees at the Times as members of the NewsGuild of New York (TNG-CWA Local 31003).

Times management opposed workers every step of the way, first by refusing their request for voluntary recognition, followed by engaging in illegal tactics to forbid union members from showing support for their union. The workers fought back by mobilizing and engaging in workplace actions, including a half-day walkout in protest of the company’s efforts to hinder a fair election.

The Times Tech Guild will be the largest union of tech workers with bargaining rights in the country. Their win represents a major milestone in CWA’s strategic campaign to support tech and game workers’ organizing through the CODE-CWA project. “It is essential that tech workers have a voice in their workplace,” said the Times Tech Guild organizing committee in a statement following the victory. “We look forward to working with management to win a strong contract that will not just ensure equity and respect for tech workers, but will also set industry standards across the board.”

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New York Film and Television Post Production Workers

This week, members of the Post Production Guild-New York (CWA Local 1101), a group of over 150 freelance post production workers in New York organizing with CWA, filed for a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election. The workers took this step after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the entertainment industry's official collective bargaining representative, repeatedly refused to voluntarily recognize the post production employees’ union, despite the fact that virtually all of the workers have signed cards in favor of joining CWA. Post production workers play a vital role in filmmaking by shepherding the process of turning thousands of hours of raw footage into a polished final product, including sound effects, color correction, music, visual effects, and other finished elements that moviegoers expect from the cinematic experience. Their campaign to have a union follows CWA’s successful organizing of nearly 600 Parking Production Assistants in New York who secured a precedent-setting contract that, for the first time, offered benefits for these workers. Read more here.

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Verizon Wireless

Workers at Verizon Wireless stores in Everett and Lynnwood, Wash., have formed a union with CWA and are seeking voluntary recognition from the company. The workers will also be filing an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board, should the company fail to recognize the union. The workers stand firm in their commitment to form a union and collectively work to implement their stated values, including respect, fair compensation, adequate staffing levels, a safe work environment, and health benefits.

Verizon Wireless workers are organizing to form a union with CWA.