News

CWA District 7 Hosts Annual Meeting

16 May, 2024

Earlier this month, CWA District 7 hosted its annual meeting in Vancouver, Wash. Workers, activists, and retirees from across the district gathered to celebrate victories, share skills, and strategize for the upcoming year. The meeting also included workshops and breakout sessions dedicated to such topics as internal organizing, human rights, and advanced grievance arbitration.

During the opening session, attendees heard from several speakers, including CWA President Claude Cummings Jr.; CWA Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam; Public, Healthcare, and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook; Western Region At-Large Executive Board Member Keith Gibbs; and Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor.

“Unity is the key, and I don’t just believe it is; I know it is,” said President Cummings. “It’s not enough to ‘dream big.’ You’ve got to bring enough people together to get the job done, or big dreams fade away into nothing. Unity means we understand how connected we are and the simple truth: we will either succeed together or we won’t succeed at all.”

Secretary-Treasurer Salaam said, “As a 32-year, proud CWA member, I can testify to the difference a union makes: the difference in wages, the difference in benefits, the difference in respect, having a collective voice, and just feeling secure. The difference in being CWA. I want all of these things for all workers.”

CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister kicked off the general session, followed by CWA National Political Field Director Curtis Hierro and CWA District 7 Administrative Director of Organizing Katie Romich.

"We need each and every one of us to be fighting and winning for our fellow working people,” said McAllister. “We do this by working the whole CWA triangle.”

That hard work has paid off. CWA District 7 has welcomed approximately 2,500 new members into the union since the last District 7 Meeting in 2022.

Activision Quality Assurance United (AQAU-CWA Local 7250) leaders shared a 20-minute presentation about their historic organizing campaign. They spoke about overcoming union busting from Activision Blizzard management while helping create the leverage for the groundbreaking neutrality agreement between CWA and Microsoft. They also shared how they collaborated with workers in Texas and California to move swiftly once the neutrality agreement was in place to certify their 575-member unit. They closed the presentation to thunderous applause by borrowing from the Call of Duty slogan that "the ultimate weapon is team,'' while displaying a graphic from the game combined with the CWA, CODE-CWA, and AQAU-CWA logos.

Attendees at this year’s CWA District 7 Meeting were treated to rousing stories of overcoming union-busting tactics to welcome approximately 2,500 new members into our union.