Bargaining Updates Around CWA - Frontier & TVO
Frontier Members Win Job Security, Raises in Tentative Agreement in W. Va. and Ashburn, Va.
After three months of negotiations and member mobilization, CWA members in West Virginia and Ashburn, Va., have reached a tentative agreement with Frontier Communications for a new four-year contract. The contract achieves significant wage increases, preserves existing job security language, and maintains quality health and welfare benefits for 1,400 CWA members. In addition, Frontier has committed to creating additional jobs and a long-term work at home agreement.
CWA members at Frontier built power for negotiations through mobilization activities across the state, from tailgate rallies to coordinated t-shirt and digital actions for the work-at-home members. In July, members overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike if necessary, backed up by visible member mobilization. During the final week of negotiations, members stood strong against pressure from the company for concessions on post-Medicare retiree benefits and increased their power at the bargaining table by choosing to work without a contract.
At a time when West Virginia is slated to receive $1.2 billion from the bipartisan federal infrastructure bill to invest in expanding broadband internet access, this tentative agreement will keep good jobs in local communities while building high quality networks that strengthen local economies. Read more.
TVO Workers Strike Against Public Sector Gig Work
Public television workers in Ontario, Canada are on strike against TVO, a public media agency and Canada’s oldest educational television service. Members of the Canadian Media Guild (CMG-CWA Local 30213) have been on strike for 10 days as members fight to prevent public sector jobs from being turned into gig work.
Ontario’s Ministry of Education has given the order to create only temporary contract jobs at TVO, even if the work is permanent in nature. By keeping workers in precarious contracts, TVO is denying workers health benefits, dismantling job security, and impairing the stability needed to deliver strong public services for all Ontarians.
As public sector workers, CMG-CWA members believe in fighting wealth inequality, not widening it with temporary contract work and wage increases for dedicated public servants that do not keep up with the rate of inflation. Read more.
Striking TVO workers picket with the support of the public and fellow union members.
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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.
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