ACTION ALERT! TWO CLICKS FOR UNION WORKERS IN NEW YORK
As we speak, our New York State legislators in Albany are debating the Fiscal Year 2022 budget, which must be finalized by April 1. That means we only have a short time to advocate for several vital pieces of legislation for workers to be included in the budget for next year! And we need all hands on deck right now on two important items:
State University of New York (SUNY) graduate student workers are members of CWA Local 1104 and are relied on to teach classes, grade papers and conduct research, but they're collapsing under the weight of crushing school fees - about 15% of their salary - that must be paid back to their employer. The result is many of these workers living in poverty and having to resort to taking out loans, skipping meals, living in their cars, eating food out of dumpsters, or even selling their blood plasma just to make ends meet.
As COVID-19 has moved much of our lives online, the importance of access to high-speed, affordable broadband has never been clearer. Last year, the New York State Legislature overwhelmingly passed the Broadband Data Mapping Bill, which would have required the State to study the availability of broadband access throughout New York - we know that many New York communities don't have broadband access, and we know that the first step in getting all New Yorkers connected - and potentially creating more work for CWA members - is studying and mapping where those communities are.
Leadership, Stewards Training, and Skill Building at Recent Local Conferences
MASSIVE Mobilization by NewsGuild-CWA Tells New York Times: TIME IS RUNNING OUT