CWA Local 1123 President Chris Ryan Sworn in as New York State Senator

CWA members throughout District 1 gave their all in 2024 to fight for legislative candidates who will fight for working families - and no election was more personal to us than the fight for New York State Senate District 50 (Syracuse), with one of our own in the race.

CWA Local 1123 President Chris Ryan knocked on hundreds of doors, spoke with thousands of voters, and made sure that Syracuse knew who the labor candidate in the race was. CWA District 1 and locals throughout New York turned out to canvasses, phonebanks, and textbanks to support Chris and help him win this very tough, close race! 

On January 8th, several CWA members, including members from Local 1104, had the pleasure of joining Chris in Albany to witness his being sworn in to the New York State Legislature.

“I couldn’t be more proud today to have one of our own take his place in the New York State Legislature,” said Dennis Trainor, CWA District 1 Vice President. “Chris Ryan waged a fierce, gutsy campaign last year to win this seat for working families - but that’s nothing new. As a Union president, Chris has gone toe-to-toe with corporate bosses and fought to build a stronger Syracuse that works for everyone - not just those at the top. 

“If we want to have any hope of rebuilding the middle class and lifting up working people, protecting and strengthening our communities, we need labor champions in public office who walk the walk, who will fight for workers, and who will champion good jobs and better standards in the workplace. We need more legislators like Chris who come from labor, who know working families and our priorities, and who aren’t afraid to stand up for their constituents. That’s why CWA members went all out to help get Chris elected. I’m very proud to call Chris a lifelong CWA member and a friend, and we can’t wait to get to work with Chris this year to make New York even stronger for working families.”