CWA Unbreakable: Recap of the 80th CWA National Convention

On August 11th and 12th thousands of Delegates representing CWA locals across the country came together in Pittsburgh, PA for the 80th CWA National Convention to vote on the business of the Union and hear from speakers delivering messages of hope and unity.

“We have to be smart and can’t let them divide us with their culture war distractions or their divide-and-conquer tactics,” said CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor, speaking to the District 1 Delegates before the opening of the Convention, about the significance of the moment we’re in right now. “It’s the oldest trick in the book. They want to blame the frustrations of working-class people on some desperate person at the border. They do that because they want working-class people to be divided and to keep the focus off the one true enemy - corporate greed. The rich think we’re stupid - and it’s our job to make sure that working-class Americans see this for what it is. We know that an immigrant trying to escape war and trying to provide for their family is not our enemy. What we do now matters. We are CWA. We are the labor movement. This is what we do. We stand up and we fight back.”

During the opening of the Convention, CWA National President Claude Cummings urged CWAers to stay united. “The history of our union is filled with stories of people just like you who made sacrifices because they believed in the promise of a better tomorrow. To build the future we want, the future we, our children, and our grandchildren deserve, we have to cultivate a mindset that an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. Our momentum is strong! We will not be stopped by billionaires or bullies!”

Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam updated Delegates on the financial state of the union, while CWA Organizing Director Tim Dubnau congratulated locals on welcoming over 25,000 new members into our ranks since our last Convention in 2023.

Members also heard from allies, including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Congresswoman Summer Lee, Congressman Chris Deluzio, and UNI Global Union General Secretary Christy Hoffman.

National Retired Members Council (RMC) President Gwen Parker and the National RMC Executive Board shared the RMC report and encouraged retirees to join the RMC as lifetime members. They noted that, “We cannot put away our union card, sit back and reap the rewards and benefits of a long career because [employers] continue to find ways to take those benefits away, as history has shown.”

The National Committee on Civil Rights and Equity and the National Women’s Committee provided comprehensive reports on critical issues of concern. The Civil Rights and Equity Committee ended their presentation by asserting, “We built this, we run this, and we are taking it back!” The Women’s Committee brought the delegates to their feet, asking, “We’re fighting back, are you?” The answer was a resounding, “Yes!”

Among several amendments and resolutions voted on at the Convention was the CWA Unbreakable resolution to strengthen our members’ ability to strike while providing sustainable funding for important projects that build our bargaining power and our union. The resolution was overwhelmingly passed.

Additional approved Resolutions:

• Ten-year Project to Unionize Our Fellow Telecommunications Workers reaffirms our commitment to organizing in our industry of origin.
• Fighting the Trump Administration’s Anti-Union Project 2025 Playbook outlines the Trump Administration's attacks on working people and resolves to oppose any policies that undermine our ability to form unions and bargain contracts, resist any and all attempts by politicians to hand more power to corporations by taking away our freedom to vote, and mobilize to elect candidates who share our vision for a better future for ourselves, our families, and our communities.
• Protecting Our Public Services resolves to organize and mobilize to protect high-quality public services and good union jobs, fight to defeat anti-worker, pro-corporate policies, and proactively seek to put in place protections for public services as well as to educate, advocate, and build coalitions to help a wide audience of policymakers and working people understand the valuable role of public services.
• Trans Rights are Workers’ Rights reaffirms CWA’s organizational support for our trans siblings and resolves that CWA will continue to bargain for trans-inclusive contract language and protections to respect the expressed gender identities of our members. It is also resolved that we will continue to stand up for the civil rights of our trans siblings both in principle and by utilizing the power of our members to enshrine those principles into strong, enforceable contract language.
• A Generational Fight for Our Freedoms resolves to educate our members, increase our union membership, grow our independent political strength, and take an active part in building the broad multiracial working-class resistance to authoritarianism.
• Restoring Federal Funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Local Public Media condemns the Trump administration’s decision to request, and Congress’s decision to approve, the rescission of federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which jeopardizes the jobs of CWA members. It also reaffirms our commitment to defending public broadcasting as an essential institution that informs, educates, and connects communities across the nation.
• International Solidarity reaffirms our union’s commitment to global labor solidarity and support for the work of our international labor federations; states that we will work to ensure the full restoration of USAID and all international labor rights programs, institutions, and independent agencies that defend workers’ rights, investigate labor and human rights abuses, and lift up international labor standards; and urges locals to support CWA’s Eduardo Diaz Union-to-Union International Solidarity Fund through voluntary funding.
• The resolution also demands an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the return of all hostages, and that all steps are taken for the immediate and unhindered delivery of critical humanitarian aid to Gaza. In addition, CWA joins the calls for a permanent two-state solution for the region and, as such, demands that the U.S. government join the list of countries that have formally recognized a Palestinian state.

Approved CWA Constitution Amendments:

• Require that the Finance Committee present a report during the Presidents' Meetings in non-convention years;
• Add a Passenger Service Representative to the Defense Fund Oversight Committee;
• Empower members by allowing them to file charges with the National Union for violations of the Policy on Mutual Respect—specifically in cases of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation;
• Update the process for handling charges against members and conducting trials.