Political Action Updates - August 2023

CWA Helps Win New Protections for Temp Workers in New Jersey!

The “Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights” took effect in New Jersey last week, after being signed into law by Governor Murphy back in February.

The new law, which CWA helped fight for alongside several other labor and community groups, requires temp workers to receive pay and benefits equal to the average full-time employee’s compensation. The law also allows temp workers to accept permanent jobs without interference from staffing agencies, prevents them from being charged for transportation or uniform fees, and requires them to be paid if they’re called in to work, even if there’s nothing for them to do. The historic law protects hundreds of thousands of workers against low pay and unsafe working conditions.

Read more about the new law here.

CWA Local 1109 Rally to Hold Our Elected Officials Accountable

On August 10th members of CWA Local 1109 joined a coalition of community and labor members to call on Congressman Anthony D’Esposito (representing New York’s 4th Congressional District, central and southern Nassau County) to stand with Long Island’s working families and stop disastrous cuts to Medicaid and education funding. 

Rep. D’Esposito and the House of Representatives majority have proposed funding cuts that would devastate New York’s working class, all while handing out tax cuts to huge corporations and billionaires. This will not solve the real issues that working families face like inflation, housing, and rising cost of living, and further exacerbate the gulf between the rich and the workers who keep our communities running. 

In addition to these cuts, the House majority has proposed massive cuts to the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board that would allow employers to roll back workplace safety and delay union elections. Help us fight back! Click here to call Rep. D’Esposito’s office to tell him to stand with workers, not corporations and the ultra-rich!

CWA Member Trainers Test Out Updated Political Action Training

The Political Action Bootcamp is one of the foundational trainings of CWA’s Political Activist Training Program, which was launched in 2014 to build more political power for the union with stronger Legislative Political Action Teams that can advocate for pro-worker laws and regulations, as well as elected officials who stand with workers and help us advance our rights.

The Bootcamp is designed as a two-day training with twenty members, providing a mix of organizing skills and political education, and serves as an intro to further political action education. Bootcamps are member-led, and a team of CWAers from locals throughout District 1 have been hard at work this year to revamp and update the Bootcamp program.

On August 10th, member trainers from Locals 1101, 1106, 1109, 1168, and 1180 met at the Local 1180 office in New York City to test out an updated module for the program and make revisions in advance of the next training dates (coming up later this month in New Jersey).