CWA District 4's Mathews on Worker Power Agenda and AT&T Contract Win

Frank Mathews, Administrative Director of District 4 of the Communications Workers of America, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to share two significant stories from the CWA.

First, AT&T Mobility wireless workers, represented by CWA, ratified a new contract covering 9,000 workers across 36 states and the District of Columbia, following a 95 percent strike authorization vote in March that put the union in a strong bargaining position.

Second, Mathews walked through the CWA Worker Power Agenda — a platform built directly from a survey of more than 9,000 members and organized around 17 pieces of legislation in four categories: good jobs and strong unions, affordable healthcare, stopping corporate exploitation and ending corruption in Washington D.C.

Members brought that agenda to Capitol Hill during the union's recent legislative conference, where their preparation drew consistent praise from congressional staffers and members of Congress alike.

• CWA surveyed more than 9,000 members to build the Worker Power Agenda from the ground up, with job security, wages and job protections, affordable healthcare, stopping corporate exploitation and ending corruption in Washington emerging as the top priorities. The resulting platform of 17 bills was carried directly to Capitol Hill by thousands of union members during the legislative conference, where CWA members were repeatedly told their preparation and knowledge of the legislation stood out among all visiting groups.
• U.S. Representative Greg Casar of Texas chose the CWA legislative conference to announce a new bill that would raise overtime pay from time and a half to double time nationwide. Casar claimed it would both reward workers putting in long hours and create an incentive for corporations to hire more employees, rather than running operations on reduced staff at unsustainable overtime levels. Mathews described the announcement as catching the crowd off guard and drawing an enthusiastic response.
• The Raise the Wage Act — HR 2743 in the House and Senate bill 1332 — would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour by 2030, addressing a standard that has remained at $7.25 since 2009 and now carries less purchasing power than the minimum wage did in 1956. Companion legislation, including the No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act and the Keep Call Centers in America Act would eliminate tax incentives that currently reward companies for moving American jobs overseas.

A Contract Win Built on Solidarity

Frank Mathews opened with news worth celebrating. AT&T Mobility wireless workers, represented by CWA, ratified a new contract covering 9,000 workers in customer service, retail and tech support positions across 36 states and the District of Columbia, including all five states in CWA District 4. The contract delivers substantial wage increases, back pay and continued healthcare protections. It was made possible, Mathews said, by a 95 percent strike authorization vote in March that gave the bargaining committee real leverage heading into negotiations. The mobilization and the discipline of the membership throughout the process were, in his assessment, exemplary.

A Platform Built by Members

The CWA Worker Power Agenda did not originate in a conference room in Washington. It came from members. Late last year, CWA distributed a survey to its membership and ultimately collected responses from more than 9,000 workers — a figure Mathews described as exceptional given that most comparable surveys draw a fraction of that response. Members were asked what mattered most. Their answers, gathered anonymously, shaped the entire platform.

The priorities that emerged, in order, were job security and wage protections, affordable healthcare, stopping corporations from taking advantage of working people and ending corruption in Washington D.C. The 17 pieces of legislation CWA took to Capitol Hill fall into those four categories. Mathews noted that the platform, taken as a whole, represents the concerns of working families regardless of political affiliation.

The Double Overtime Bill and Why It Matters

The moment that generated the most energy at the recent CWA conference was an announcement. From U.S. Representative Greg Casar of Texas. If approved, his bill would raise standard overtime pay from time and a half to double time nationwide. He could have announced it anywhere — on Capitol Hill, in front of television cameras or on the steps of the Capitol. He chose a room full of union members instead. Mathews said the crowd was genuinely surprised and genuinely moved.

The logic of the bill, as Casar presented it, runs in two directions. Workers who put in long overtime hours are compensated at a rate that reflects the real cost of those hours to their lives and their families. And corporations that have been running on bare-bones staffing, while working existing employees to exhaustion, face a financial incentive to hire more people instead. The bill addresses overwork and understaffing with a single mechanism.

Minimum Wage, Healthcare and Stopping Outsourcing

Among the other pieces of legislation Mathews highlighted, the Raise the Wage Act drew significant attention at the conference. The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2009, and Mathews noted that when adjusted for inflation, that amount carries less purchasing power today than the minimum wage did in 1956. The bill would gradually raise the minimum wage to $17 per hour by 2030. He acknowledged it is not a perfect solution, but called it a necessary start.

Healthcare also took up significant time at the conference. Three specific bills addressed lowering prescription drug costs, expanding Medicare to cover dental, hearing and vision and protecting healthcare coverage while reducing overall costs. CWA members were thoroughly briefed on each bill before going to Capitol Hill to lobby, enabling substantive conversations with congressional offices rather than scripted talking points.

On the outsourcing front, two bills spoke directly to CWA's core constituency. The No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act would eliminate federal tax incentives that currently reward companies for moving jobs overseas — a provision Mathews described as a reward for behavior that directly harms American workers. The Keep Call Centers in America Act would make companies that offshore call center jobs ineligible for federal grants and loans and would give consumers the right to request a domestic representative. Mathews also raised the national security dimension. Corporations routinely send sensitive customer data, including Social Security numbers, to overseas call centers in countries with high rates of identity theft, a practice Mathews said compounds the economic harm to American workers and poses a real security risk to American consumers.

Members on Capitol Hill

On the second and third days of the CWA conference, the legislative sessions gave way to direct action. Thousands of CWA members fanned out around Capitol Hill with the Worker Power Agenda briefing materials in hand. They met with members of Congress and their staffs. Mathews said the feedback was consistent: CWA members arrived better prepared than virtually any other group that week, able to discuss each bill in detail, explain its real-world impact on working families and answer follow-up questions without hesitation.

More information on the CWA Worker Power Agenda is available at cwa-union.org.

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