MDC DSA aids CWA in strike and struggle

The weekend of May 19th-21st, tens of thousands of Communications Workers of America (CWA) workers at AT&T Mobility went on one of the largest retail worker strikes in U.S. history.

The planned 3-day action was called as CWA workers have been working for months without a contract and AT&T -- one of America's largest companies, which takes billions in profits -- had insisted on cuts to worker benefits and the continuation of both the offshoring of jobs and the use of increasing numbers of "licensed reseller" stores which employ lower-paid, non-union workers.

The strike sent a strong message to AT&T.  CWA has said there was a clear economic impact on the company, with many stores closing (including at least two in DC) and many customers turning away once they were told there was an active strike.  This was true throughout the US; the strike, "closed hundreds of stores nationwide, left call centers unstaffed and critical network tickets not dispatched until Monday."  The union also reports that AT&T has begun complying with requests for information vital for reaching an agreement, something they had refused to do prior to the strike.

DSA solidarity with CWA strikers was strong and evident at picket lines both in DC and across the country.

Negotiations with AT&T remain ongoing and DSA stands ready to continue supporting workers as they fight for good jobs and a better future.  To help, be to be ready to hear from DC DSA about future informational pickets, as well as following Unity @ Mobility (Twitter, Facebook, Website) for updates from CWA.

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