Category Archives: CWA Strong

2025 CWA Local 1031 Scholarships

CWA Local 1031 is giving fourteen $500 Scholarships and three $500 Dependent Care Grants as a thank you to our members!

Winners will be selected at the August CWA Local 1031 Executive Board meeting to be held on Thursday, August 7, 2025. Awards are determined by luck of the draw, and winners will be contacted by email.

To apply, download and complete the form linked below, and return it to the CWA Local 1031 office by August 6th.

Remember, only members are eligible for these scholarships, but you can still fill out a card to become a member. Not only will you be eligible for the scholarship drawing, but you will also be supporting your coworkers as we fight for better wages, healthcare, and more! We are only able to provide these scholarships because of our members!

CWA Action Alert When We Fight, We Win!We need to take action NOW.

In the final days of Fiscal Year 2026 budget negotiations for the state, Governor Murphy and the NJ State Legislature are trying to shift $100 million in healthcare costs onto us —breaking our contract and trying to balance the budget on our backs.

This is unacceptable.

Take 3 actions right now to demand that our elected leaders do their jobs and stand with us:

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CWAers Throughout New Jersey Say: It’s Time to Put a STOP to Skyrocketing Healthcare Costs!

CWA Local 1031 President, Kathy Hernandez, along with Billy Ghallager VP of D1 and other CWA 1031 officers & members at the healthcare rally

On June 4 thousands of CWA members working in State and Local Government public sector positions braved the soaring heat to turn out for a massive rally at the New Jersey State House Annex in Trenton to deliver a message to state lawmakers: we need action NOW to stop and contain healthcare costs for New Jersey’s public sector workforce!

Since 2022, healthcare premiums for State workers have increased by 40% while local government workers have seen a 59% compounded increase. At the bargaining table, CWA has worked to protect members from the full impact of these increases, but we need legislative action to contain costs for State workers, gain parity for Local Government workers, and make New Jersey more affordable for all.

CWA members were joined by a coalition of other unions including the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, AFSCME NJ, AAUP-AFT, AFT New Jersey, The Council of New Jersey State Colleges, URA-AFT, HPAE, IFPTE, as well as NJ State Assemblymembers Cody Miller and Verlina Reynolds-Jackson at the rally, filling the Annex square and speaking about the growing crisis of affordability for working families in New Jersey

“I have something to say to this state and to this country,” said Billy Gallagher, CWA District 1 Assistant to the Vice President, addressing the massive crowd. “Anyone who thinks unions are going away, take a picture of today, ‘cause we’re not going away! We’re fighting for our rights, and we’re gonna keep fighting!”

Photo of CWA workers rallying in Trenton, NJ

Continue reading CWAers Throughout New Jersey Say: It’s Time to Put a STOP to Skyrocketing Healthcare Costs!

CWA District 1 – Emergency Meeting, Wed. April 2, 7pm

Register Here to Join the Call!

Activist Alert

 Join us for an emergency town hall this Wednesday, April 2nd at 7 pm to discuss the latest unprecedented attack on working people.

We don’t take this warning lightly, but unions are under attack like never before. After busting the TSA union earlier this month, this administration unilaterally and illegally ripped up the collective bargaining agreements of almost 1 million Federal Workers last week. This means that over a million union workers woke up to the news that they no longer have a union contract and no longer have dues deduction. This is an unprecedented attack on all workers.

We expect this is just the beginning. Corporate America and anti-union elected officials will likely now test the limits and attempt to go further by weakening collective bargaining and organizing rights for all of us.

But we can fight back, and we can win.

Please join us for an emergency Town Hall Call this Wednesday, April 2nd at 7 pm EST.

On the call, we will talk about what we can do right now to fight back, and we’ll be joined by a member of the Federal Union Network (FUN) who will discuss the next steps. Get out your walking shoes, it’s time to hit the streets in record numbers.

CWA members know: An Injury To One Is An Injury to All. When they come after our Federal workers and their unions, they come after us too.

Please register here to join this important call.

Webinar: CWA’s Campaign to Stop Skyrocketing Healthcare Costs

CWA Local 1031 encourages all of its members in both state and local government to sign up for and attend this important webinar.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 at 6:30 PM ET

Our healthcare costs are out of control – and we’re taking a stand to put a stop to it!

Healthcare contributions paid by public employees, particularly at the local government level, have become unaffordable. CWA is launching a major campaign to address the healthcare affordability crisis, and we’re going to need everyone to step up and stand together to take on the State and the insurance industry!

WATCH The Recording of the Webinar Here