COMMUNICATION WORKERS OF AMERICA

What COMMUNICATION WORKERS OF AMERICA does

Communication Workers of America (CWA) is a U.S. labor union founded in 1938, affiliated with the AFL-CIO, and one of the largest unions in North America. The firmographic record (CWA Local 6222, Houston) reflects a single local chapter, but the available data spans the national CWA organization, which represents workers across telecommunications, media and journalism, technology, aviation, manufacturing, public-sector, and higher-education industries. Core members are organized through sector-based affiliates including IUE-CWA (manufacturing), NABET-CWA (broadcasting), AFA-CWA (flight attendants), NewsGuild-CWA / TNG-CWA (media), and UPTE-CWA (university technical employees), with CWA Canada operating under a 2006 autonomy agreement.

CWA's product surface is fundamentally a representation and member-services offering rather than a commercial technology product. The core deliverable is collective bargaining and contract negotiation on behalf of bargaining units at employers such as AT&T, Verizon, Alphabet/Google, Wells Fargo, United Airlines, and the University of California system. Adjacent products include member benefits through Union Plus (auto buying, pet insurance, hotel discounts, credit cards), CWA/NETT training and professional development resources, leadership training programs, scholarship programs administered by the Joe Beirne Foundation (established 1974), a Union Bulletin Board for work-from-home members, and union-hall rental at the local level. CWA distributes these offerings through worksite organizing, NLRB elections, digital channels (website, e-newsletter, Facebook, Instagram), phone banking, and community events; it has no commercial API, SDK, or proprietary technology platform.

The union's revenue model is dues-based and member-funded rather than transaction- or SaaS-based. Members pay recurring dues, typically calculated as a percentage of wages, which fund representation, grievances, legal defense, organizing, political and legislative action, and the member-benefits stack. CWA also earns incidental revenue from union-hall rentals, benefit-program partnerships, and investment income. CWA does not disclose pricing publicly; dues vary by local and bargaining unit. Governance is member-run through elected officers and an Executive Board, with the CWA President and District leadership directing operations; CWA Local 6222 is part of CWA District 6 (Texas and Southwest) and operates from a headquarters at 10959 Ella Blvd, Houston, Texas.

Name

COMMUNICATION WORKERS OF AMERICA

Legal name

Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, CLC

Website

https://cwa6222.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1938

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Communication Workers of America (CWA) is a 1938-founded U.S. labor union representing workers across telecommunications, media, technology, aviation, manufacturing, and public sectors through collective bargaining, member benefits, training, and political advocacy, affiliated with AFL-CIO.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Dues: CWA generates revenue through membership dues from represented workers across telecommunications, media, technology, and other sectors. Members pay dues typically calculated as a percentage of wages to fund union operations, representation, and member benefits.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is a labor union that organizes and represents workers across telecommunications, media, technology, airlines, manufacturing, and the public sector. It provides collective bargaining, contract negotiation, grievance handling, and workplace advocacy on behalf of its members, supplemented by member benefits through Union Plus, training resources via CWA/NETT, and political and legislative action.

Product overview

CWA Local 6222 operates as a labor union local providing union membership and collective bargaining representation for telecommunications, media, and other workers. The organization offers member benefits through Union Plus programs including auto buying, pet insurance, and hotel discounts. Additional services include CWA/NETT training resources, work-from-home member resources through the Union Bulletin Board, leadership training programs, and union hall rental. The local is part of CWA District 6 and represents members across various sectors including AT&T, DIRECTV, and retail stores.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NewsGuild-CWA (TNG-CWA): Sector of CWA representing news and media workers including journalists at major publications.
• IUE-CWA
• AFA-CWA
• NABET-CWA
• UPTE-CWA

Products and services

• CWA Union Membership Union membership providing collective bargaining representation, contract negotiation, grievance handling, and workplace advocacy for workers in telecommunications, media, technology, airlines, manufacturing, and the public sector.
• Union Plus Member Benefits Program
• CWA/NETT Training Resources Training and professional development service for CWA members providing knowledge and support to offset employer cutbacks in training programs.
• Leadership Training Programs Intensive workshops and training sessions for union leadership covering grievance handling, organizing, legislative action, and contract negotiation.
• Union Hall Rental Rental of the CWA Local 6222 union hall facility, with proceeds supporting member programs, training, community outreach, and day-to-day operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 82% vote ratified United Airlines Flight Attendants contract
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and regional.

• Union PluscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerUnion Plus is a trusted resource that strengthens quality of life for working families by offering unique, union-focused products and services including auto buying programs, pet insurance, hotel discounts, and credit cards that support everyday needs of CWA members
• CWA/NETTcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCWA/NETT provides training and professional development resources to CWA members as employers cut back on training, ensuring members have access to knowledge and support for career advancement
• Alliance for Retired AmericansmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCWA participates in the Alliance for Retired Americans, a coalition focused on protecting Social Security, Medicare, and advocacy for older Americans. CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. serves on the ARA Board of Directors
• Common CausemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommon Cause, a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to upholding democracy, joined CWA District 1 town hall to discuss concerns about attacks on voting rights and election integrity
• New York City CouncilregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew York City Council members and Comptroller Mark Levine supported LanguageLine Solutions interpreters in their union organizing efforts, demanding the company respect workers' right to form a union
• Union NOW!majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnion NOW! is a non-profit organization with a mission to directly support workers who are organizing or striking for fair contracts. CWA members joined the launch event with Senator Bernie Sanders and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani
• AFA-CWAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) is a CWA sector representing Flight Attendants, having won significant contracts including paid sick leave for Virginia workers and boarding pay at United Airlines

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AFL-CIO: AFL-CIO is CWA's parent federation, a labor union umbrella representing over 12 million workers across 60 affiliate unions. Directly comparable as a labor organization governing structure, with shared governance, political action, and member-benefit programs.

Direct peers

• AFSCME: AFSCME represents 1.4 million public-sector workers in local, state, and federal government. Directly comparable in representing public-sector workers (overlap with UCW-CWA and UPTE-CWA) under a similar dues-funded, politically active membership model.
• United Auto Workers (UAW): UAW represents manufacturing workers across automotive, aerospace, and higher education, recently expanding into white-collar and graduate-worker organizing. Comparable in dues-based revenue, multi-sector diversification, and high-profile contract negotiation profile.
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU): SEIU is one of the largest North American labor unions, representing healthcare, public sector, and property service workers. Comparable as a similarly scaled multi-sector union using grassroots organizing, political action, and member dues as the core operating model.
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT): AFT is an AFL-CIO affiliated union representing 1.7 million education and public-sector workers. Directly comparable in governance structure, dues-funded model, and political/legislative advocacy orientation toward public-sector collective bargaining.
• National Education Association (NEA): NEA is the largest U.S. labor union with ~3 million members, primarily educators and public-sector workers. Comparable as a large membership-based union using dues revenue, political action, and collective bargaining across state and local chapters.
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW): IBEW represents workers in telecommunications, utilities, and broadcasting—directly overlapping CWA's core telecom and media membership base. Both unions organize in similar employer workplaces and compete for the same craft and technical worker pool.
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters: The Teamsters represent 1.3 million workers across transportation, logistics, and warehousing. Comparable as a major AFL-CIO affiliated union with similar dues-funded structure, multi-employer bargaining, and active organizing and political action apparatus.
• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM): IAM represents manufacturing, aerospace, and transportation workers and is affiliated with AFL-CIO. Highly comparable in representing manufacturing (IUE-CWA overlap) and transportation workers under the same federation umbrella and organizing framework.

Emerging players

• Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA): AFA-CWA is a CWA sector division itself, but functions as a stand-alone union representing ~50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines. Included as a peer to illustrate the comparable in-house sector union structure used by CWA to organize adjacent worker groups.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CWAD6
• Instagraminstagram.com/cwadistrict6
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/communication-workers-of-america

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about COMMUNICATION WORKERS OF AMERICA