New CWA president elected amid scandal over abusive union VP's behavior
Claude Cummings, Jr. will become the union's first African American president.
In a seeming rebuke to retiring-President Chris Shelton and his chosen successor Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) elected a new president to represent the more than 600,000-member union on Monday.
“In an historic election, Claude Cummings Jr. was elected as president of the Communications Workers of America by delegates to the union’s 79th convention and Ameenah Salaam was elected Secretary-Treasurer,” the union stated on its website.
Cummings is the first Black man elected as CWA President, the CWA went on to note. Salaam, who was elected by acclamation, is the first Black woman to serve as Secretary-Treasurer.
Cummings was running against Sara Steffens and Ed Mooney, a powerful vice president of the union, based in Philadelphia.
However, he was not chosen until a runoff election between he and Mooney took place.
“Runoff vote percentages were unavailable,” reported People’s World on Tuesday, “but reports of results of the first round of balloting eliminated a third candidate, current Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens, who reportedly received 14% of the vote to 46% for Mooney and 40% for Cummings.”
Cummings’ election comes weeks after a damning report was published about Mooney’s behavior toward union staff and members, as well as a possible cover-up by Shelton and Steffens, who knew of some of the allegations against Mooney as far back as 2020.
At the union’s convention in St. Louis on Monday, the People’s World reported, Shelton—who strongly endorsed CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens in February to replace him—told convention delegates that he was “disturbed by all the allegations of sexism and homophobic behavior” surrounding Ed Mooney.
via the People’s World:
“I was disturbed by all the allegations of sexism and homophobic behavior” levied against Mooney, Shelton told The News Guild-CWA’s convention/sector conference beforehand. When Mooney did not drop out, Shelton said, “I sent Mooney to sensitivity training” about sexual harassment and bullying. He called Mooney’s responses “inadequate.”
With Cummings’ election, it is possible that Mooney’s behavior might be addressed more formally through a union trial.
However, that could alienate many of the union’s members in the telecommunications sector of the union.