Build Broadband Better
Session Type(s): Panel
Starts: Thursday, Oct. 7 2:15 PM (Eastern)
Ends: Thursday, Oct. 7 3:15 PM (Eastern)
The COVID-19 pandemic has made affordable, reliable broadband service more important than ever. It has also exposed the gaps in coverage. Billions in federal, state and local funds have been allocated to address the problem, but decades of telecom deregulation have shown us that without proper oversight, rural and low income communities may continue to be left without next generation communications services. During this panel, frontline telecommunications workers and policy experts will discuss what we can do to strengthen regulation at the state level and ensure that investment in broadband provides service to those most in need and creates good, sustainable jobs in our communities.
This session is sponsored by the Communications Workers of America.
Moderator
Panelists
Fernando M Roman Jr
Fernando M Roman Jr,
I am a proud member of CWA for 24 years. I am the currently the Executive Vice President of Cwa Local 7026 out of Tucson Arizona serving in my second term. I am a 2016 graduate of the CWA Minority Leadership Institute, I also served as the CWA District 7 representative to the Civil Rights and Equity committee for 3 Years. I also was elected Chairman of the Copa City Democratic club in the city of Maricopa Arizona and served the community in that avenue from 2016-2020.
The Communications Workers of America have built a team of facilitators focusing of labor education and I have had the opportunity to have been selected to facilitate the following trainings in the past. The Fight Forward, Reversing Runaway inequality, Political Activist Training, Mobilizing for our Future at CenturyLink. Upon the recent victory in the last Presidential election we have the opportunity to gain advances in voting rights, anti-discrimination legislation, equality and labor protections. With the recent passage of the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act in the Senate, we have the opportunity to hold corporations accountable when they receive tax dollars to provide broadband infrastructure in states.
Matt Wood
Matthew Joel Wood
Communications Workers of America
President, Local 3411
Brother Wood became a union member on June 21, 1999 when he began his career with Bellsouth and over the last 22 years he has served as a Job Steward, Local Vice-President, and President. He has put his passion and focus into the CWA Legislative/Political Program to broaden CWA’s presence in the Louisiana Legislature. As the Local President, Brother Wood’s responsibilities include managing the local day to day business. He is also the Louisiana State Legislative/Political Coordinator and serves as the spokesman and lobbyist for the Communications Workers of America at the Louisiana State Capitol.
As an employee of Bellsouth and now AT&T, Brother Wood was a Service Technician installing and maintaining a wide range of voice and data services. As a Service Technician and now currently a Facility Technician, Brother Wood maintains these services across a broad network made up of DSL, fiber and copper cables.
As a CWA member and activist, Brother Wood’s vision is to invest in next-generation networks that include real fiber broadband expansions which include investing in good, highly skilled union jobs across the Southeast of the United States. The goal is to make broadband more accessible to every community, rural and urban. During the COVID Pandemic it became apparent that affordable broadband for everyone is not up to a reasonable standard. Connectivity for business and industry, along with public and private school systems sounds like a priority, but it was the consumers inside of their homes that suffered during the pandemic. Brother Wood will make CWA’s voice heard when it pertains to public resources funding private (ISP) networks. This must include oversight and ensure everyone has adequate phone and internet service.