Claude Cummings Jr. to be honored at 2025 NNPA National Leadership Awards during Congressional Black Caucus
Claude Cummings Jr., president of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), will receive a 2025 NNPA National Leadership Award at the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s annual Leadership Awards Reception on Thursday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. at the Conrad Washington, DC, 950 New York Ave. NW. Seating is free, but tickets are required to enter. The event theme is “Saluting Excellence in Leadership.”
Cummings, a Houston native and veteran labor leader, was elected CWA president by delegates to the union’s 79th convention in 2023, becoming the first Black man to lead the 600,000-member union that represents workers across telecommunications, media, tech, public service and more. Before his election, he served as CWA District 6 vice president, representing workers in Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas. He began his career at Southwestern Bell (now AT&T) in 1973, later leading CWA Local 6222 in Houston.
Under Cummings’ leadership, CWA has emphasized organizing, bargaining for stronger wages and benefits, and advancing civil and human rights within the labor movement. His record includes leading bargaining teams that won wage increases, improved health coverage and job security provisions for members across District 6.
Accepting honors during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference week, Cummings will be recognized by NNPA’s board for leadership and service. “Working people see us sticking to our values, standing up to corporate power, and it gives them hope,” Cummings told delegates at the 80th CWA Convention this summer.
Cummings has also emphasized a broad, worker-first approach to public policy. “The only question that matters to me is: are you with us, the workers, or not,” he said at CWA’s 2024 Legislative-Political Conference.
At the same 2025 convention, he urged members to remain unified in the face of opposition: “Our momentum is strong. We will not be stopped by billionaires or bullies.”
The NNPA National Leadership Awards Reception will be held in the hotel’s Grand Ballroom. The program is open to the public at no cost, though advance registration and a ticket are required for entry.
Event details
What: 2025 NNPA National Leadership Awards Reception — “Saluting Excellence in Leadership”
When: Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, 7 p.m.
Where: Conrad Washington, DC, 950 New York Ave. NW (Grand Ballroom)
Admission: Free seating; ticketed entry required.
Tickets are available now. Don’t miss your chance to be part of this historic celebration.