Claude Cummings Jr. (born ) is an American labor union leader. Born in the

Kashmere Gardens Kashmere Gardens is a historically African-American neighborhood in the northern 610 Loop area in Houston, Texas, United States. A group of single-family houses, many of which have large lots, Kashmere Gardens is between an industrial area and a ...

area of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Cummings attended

Kashmere High School Kashmere High School is a secondary school in Houston, Texas that serves grades 9 through 12; it is a part of the Houston Independent School District. It is located in the Houston Gardens, Houston, Trinity Gardens neighborhood, and its namesake i ...

, then in 1973 found work at

Southwestern Bell Telephone Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. It does business as other d.b.a. names in its operating region, which includes Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and portions of Illinois. The company is ...

as a frame attendant. He followed his father in joining the

Communications Workers of America The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States, representing about 700,000 members in both the private and public sectors (also in Canada and Puerto Rico). The union has 27 loc ...

union, but initially did not seek a leadership position. However, he became aware that women working in the union hall across the street were only permitted to take breaks outside, or in their restroom. This inspired him to lead a successful campaign for the women to be permitted to use the same break areas as men. Cummings remained active in the union, eventually becoming president of his local, and then in 2011 winning election as vice president representing district 6 of the union. He also served on the union's executive board, and led its Human Rights Department. He was also active in the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, and the

Coalition of Black Trade Unionists The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) is a nonprofit organization of African American trade union members affiliated with the AFL–CIO. More than 50 different international and national trade unions are represented in CBTU and there are 5 ...

. In 2023, Cummings was elected as president of the union, defeating Ed Mooney by 59 percent to 41 percent of the vote. He became the first African-American leader of the union. As leader, he stated he would campaign against the contracting out of jobs, and support the ability of members to work from home. Cummings spoke at the

2024 Democratic National Convention The 2024 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating convention in which delegates of the Democratic Party (United States), United States Democratic Party voted on their party ...

on August 19, 2024.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cummings, Claude 1950s births Year of birth missing (living people) Activists from Houston African-American trade unionists American trade union leaders Coalition of Black Trade Unionists people Communications Workers of America people Living people Protestants from Texas Trade unionists from Texas Vice presidents of the AFL-CIO