Next Gen Member Profile: Jeff Tilley, CWA District 4

Name: Jeff Tilley (he/him/his)
Local: CWA Local 4502
Title and Workplace: Event Coordination Specialist, City of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department
Title in the Union: CWA Local 4502 Secretary and District 4 Next Gen Co-Lead Activist
Time with Next Gen: 2 years (just took on the role of co-lead in June)
Mentorship: My mentor in the labor movement is Hugh Williams, President of my local. As Vice President, Hugh encouraged me to get more involved. And although I originally joined the union just to vote on our contract, with his guidance, I learned there’s so much more to being part of the union.
Inspiration: My biggest inspiration is my mom. She worked for the City of Columbus and was a member of CMAGE, which later became CWA Local 4502. She always went out of her way to help others, and that’s how I was raised—to care and to serve. That’s why I’m in public service and why I want to support my coworkers. We can’t serve our community if we’re not secure in our jobs.
Current Work: Right now, I’m focused on building internal organizing strength as we head into negotiations with the City of Columbus. This is the moment to grow and engage our membership.
Future: At the local level, I want to help young workers understand what’s happening in their union—even if they’re not ready to become activists. At the district level, I’m working to foster collaboration among locals. For example, in Columbus, we have three CWA locals, but we rarely coordinate in a way that involves rank-and-file members. We’re one union, and we should act like it. Nationally, I want to see more young members in leadership. CWA represents people of all ages and backgrounds, and we need fresh voices to keep our union growing and relevant.
Final Thoughts: When I became an officer, I made it a priority to grow Next Gen at my local. We now have about 20 active members who are deeply engaged and invested in our union. I believe that’s because they see themselves represented in leadership. They’re heard and respected. In my local, nearly one-third of our members are Next Gen eligible. That’s too many to overlook. It’s up to all levels of CWA to make space and invite these young members to get involved.

If you are interested in becoming more involved in Next Gen for CWA District 4, please reach out to District 4 Senior Campaign Lead Charles Daniels at [email protected].

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.