| In
Historic Meeting, AT&T Units Strategize for Bargaining Voice,
data, video and wireless.
It's a far different
AT&T than in 1984, when a court-ordered divestiture broke up
the telephone system. Now AT&T is the largest unionized private
sector employer in the country.
In a historic, first-ever bargaining unit meeting 16 months in advance
of 2009 negotiations, some 350 CWA local leaders, staff and Retired
Members Council representatives met in St. Louis from Dec. 9-11
to discuss the challenges of the restructured industry and get a
jump on bargaining strategy.
"One of the most
positive steps we can take is to get health care off the bargaining
table," said CWA President Larry Cohen, "and we do that
by electing a president, representatives and senators who are committed
to affordable, quality health care for all Americans."
District 7 Vice President
Annie Hill outlined CWA's strategic health care campaign which also
will become the foundation of CWA's political action effort for
2008.
CWA Executive Vice President
Jeff Rechenbach, who head's CWA's telecom office, noted that, "For
the first time in a generation we are looking at the overall scope
of the work we have to do, trying to put ourselves in the position
of acting strategically instead of always reacting to what our employers
do, in this case, AT&T."
He reported on a recent
meeting of CWA vice presidents with telecom responsibilities and
outlined plans for a Strategic Industry Fund proposal to help build
a powerful stewards army within the AT&T ranks "that will
be ready to take advantage of the very best weapon we have in our
arsenal, the ability to do the unexpected."
Vice Presidents Chris
Shelton, District 1; Noah Savant, District 3; Seth Rosen, District
4; Andy Milburn, District 6; Tony Bixler, District 9; Ralph Maly,
C&T and Pete Catucci's Administrative Director Ron Collins,
District 2, also attended the St. Louis meeting.
In addition to discussing
local issues in bargaining unit sessions, CWA leaders got an overview
of the overall bargaining climate and AT&T's position in a changing
industry.
The AT&T Mobility
(formerly Cingular Wireless) contract in District 6 expires in February
2008. The agreements for AT&T Mobility "Orange Contract"
(Districts 1, 2, 4, 7, 9 and 13) expire in February 2009, Southern
New England Telephone, Midwest, Southwest, Pacific and Legacy "T"
expire in April 2009 and the (former) Bell South agreement expires
in August 2009
New
Website Focuses on Legislation Affecting Middle Class
Its name conjures up
images of marching bands but, in fact, the Drum Major Institute
is a non-partisan group that's fighting for America's middle class.
And they've recently unveiled a website to further the cause.
At the easy-to-use site,
www.themiddleclass.org, visitors can learn about legislation affecting
working families and how their state's senators and representatives
voted. The site also provides video about featured bills, quotes
from experts and facts and figures from DMI's Injustice Index.
DON'T
BE TRICKED INTO SIGNING A BAD BALLOT INITIATIVE PETITION!
Right-wing
forces are currently gathering signatures for two different ballot
initiatives that would negatively impact working families throughout
the state.
The
"California Counts" initiative would steal our electoral
votes. The
"California Counts" campaign is a power-hungry effort
by radical conservatives to steal the state's electoral college
votes in 2008. The initiative would allocate electoral votes by
district, instead of the winner-take-all system we and 47 other
states have been using for generations, essentially stealing more
than 20 of California's electoral votes.
Even Governor
Schwarzenegger opposes the measure, saying "I feel like, if
you're all of a sudden in the middle of the game start changing
the rules, it's kind of odd... It almost feels like a loser's mentality,
saying, 'I cannot win with those rules. So let me change the rules.'"
It's no
secret that our electoral system needs a major overhaul, but it
needs to be comprehensive, nation-wide change. It isn't fair for
California, the largest, most influential state, to be singled out.
If someone
asks you to sign a petition to qualify this electoral college initiative
for the ballot, DO NOT SIGN! Instead email fraudbuster@cadem.org
or call (916) 442-5707.
The
"California Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act"
would abolish rent control. The
California Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act seeks to
abolish rent control and eliminate laws that require developers
to set aside a certain amount of affordable housing for working
families. It would also jeopardize laws requiring the fair return
of rental deposits, and eliminate regulations that require 30 or
60 day notices before landlords can displace renters.
The landlords
who are sponsoring this bill want voters to believe their measure
is about "eminent domain" reform, but it's a trick. This
bill contains hidden agendas that would eliminate essential renter's
rights.
If someone
asks you to sign a petition to qualify this eminent domain initiative
for the ballot, DO NOT SIGN!
'Save
My Home' Hotline Helping Union Families
October 18, 2007
As the U.S.
housing crisis worsens, a "Save My Home" hotline has been
set up by Union Plus to help union families address their worries
and uncertainties about what to do when their adjustable-rate mortgages
reset and other concerns.
Union Plus,
the AFL-CIO endorsed provider of financial benefits for union members,
says the free, confidential hotline will be staffed 24 hours a day
by counselors from Money Management International, a nonprofit,
HUD-certified agency. Face-to-face counseling is available at more
than 100 offices in 22 states and Washington, D.C.
The Save
My Home Hotline can advise homeowners who are behind in their payments,
already in foreclosure or looking for ways to budget and restructure
their debt. The toll-free number is (866) 490-5361. More information
is available online at www.unionplus.org.
Stop
the Offshoring of Good California Jobs
The current
"jobless" economic recovery has done little to help working
people in California. Nearly three million jobs in the U.S. have
disappeared over the past three years and unemployed workers are
out of work for longer than they have been in decades.
Retailers,
banks, airlines, hotels, hospitals, and government agencies are
all eliminating jobs in California and offshoring them to other
countries where workers earn lower wages under harsher working conditions.
A recent Los Angeles Times article uncovered the fact that our state
Food Stamp program hotline is staffed by workers in India and Mexico.
A UC Berkeley Haas Business School study estimates over 14 million
service sector jobs in the United States at risk of being offshored.
For more
information click here
Let’s
Get Ready!
The Countdown Begins: 312 Days to Expiration
 |
We’re
getting ready! August 2 began the one-year countdown to expiration
of the Verizon East contracts, which also have huge implications
for future Verizon West contracts. |
On
that day, IBEW and CWA members rallied at Verizon’s
New England headquarters in Boston, in Upland, CA, Richmond,
VA, Baltimore, MD and Morgantown, WV. Members also gathered
at garages and workplaces throughout Verizon’s footprint.
“Union
members are getting prepared now because the next collective
bargaining agreement offers us our best chance to refocus
management on making Verizon work for everyone: customers,
employees and investors alike,” said IBEW Local 2222
Business Manager Myles Calvey. |
Four
Electrocution Deaths Prompt Electrical Safety Agreement
Four Verizon technicians
and union brothers have been killed in electrocution accidents over
the last year and a half, and others have been seriously injured.
Because of a settlement pushed by CWA after the electrocution death
of a technician last year, Verizon in Maryland will train members
on a full array of electrical safety and health issues. Keep
reading.
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