• The Competition Is On! CWA Locals Spread Employee Free Choice Message 
• Locals Step Up Mobilizing at AT&T Nationwide
• CWAers in Pennsylvania Deliver Strong Message to Senator Specter
• Actors, Musicians Produce New Video for Employee Free Choice Act
• Experts Bust Arbitration Myths Spread by Employee Free Choice Opponents
• CWA/NETT Training Helps Journalists Save Jobs in Massachusetts
• CWA, IBEW Cite Serious Concerns about Verizon Sale
• 'Say on Pay', Governance Measures Gain Shareholder Support

The Competition Is On!

New York and Pennsylvania locals hung banners on highway overpasses to spread the Employee Free Choice message.

Take the challenge and hang a banner or two or five. Send us your photos and stories and we'll publish them in the CWA Newsletter or on The Source website. Send to news@cwa-union.org.

CWA Locals Spread Employee Free Choice Message 

Tens of thousands of motorists across New York and Pennsylvania viewed CWA's message of support for Employee Free Choice over the last week thanks to the enterprising efforts of local union activists who hung banners on highway overpasses and bridges.

Last Friday morning when the U.S. Department of Labor released the economy's rising unemployment numbers, dozens of CWA members from locals throughout New York State coordinated their actions and unfurled banners that read, "Fix the Economy! Employee Free Choice Act Now" and other slogans, from 10 highway overpasses.

CWA locals in New York put up banners at overpasses across the state, this one in Suffolk County.

In Syracuse, three members of Local 1123 hung a sheet-sized banner from a pedestrian bridge near the state fairgrounds during the morning rush hour. Local members stood by the sign for 45 minutes before the police told them to take it down; they received honks of support from motorists passing underneath, they said.

Other District 1 locals joined in hanging banners from highway overpasses in Utica, Binghamton, Poughkeepsie, Suffolk County, Staten Island, Waterloo, Queens, Nassau County, and Westchester County. Not to be out done, members from Local 1109 carried a large banner across the Brooklyn Bridge. Other participating locals were 1103, 1104, 1106, 1108, 1111, 1120, and 1126.

Outside Philadelphia, CWA locals used overpasses in the Philadelphia area to show support for Employee Free Choice.

In Pennsylvania, members of Locals 13000 and 13500 used the same tactic to encourage workers to contact Sen. Specter and urge him to support Employee Free Choice. Yesterday a banner was hung from an overpass over a jammed highway leading into Philadelphia. Today local activists will hang a banner in Chester over Interstate 95.

District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton and District 13 Vice President Edward Mooney said the banners will remind people that rebuilding the middle class is the only way to restore our economy. "We can't build an economy on Wall Street gimmicks, sub-prime mortgages and credit card debt," said Shelton. "The only way to fix this economy is to expand collective bargaining."

"We are hanging the banners to remind Sen. Specter, as well as others in Congress, that labor's support for them depends on their support for legislation to protect workers' organizing and bargaining rights," said Mooney.

Locals Step Up Mobilizing at AT&T Nationwide

From Connecticut to California, CWA locals are mobilizing and planning more events to make sure that AT&T management gets the message: we're standing strong for fair contracts.

Local 4321 got the corporate greed message across with this billboard outside Zanesville, Ohio.

CWA Local 4321 has put up what's probably the biggest (see photo) lit billboard in Ohio, near the busiest intersection in the southeastern section of the state. In Columbus, dozens of members from Local 4320 held a family picnic day where family members joined workers in informational picketing in front of an AT&T garage.

In Toledo, members of CWA Local 4319 were joined by hundreds of UAW and other union workers, community activists and Jobs with Justice members at a downtown rally.

CWAers from Local 4320 and their family members picketed for a fair contract outside an AT&T garage in Columbus, Ohio.

CWA District 4 Vice President Seth Rosen and state officers from the UAW and the AFL-CIO were among the key speakers.

Locals in District 6 launched a lobbying campaign to get members of Congress and state representatives to support their fight for a fair contract. CWA District 6 Vice President Andy Milburn and CWA Executive Vice President Annie Hill met with the bargaining committee this week.

In District 9, informational picketing is strong across California, with members of Local 9417 on the line in Stockton, Local 9415 demonstrating in Pleasanton, and members of Local 9421 in Sacramento hitting AT&T on its corporate greed.

This Saturday, Local 1298 will hold a giant rally at the New Haven Green; members of Locals 1101, 1102, 1103, 1104, 1106, 1107, 1301, and 1400 will be on hand.

For more information and updates on mobilization, go to www.cwa-union.org/att.

CWAers in Pennsylvania Deliver Strong Message to Senator Specter

CWA members joined with hundreds of other union activists in a statewide blitz across Pennsylvania this week to remind Sen. Arlen Specter that workers' support for Specter's reelection in 2010 depends upon his support for the Employee Free Choice Act.

In just two days, members of Locals 13000 and 13500 handed out more than 10,000 "Arlen Specter: Our Jobs Matter Too!" leaflets, blanketing airports, bus and train stations. Today, CWAers are spreading the word to fans at the Philadelphia Phillies baseball game, encouraging Pennsylvanians to call Specter's office and urge him to support Employee Free Choice. Click here for a copy.

CWA members also placed more than 1,000 lawn signs in yards around Philadelphia, including in Specter's own neighborhood. Members of Locals 13000 and 13500 also hung the message on large banners from busy highway overpasses in Philadelphia and its four surrounding counties.

"Sen. Specter will get our message loud and clear," said District 13 Vice President Ed Mooney. "He will know that he cannot count on support from union members if he does not support us on our most critical issue in decades." CWA has collected signatures of support for Employee Free Choice from ten of the state's Democratic Party chairs.

As a Republican, Sen. Specter was a sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act and voted for the bill two years ago. Specter recently switched parties and became a Democrat.

Actors, Musicians Produce New Video for Employee Free Choice Act

In a new video, some of the country's leading actors, singers and comedians describe how the country's broken labor laws are directly connected to the broken economy, and they urge Americans to contact their lawmakers to demand change.

"People associate actors with fame and glory," said actress Amy Brenneman, one of 47 stars in the video. "The truth is for a long time my union contract was the reason I could support my family. That's why I support the Employee Free Choice Act, because each worker deserves the freedom to bargain for a contract, for a better life."

Actor and comedian Jerry Stiller said, "I've belonged to three unions in my life, and every one gave me the freedom to bargain with my co-workers for decent hours, benefits and safe conditions. If all workers don't have the freedom to form unions, I don't see how we can fix our economy."

The video and a full list of its stars are online at www.artistsforworkerschoice.org.

It was made possible not only by actors and musicians, but also editors, writers and technical crew members represented by eight unions that specialize in performing arts.

CWA and the AFL-CIO are urging members to share the video with friends and family and spread it throughout the country through Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

Experts Bust Arbitration Myths Spread by Employee Free Choice Opponents

Arbitration provisions in the Employee Free Choice Act are fair to both sides and essential to fix the country's broken labor laws, experts said Wednesday during a media call to refute the latest Big Business campaign against Employee Free Choice.

"Without binding arbitration in this bill, it's like having a car with no transmission. It may look good, but it's not going anywhere," said Rep. Phil Hare (D-Ill.) a former local union president.

Today, nearly half of all workers who beat the odds and form a union can't get a first contract because of management stonewalling at the bargaining table.

Employers benefit by stalling because after a year they can move to decertify a union, while the prospect of arbitration would motivate employers -- and unions -- to bargain productively, Hare and Thomas Kochan, professor at the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said during the phone call coordinated by American Rights at Work.

"If employees have voiced their desire for a union and been certified, they are entitled to have a good faith process to reach agreement," Kochan said.

CWA members at Comcast in Pittsburgh know about company stalling tactics. Technicians fought for their union for five years, through four elections and nearly endless management stonewalling, before finally getting a first contract.

Kochan said the business lobby's $200 million misinformation campaign is spreading myths about arbitration that simply aren't true.

One such myth is that if arbitration is allowed, unions will want to use it every time. "That has not been the case," said Kochan, who has done extensive research on arbitration pratices. "The best data we have shows that in the public sector, in states like New York and New Jersey, less than 10 percent of the contracts get resolved by arbitration."

Another myth is that arbitrators could be biased toward unions. Kochan said there's no evidence to back up such claims and under the bill, each side would present lists of proposed arbitrators until both the union and management agree on one. After the neutral arbitrator is selected, each side would each choose another arbitrator. Together, the three arbitrators would hear a case. "This has the effect of controlling against any kind of decision that wouldn't be workable for the parties," he said.

Kochan says MIT research shows that arbitrators' decisions closely mirror the result that would have been expected had the parties themselves been able to reach agreement. Economic studies on the effect of arbitration on wages "show that it's essentially zero," he said, explaining that despite opponents' claim, arbitrators don't award higher raises than what bargaining ultimately would have produced.

Hare said the business lobby knows it can't win on the merits, "and when you can't win on the merits, you start throwing out all sorts of things that aren't factual."

"There's an old saying, 'You know you're losing when you start abusing' and the other side must be feeling pretty bad right now because they're spending a tremendous amount of money trying to distort the facts," Hare said.

CWA/NETT Training Helps Journalists Save Jobs in Massachusetts

A CWA/NETT training program for copy editors at the Brockton Enterprise in Massachusetts helped save jobs that the company threatened to outsource.

When management at the Brockton Enterprise newspaper in Massachusetts threatened to outsource layout and design work, CWA/NETT stepped in to provide training that gave copy editors skills in new technologies and computer design applications, and saved their jobs.

The company paid for the training in a settlement after TNG-CWA took the outsourcing threats to arbitration. Seven to eight copy editors took part in each of the two day-long training sessions in April and May. Their instructor was Ron Reason, an international media consultant and professor at the Poynter Institute for journalists.

"This is a great example of how our union can and is helping newspaper workers through this very difficult time in our history," TNG-CWA President Bernie Lunzer said. "The training was exceptional and it benefited both our members and their employer."

David Meril, vice president of TNG-CWA Local 31027, praised the union and CWA/NETT for working together to develop training that specifically met the needs of his members.

In addition to the Brockton training, CWA/NETT contracted with Reason to provide sessions for other New England TNG-CWA members whose jobs are at risk because of the newspaper industry's economic condition.

CWA, IBEW Cite Serious Concerns about Verizon Sale

CWA and IBEW are raising serious concerns about the sale of Verizon landlines in 14 states to Frontier Communications and are taking those issues to top management at both companies. 

The deal would move 4.8 million lines serving residential and business customers in 14 states to Frontier and includes all Verizon lines in Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin, and some lines in California.

The deal calls for Frontier to take on $3.3 billion in debt; Verizon gets that amount in debt relief. That leaves Frontier saddled with debt that will lessen the potential amount available for investment in high speed broadband  build out.

Similar tax-free transactions by Verizon, especially those involving the Reverse Morris Trust tax provisions, haven't worked out so well, especially for consumers in New England now served by FairPoint Communications, CWA has pointed out.

CWA and IBEW will work together to support the interests of consumers, workers and retirees and will continue to review the deal. CWA represents about 3,900 workers affected by the sale and the IBEW represents about 4,200.

'Say on Pay,' Governance Measures Gain Shareholder Support

Efforts by CWA and supporters from other labor organizations and consumer groups are building support for resolutions to improve corporate governance. Recently, resolutions supported by CWA gained significant support at annual meetings of Verizon Communications, Windstream Corporation and Frontier Communications.

A CWA and IBEW-backed resolution at Verizon that would strengthen shareholders' ability to elect an individual to the Board not supported by the largest shareholders won 40 percent support. Another resolution that would require shareholder approval of excessive "Golden Coffin" payments to deceased senior executives gained 37 percent support. Members from CWA Locals 3372 and 3673 leafleted shareholders outside the meeting in Louisville, Ky.

At the Windstream meeting in Little Rock, Ark., a “say on pay” resolution, presented by CWA Telecommunications Vice President Jimmy Gurganus, gained 49.1 percent of shareholder support, up from last year’s 43 percent support for a similar resolution. This week, a “say on pay” resolution sponsored by a CWA member, gained 48.36 percent support at the annual meeting of Frontier Communications in Stamford, Conn. Frontier management, which opposed the measure, failed to win a majority vote due to abstentions.