• 'Adopt an Overpass' for Employee Free Choice
• Elected Officials Join CWA in Call for Fair Contracts at AT&T
• Plan to Tune in for CWA's Next AT&T E-Meeting
• Thousands Join Local 1298 Members in New Haven Rally
• New Research: Workers Seeking to Organize Face More Intimidation Than Ever
• NABET-CWA Members Protest at NBC Universal Gala 
• AFA-CWA, CWA Seek Protections for Workers from H1N1 Virus

'Adopt an Overpass' for Employee Free Choice

Spreading the Employee Free Choice message: members of CWA Local 1108 hang their banners in Suffolk County, N.Y.

When members of Congress go back home for the Memorial Day recess, we want them to see how determined we are to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. During this recess, CWA is encouraging locals to "adopt an overpass" and hold a banner in support of Employee Free Choice.

Banners will be displayed at the CWA Convention/Legislative-Political Conference in June, so plan your action now.

District 1 and District 13 are out in front so far, but more locals have plans in the works. District 1 has supplied some very helpful advice for creating and getting attention for the banners.

1. Find a good location. The best overpasses have:

• Long, Straight run-up – this gives drivers on the highway plenty of time to read the banner and see you.
• Small, Straight Fence (or No Fence) – Sometimes overpasses have a curved-in fence.  If that's the best you have, you could put the banner on the inside of the fence – as long as it's securely attached (even with a strong gust of wind).  Keep hold of it at all times.
• Sidewalk – if there is no sidewalk, there is often a shoulder or a pull-over lane.
• Lots of cars and trucks passing underneath them – the more people see the banners, the better.

2. Paint a big, easy-to-read banner, or two.

• Use a big white sheet.
• Use paint for the letters, not marker.
• Make the lettering really thick and easy to read.
• Use a pencil to draw the letters before painting the banner.
• If it's a windy area, think about where you might want to cut wind-holes so that it's easier to hold against the fence on the overpass.
• Don't misspell anything.
• Don't leave the banner behind.

3. Get two or three people to hold the banner. Keep people holding the banner at all times.
4.Get someone to take pictures of the banner – ideally, hi-resolution digital photos.
5. Have someone available to talk to police and media, if needed. 
6. And the Most Important Rule: don't drop the banner and don't leave it behind.

For questions and more information, email news@cwa-union.org.

Elected Officials Join CWA in Call for Fair Contracts at AT&T

Members of CWA Local 7250 set up lunchtime informational picketlines outside AT&T's Minneapolis office.

Members of Congress are standing with CWAers for fair contracts at AT&T and are sending letters to AT&T chief executive officer Randall Stephenson urging him to negotiate contracts that preserve quality jobs and quality benefits.

CWA locals and districts are continuing to ask asking their senators and representatives to contact Stephenson, and across the country, elected officials have been doing exactly that.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) wrote that "many of your employees have expressed concern over serious cuts to their health care benefits. While we work on a national health care plan, now is not the time for a profitable company like AT&T to slash crucial health care benefits."

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) expressed his concern over "AT&T's demands for severe cuts in health care benefits" and stressed that "a strong company like AT&T, in times like these, should be leading the way and showing how America can grow jobs, build communities and achieve guaranteed health care for everyone."

Missouri Democratic Reps. Russ Carnahan, William Lacy Clay and Emanuel Cleaver called on AT&T to reach an agreement that "would not only preserve jobs but also result in a fair and equitable medical plan that is both affordable and comprehensive."

In Maine, Rep. Michael Michaud stressed that "now is not the time to insist on a reduction in health care coverage from workers who through their labor contributed to the company's ascent to its position as a solid international competitor."

In District 9, in addition to letters from members of Congress, including Reps. Pete Stark, Linda Chavez and Joe Baca (D-Calif.), locals have reached out to other elected officials and have gotten support letters from members of the California legislature, city council members across the state and mayors. District 2 locals also are contacting state and local AFL-CIOs and asking them to pass resolutions of support.

For a copy of a sample resolution, contact news@cwa-union.org.

Plan to Tune in for CWA's Next AT&T E-Meeting

CWA's second National Unity AT&T e-meeting will happen next Wednesday, May 27 at 9 PM EDT.

During the meeting, there will be updates on negotiations with AT&T, on our successful mobilization campaign and on the next actions we'll take to continue to build support for fair contracts.

CWA President Larry Cohen, Executive Vice President Annie Hill, Secretary-Treasurer Jeff Rechenbach and the five vice presidents involved in negotiations will take questions from CWA members on critical bargaining issues.

To participate in the e-meeting, you need to register in advance. Sign up at www.cwaunion.tv and submit a question.

Thousands Join Local 1298 Members in New Haven Rally

Thousands of union members turn out to support Local 1298 members standing strong for a quality contract at AT&T.

Members of Locals 1101, 1102, 1103, 1104, 1105, 1106, 1107, 1109, 1301 and 1400 and other unions came to Connecticut to mobilize for good jobs and good healthcare for AT&T workers.

Thousands rallied and heard from Senator Chris Dodd (D), CWA Executive Vice President Annie Hill, CWA District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton, State AFL-CIO President John Olsen and many more state elected officials who are standing with AT&T workers in the fight for fair contracts.

New Research: Workers Seeking to Organize Face More Intimidation Than Ever

A new study by labor expert Kate Bronfenbrenner shows that private sector employers are more likely than ever to interrogate, threaten and even fire workers who try to form unions.

Cornell University Professor Kate Bronfenbrenner, right, listens as Angel Warner describes how she and her coworkers have been harassed while trying to form a union and bargain a contract with Rite Aid in California. Bronfenbrenner released her new report on employers' increasing use of anti-union tactics at a briefing on Capitol Hill.

The bill "would provide a means to streamline the burdensome and terrifying obstacle course that the organizing and first contract process has become, while also offering more substantive penalties for the most egregious employer violations," the report states.

The report looks at data from 1999 to 2003 and compares it with previous studies of employer behavior toward worker organizing over the last 20 years. The most recent data show that:

• In 63 percent of private sector organizing drives, workers are interrogated about their support for the union in one-on-one meetings with supervisors.
• 57 percent of employers threaten to close the worksite.
• 47 percent threaten to cut wages and benefits.
• 34 percent fire workers who support the union.

The report finds that employers use 10 or more tactics in their campaigns to thwart organizing efforts. Even when workers overcome those hurdles and win an election, 52 percent are still without a first contract one year later and 37 percent don't have a contract within two years.

CWA Local 13000 member John Pezzana, a Comcast technician who fought for years to organize and gain a contract in Pennsylvania, said after reading Bronfenbrenner's study, "It is like she was right there with us in Pittsburgh."

"It's no secret that Comcast uses these types of anti-union tactics," he said. "This is how it keeps the percentage of organized work locations very low, about 2 percent of the 100,000 employees. Comcast has been charged with so many NLRB violations, I couldn't even begin to count them all."

It doesn't have to be that way, Bronfenbrenner said, noting that the United States' public sector models for organizing – which include majority sign-up – prove that workers and employers can cooperate in ways that benefit both parties.

"In 48 percent of the public-sector campaigns, the employer did not campaign at all – no letters, no leaflets, no meetings," she said. "The entire decision was left up to the workers. The remaining 52 percent of public employers did use some of the same tactics as private employers, but on an entirely different scale.

About 40 percent of the time, workers filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, describing threats, firings, interrogation, surveillance and wage and benefit cuts for supporting the union.

Research indicates that workers could file ULPs in many more elections but they fear that doing so will delay an election for months if not years along with retaliation for filing charges. Workers know that the resolution to a case can take years and that the remedies today are weak, the report says.

Bronfenbrenner found that 23 percent of all ULP charges and 24 percent of all serious charges – such as firings, interrogation and surveillance – are filed before a petition for an election, confirming that employers' anti-union campaigns are unrelenting from the first days of an organizing effort.

In about 45 percent of cases, workers win, through a settlement with the employer or an NLRB victory. In those cases, however, employers routinely appeal and can drag out the process for three to five years, sometimes longer.

Even when workers ultimately prevail, "in all the cases in our sample, the worst penalty an employer had to pay was back pay averaging a few thousand dollars per employee," Bronfenbrenner said.

The study is available at www.araw.org.

NABET-CWA Members Protest at NBC Universal Gala

NABET-CWA members line Manahattan streets to send a message to NBC Universal.

NABET-CWA members were on hand for NBC Universal's star-studded Fall Preview Gala in New York City, but their message was one that company executives weren't too happy to hear.

Members of NABET-CWA greeted network stars, guests and advertisers outside the Town Hall Theater with leaflets and protest signs, calling on the public to support workers in their fight for a fair settlement.

Some 2,500 NBCU employees at the NBC Television Network and its owned TV stations in New York, Washington, D.C.; Chicago, and Burbank have been working without a contract for nearly two months.

"NBC Universal still doesn't seem ready to bargain a fair contract", said NABET-CWA President John S. Clark. 

NABET-CWA locals have filed unfair labor charges and unit clarification petitions with the National Labor Relations Board and put NBC Universal on notice that workers will continue to mobilize across the country to fight for a fair and equitable contract.

AFA-CWA, CWA Seek Protections for Workers from H1N1 Virus

CWA and AFA-CWA are calling on Congress and the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to ensure protection for health care workers and flight attendants at risk of exposure to the H1N1 virus, or swine flu.

In a letter to OSHA, CWA and other unions called on the agency to make sure guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control are being met. "Unfortunately there is documented evidence that in a number of states and facilities, these guidelines are not being followed," the letter states.

Guidelines involve safe interaction for health care workers with patients through airborne precautions, including surgical masks and eye protection.

The letter also asks OSHA to immediately issue a "hazard alert and/or compliance directive" that makes it clear that exposure to the H1N1 virus in health and emergency response settings "poses a recognized hazard to workers and requires protective measures."

 

Separately, AFA-CWA President Pat Friend testified before the House Aviation Subcommittee, stressing that the Federal Aviation Administration for too long "has failed to protect those who work onboard aircraft and continued to deny flight attendants common OSHA protections." 

At the first onset of the H1N1 virus, AFA-CWA called on the FAA to issue an emergency order to all U.S. carriers requiring them to take specific steps to help flight attendants protect themselves from the virus and minimize the spread aboard aircraft.

These included: a requirement that aircraft be supplied with masks and non-latex gloves on flights to, from and within at-risk areas; that flight attendants with flu-like symptoms be able to call in sick free from discipline, and that flight attendants who are pregnant or have compromised immune systems be able to change their scheduled trips if they involve flights to areas of the disease outbreak. Unfortunately, the FAA did not issue the emergency order.

"Management appears less concerned with minimizing the risk of exposure to potentially dangerous illnesses than in minimizing the perception and appearance of a possible threat to health," Friend told the subcommittee. The FAA's focus should be "on protecting those who work onboard aircraft and the millions of airline passengers rather than inconveniencing airline management or acting as the U.S. aviation tourism board."