June 3, 2010

CWAers, Five Other Unions in Unfair Labor Practice Strike at Red Cross

Members of CWA Local 1122 in Buffalo are engaged in an unfair labor practice strike at the American Red Cross, citing the organization's record of labor law violations and its refusal to negotiate a fair contract.

CWAers are not standing alone. Members of AFSCME Local 3145 in Connecticut; Teamsters Local 580 and Office and Professional Employees Local 459 in Michigan; UFCW Local 75 in Ohio; SEIU 1199 in West Virginia, and SEIU 721 in Los Angeles also are participating in the strike action.

Local 1122 represents 160 Red Cross workers in Buffalo who have been working without a contract since May 2009.  CWA has filed several unfair labor practices charges against the Red Cross over serious contract violations. The Red Cross drastically changed workers' health care coverage, eliminated retiree health care, eliminated the defined pension benefit for new hires and eliminated the company's match to the 401k plan, all without bargaining over the changes, which labor law requires.

The NLRB has issued complaints on all four charges and a trial will be held soon. The last contract offer by the Red Cross was overwhelmingly rejected by CWAers, in a 91 percent vote. In that offer, the Red Cross demanded that CWA drop all unfair labor practice charges against the company.

Separately, members of Local 13500 in northeastern Pennsylvania are continuing to bargain with the Red Cross; that contract was extended to June 8. Big issues are the company's demand for health care cost shifting and pay treatment for last minute changes in scheduling and weekend work assignments.

CWAers Ratify AT&T Mobility Contract in D3

CWA members at AT&T Mobility in District 3 ratified a new four-year agreement by a 68 percent "yes" vote. The agreement covers about 11,200 workers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The settlement provides for a 10 percent wage increase over the contract term plus a $500 bonus on ratification. Three new job titles will provide upgrades for some 800 call center workers, and the wireless technician I title has been upgraded to wireless technician II. 

Improvements for selection of vacation and other days off were negotiated for retail and call center workers; severance pay was increased, and the grievance procedure was expanded.  

From Lafayette and Baton Rouge, La., to Ashland, Ky., and throughout the state of Florida, CWAers leafleted outside call centers and retail stores, held solidarity "stand-ups" at their desks, and made lots of mobilization videos that revved up members.

Check out the District 3 mobilization.

House Votes to Kill RMT and Keep Manufacturing Jobs at GE

CWAers won two big victories in Congress last week. In separate votes, the House of Representatives voted to ban the Reverse Morris Trust tax loophole and to retain a valuable jet engine program that means 2,000 jobs.

By a 215-204 vote, the House voted to ban the Reverse Morris Trust tax loophole, which has allowed companies like Verizon to sell assets to smaller or sometimes financially shaky companies to get a tax break. Specifically because of this tax loophole, Verizon sought out companies like FairPoint in northern New England and Frontier in West Virginia and 13 other states to sell its landlines. FairPoint has filed for bankruptcy, affecting workers' jobs and quality service.

The measure to ban the RMT now moves to the Senate.

In another big victory for good jobs, the House voted to retain funding for an alternative engine for the F-136 Joint Strike Fighter that is built by 1,200 IUE-CWAers at General Electric in Lynn, Mass.  

IUE-CWA members worked hard to persuade lawmakers that the program was good for competition, holding costs down in the defense industry over the long term.

A video message from Jeff Crosby, president of IUE-CWA Local 81201, was sent to every congressional office, providing a "worker's perspective" on the importance of saving the engine and jobs. "Lynn, Massachusetts, is about as good a place as any in the United States to make a stand for manufacturing," he said.

This fight now moves to the Senate.

CWA District 3 Reaches Tentative Agreement with AT&T for ND&CA Unit

CWA District 3 reached a tentative three-year agreement with AT&T covering nearly 700 workers in the National Directory and Customer Assistance unit. The workers handle directory and customer service for AT&T Mobility customers.

The agreement boost wages at the top pay rates by 7.5 percent over term, brings health care costs in line with other workers at AT&T, and expands employment security.

"This is a good agreement in what are very tough times in the industry and intense competition from non-union companies," said CWA District 3 Vice President Judy Dennis. AT&T's directory and customer assistance unit faces intense competition from an increasing number of low-cost, non-union providers.

Workers now have recall rights for the first time, along with ability to transfer to AT&T operations nationwide.

Membership ratification is underway; ballots will be counted June 18.

Delta CEO Shows Which Side He's On

It's no surprise that Delta's CEO Richard Anderson is a big supporter of Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson. Isakson spearheaded a campaign on Capitol Hill to block the National Mediation Board's rule change that finally brings a majority vote determination to airline elections. 

Challenging Isakson in next year's Senate race is Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, who is the first African-American to ever be elected to a statewide office in Georgia.

We know which side Anderson is on, and it's not standing with AFA-CWA flight attendants who are working hard to ensure that workers at Delta have bargaining rights.




 

Mark Your Calendar for the Customer Service Professionals Conference

CWA's Customer Service Advocate Network Team is already planning the Customer Service Professionals Conference, set for Oct. 20-23 in San Diego.

The team is putting together a program covering the issues that are most important to customer service professionals, with the goal of providing lots of opportunity for discussion and brainstorming. So save the date: Oct. 20-23, and stay tuned for more details. Updates will be posted at www.cwa-union.org.

Long Fight for Medical Monitoring of 9/11 Workers Finally Moves to House

After a nine-year battle that CWA helped lead, a bill to ensure medical monitoring and treatment of workers exposed to toxins at Ground Zero has passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

In a bipartisan 33-12 vote, the committee voted to send the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 to the full House. It would provide mandatory funding for medical monitoring and treatment programs for emergency responders, recovery crews and others working at Ground Zero, including about 1,500 CWA members in telecom, the public sector, newspapers and broadcasting.

The bill is named for a NYPD detective who died in 2006 of respiratory disease believed to be linked to his work at Ground Zero.

DOL Rule Tells Federal Contractors: Make Sure Workers Know Their Rights

In stark contrast to the Bush years, federal contractors and subcontractors must now post notices alerting workers to their rights under the National Labor Relations Act, including their right to join a union.

President Obama ordered the rule just ten days after taking office. The notice spells out the rights of workers to form and join unions and bargain collectively, provides examples of unlawful conduct that interferes that those rights and tells employees how to contact the NLRB with questions or complaints.

Contractors that fail to comply can face suspension or cancellation of their federal contracts. 

CWA: Putting Massey on Notice

CWA members in Richmond, VA., rally at the Massey Energy shareholders meeting, to show their respect for miners killed at the company's operations in West Virginia and to put Massey on notice that the company's criminal behavior won't be tolerated any longer.

CWAers from Locals 2201, 2204 and 82162 joined the demonstration.

Posted by:

CWA Local 1022