February 10, 2006

CWA Resolves Labor Issues at Sprint Nextel Spin-off

CWA reached an agreement with Sprint Nextel that addresses key labor issues for workers at Sprint Nextel's local telecommunications company, to be known as Embarq when it is spun off later this year.

CWA Telecommunications Vice President Jimmy Gurganus said the union's concerns about the financial viability of the new company and the transfer of pension assets were fully addressed, and as a result, CWA has withdrawn from regulatory proceedings over the planned spin-off in six states — Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

"We were concerned that the new Embarq be financially stable and have the ability to compete successfully and provide quality service and secure jobs. We are now satisfied on that score," he said.

CWA represents about 4,000 workers at Sprint Nextel local telecommunications operations in 12 states.

Among the terms of the agreement:

  • Sprint Nextel must share its actuary's report with CWA and provide an opportunity to comment before it divides and allocates pension assets to Embarq.
     
  • CWA employees will participate in the company's Short Term Incentive program, which provides bonuses based on the company's meeting specific business goals.
     
  • Sprint Nextel will "seek cost-effective ways to increase rather than decrease the ratio of employees to contractors" and will provide employees continued access to training opportunities.
     
  • Joint Strategic Committees at the national and regional levels will share information, address mutual concerns and problems, and foster a good working relationship.
     
  • Both parties will renew efforts to reach "a national understanding on health care plan design."

Cohen Stunned by Katrina's Devastation, Proud of Local Leaders

Five months after Hurricane Katrina floods ravaged New Orleans, CWA President Larry Cohen and District 3 Vice President Noah Savant toured the area Feb. 9, and found few signs of restoration.

"Miles and miles of whole neighborhoods not only remain devastated but they show no sign of rehabilitation whatsoever," Cohen said. "Our local leaders feel strongly that the upcoming mayoral election should, in part, be a referendum on the future of the city and a vision for change."

The tour, arranged by Local 3410 President Michael Fahrenholt, came during a visit in which Cohen and Savant met with local presidents in Louisiana to discuss CWA's "Ready for the Future" agenda.

"It was wonderful to be with the Louisiana local leaders, many representing members in other cities who had similar devastation, and yet our leaders focused on the future of their communities and of our union," Cohen said. "These locals are very much united and are ready to develop organizing and political plans for change, as well as day-to-day representation."

Cohen said he was also impressed by the high level of membership in a so-called "right-to-work" state, including two large Cingular service centers in Lafayette and Baton Rouge. Both boast more than 90 percent membership.

"This short visit to New Orleans proves to me that CWA members and leaders are truly amazing," he said, adding that the local presidents expressed many thanks "for the help from the CWA Disaster Relief Fund and from locals and members around the country in the wake of the Katrina disaster."

Comcast Fires Worker for Speaking Out 

Will Goodo, a longtime employee at Comcast, was fired after he testified before the Oakland, Calif., City Council and at a Workers' Rights Board hearing on Comcast's violations of workers' rights.

Goodo was working as a dispatcher at a nonunion Comcast facility when he joined the International Human Rights actions in Oakland and spoke out for fair treatment for Comcast workers. A Navy veteran, he has worked at Comcast for ten years.

Labor supporters won a first round in their campaign to require that franchises doing business with the city of Oakland follow a card check procedure so employees can make a free and fair choice about union representation. In a preliminary vote, the Oakland City Council approved the measure; final passage is scheduled for Feb. 21. 

The labor community in Oakland and Alameda County is rallying around Goodo, calling on citizens to contact Comcast's East Bay Division Vice President and demand Goodo's reinstatement.

"It shouldn't cost a loyal employee his job just to speak out in favor of workers' rights," is the message union supporters are sending to VP Hank Fore at 510-567-9301. An e-activist campaign also is underway, and a Valentine's Day picket outside Comcast in Oakland will call on the company to rehire Goodo.

Big Victory for Gary Guild as Prison Looms for Former Bosses

The last contract at the Gary (Ind.) Newspaper Guild came after five bitter years at the bargaining table and was a major disappointment, resulting in a merit-based system of pay raises and other losses.

This time around, in what Guild leaders hail as an historical bargaining comeback, the union fought back and won.

"We started out last January, and we said, 'We're going to do this in a year. We're not going to drag this out, and we're not going to let them impose the rules on us anymore,'" TNG-CWA Local 34014 President Lori Caldwell said.

The 58 Guild members in the newsroom at the Post Tribune, which covers northwest Indiana, wore shirts and buttons of solidarity and held informational pickets. But perhaps their most effective strategy was e-mailing the new president of their newspaper chain, the Hollinger Sun-Times Group. "We bombarded John Cruickshank with e-mails for months," Caldwell said.

Cruickshank replaced a strident anti-union executive, David Radler, who, with former Hollinger International CEO Conrad Black, has been the target of a vast federal fraud investigation. Radler has pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and is cooperating in the case against Black.

While Radler was running the Sun-Times group he pushed the Post Tribune publisher to fight the union every step of the way, trying to "strip us down to nothing," Caldwell said. The publisher even hired union-busting lawyer Michael Zinser, who has tried to break newspaper locals across the country.

But with Radler gone and the Post Tribune publisher promoted to a corporate position, a new attitude prevailed in bargaining. TNG-CWA Representative Bruce Nelson called it a "sea change" that appears to have trickled down from Cruickshank. "They became more employee-oriented," he said. "They didn't give the store away, but in terms of indicating that they want to treat workers with respect, they seemed to do that."

The tentative four-year contract, which members will vote on Feb. 26, is retroactive to the April 2005 expiration of the last pact. It ends the merit pay system and instead will give workers 2 percent raises each year. The union also won back a night differential, will get a company 401(k) contribution and will have an automatic dues deduction starting next year.

"In my experience, it was the biggest comeback I've seen," Nelson said. "Normally when you get beaten up that badly, it's very difficult to get things back."

IN BRIEF:

  • Members of the Columbus Municipal Association of Government Employees, CWA Local 4502, which affiliated with CWA in 2002, have ratified a new three-year contract, reported District 4 Vice President Seth Rosen.

    The unit covers 1,175 middle managers, accountants, engineers and supervisors.

    The agreement provides for a 9 percent wage increase over the contract term, with a 2 percent increase retroactive to last August. An increase of 1.5 percent to the state retirement system will be paid by the city, and health care costs for employees are capped. The contract also improves union representation provisions and adds another paid personal day.

     
  • While the Bush administration beats its chest over the allegedly falling unemployment rate, a new study suggests the raw numbers used to figure the rate are wrong.

    The Center for Economic and Policy Research says the problem lies with the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, which is used by the Labor Department to calculate unemployment and is also used to figure the poverty rate and level of health-insurance coverage in the United States.

    The population survey appears "to be overstating the share of working Americans by 1.4 percentage points. This corresponds to roughly 3 million fewer people working — almost as big a drop in employment as in a typical recession," said John Schmitt, CEPR economist and lead author of the report.

    Schmitt and co-author Dean Baker said a large and growing portion of the population doesn't respond to the population survey, and those who don't appear less likely to be employed than people who take the poll.

    The full report is available at www.cepr.net  or by going directly to http://www.cepr.net/publications/undercounting_cps_2006_01.pdf.

     
  • We'd need a year's worth of newsletters to begin to describe everything that's rotten about the Bush budget where working families are concerned, but we'll start with this:

    After the tragic miners' deaths in Sago, W. Va., in January, the administration claimed safety was its goal. In fact, worker health and safety programs remain woefully under funded.

    The AFL-CIO reports that funding for the Occupational Health and Safety Administration is flat compared to last year and is down 3 percent since 2001. The number of full-time OSHA employees has been cut by 200 since 2001, leaving 2,173.

    While the Mine Health and Safety Administration funding is up slightly (1.4 percent) since last year, the coal enforcement budget is down 10 percent since 2001 and MSHA full-time staff is down to 2,136 workers, more than 220 fewer than in 2001.