June 2, 2006

CWA Reaches Three-Year Agreement with Avaya

CWA has reached a tentative three-year agreement with Avaya Inc. that achieves workers' key bargaining goals of improving job security and maintaining quality health care for both active and retired workers, among other gains, CWA Vice President Ralph Maly reported.

Maly, who heads the union's Communications and Technologies sector and led the CWA bargaining team, credited members' mobilization "for sending a strong message to management that we were serious about getting a fair contract."

The tentative agreement maintains employer-paid health care premiums for both active and retired workers over the contract term, a critical goal for CWA members.

It also provides for a 3 percent wage increase in each contract year, plus a four percent increase in the pension bands effective July 1, 2006. Other pension improvements include a new lump sum distribution option and additional beneficiary options.

Improvements in job security issues include a one-year no-layoff provision for workers in technical titles, a sales referral program guaranteeing work for union-represented workers and a one-year job "watermark" for workers in care centers.

The agreement covers about 3,000 customer service representatives, technicians, sales and other workers at the company. The IBEW represents about 300 Avaya workers and the two unions bargained jointly. Talks continued past the May 27 contract expiration date.

CWA is scheduling contract explanation meetings to answer questions about the proposed settlement; the membership ratification vote will take place within the next several weeks. For more information, go to http://www.cwa-comtech.org/.

1,300 Health Care 'Managers' Join Local 1180

More than 1,300 coordinating managers at the Health and Hospitals Corp. in New York City won representation by CWA Local 1180 on May 15, when the city's Office of Collective Bargaining certification board ruled that they are essentially non-managerial personnel.

"I think it's great to finally have union representation," said Ted Wright, who has worked at Bellevue Hospital since 1984 and held the coordinating manager title since 2001.

After an exhaustive series of job review meetings with representatives of the local, the board found that few of the so-called managers had any control over budget or policy and therefore were eligible for union representation.

"We're thrilled to welcome the coordinating managers into our union," said Local 1180 President Art Cheliotes. "We look forward to helping our new members improve their working lives."

An immediate result of gaining representation, the coordinating managers will now be compensated for any hours worked outside their regular tour of duty.

Coordinating managers (CMs) are engaged in supervisory or administrative work at New York City's 10 public hospitals, five diagnostic and treatment centers, four long-term care facilities, a home health care agency, more than 80 community health clinics and the company's corporate headquarters.

CWA-Teamsters Association Gains Agreement at US Airways

An agreement reached by CWA, the Teamsters and US Airways increases top wages and provides other contract improvements for agents at the merged airline. The new agreement brings IBT members at America West, now part of US Airways, under the CWA contract, which is amendable beginning January 2012.

Members of CWA and the IBT created the joint CWA-Teamsters Association last October to represent both US Airways and America West agents. CWA represents about 3,200 US Airways agents.

For CWA members, the agreement boosts the top hourly wage rate from $17 to $18. It also raises wages for CWA members at US Airways Mainline Express; that top rate increases from $13 to $18. 

Coming under the CWA contract greatly improves wages and benefits for IBT America West agents, who previously had earned top wages of around $13 and had received only arbitrary merit raises.

Other gains for America West agents include retirement security improvements and gains for part-time agents.

"The Association is a great example of what workers can achieve. CWA and Teamster members, working together, have built a strong, united passenger service group that will continue to make advances for agents at US Airways," said CWA President Larry Cohen.

CWA Police Officers Seeking Support for Due Process Bill

As the final touches are being put on a bill to provide due process for law enforcement officers, the National Coalition of Public Safety Officers-CWA is asking CWA members to show their support by signing an online petition.

NCPSO-CWA drafted the bill, which is expected to be introduced shortly in the U.S. House by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.).

"The purpose of the bill is to provide due process rights for law enforcement officers — the same due process rights all workers are entitled to in the workplace but that are currently denied public safety officers in many states," NCPSO-CWA Director John Burpo said.

The pending bill calls for "fair, thorough and timely" internal investigations, interrogations and disciplinary action for law enforcement officers. It spells out an officer's right to have a representative present at all points in the process when charges could lead to discipline.

Ensuring that police officers are treated fairly is important for society as a whole, the bill suggests. "Resolving disputes and problems and preventing the disruption of vital police services is essential to the well being of the United States and the domestic tranquility of the nation," it states.

By signing the online petition, McGill said "you will be sending a message to Congress — letting them know our CWA members support our fellow union members, the working peace officers who protect our families and neighborhoods." Click here to add your name to the petition.

IN BRIEF:

  • This week, flight attendants at Northwest Airlines will begin receiving voting instructions allowing them to choose representation by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.

    CWAers who are traveling over the next few weeks are encouraged to talk to Northwest flight attendants about CWA and urge them to vote. A large majority of the 9,000 employees have indicated they want AFA-CWA representation, but it is important that they actually vote because of the voting threshold set forth in National Mediation Board elections. More than half of the unit must cast votes in order for the election to be valid. Those who don't vote are counted as "no union" votes.

    Voting will be conducted through a telephone process, with votes to be counted on July 6.

     
  • The San Jose Newspaper Guild-CWA is applauding the efforts of state and community legislators who are calling on the U.S. Attorney General and California's attorney general to "conduct a full and extensive inquiry" into the sale of some Knight Ridder properties to McClatchy Co., and subsequently to MediaNews Group and the Hearst Corp.

    Twelve California legislators said the investigation was necessary to prevent "a stranglehold over local news coverage, published opinion, advertising rates and wage rates." The San Francisco Board of Supervisors pointed out that with its acquisition of the San Jose Mercury News, the Contra Costa Times and the Monterey County Herald, MediaNews Group would gain ownership or control over every major daily in the San Francisco Bay Area with the exception of the San Francisco Chronicle.

    Further, the owner of the San Francisco Chronicle — the Hearst Corp. — "is partnering with MediaNews Group in this acquisition," the Board noted, stressing that "such a consolidation of media ownership could deprive Bay Area readers of the quality and depth of news coverage that more varied ownership offers."

     
  • The vicious and utterly non-factual "union facts" campaign has added a TV ad to its arsenal of attacks on the labor movement.

    The 30-second spot began playing on Fox, according to the Wall Street Journal, but ran at least once this week on CNN. The Journal says, "four actors posing as workers describe sarcastically what they "love" about unions: paying dues, having their dues go to support politicians they don't like, union discrimination against minorities and the 'fat-cat lifestyles' of union leaders."

    For instance, an African-American actor portraying a construction worker says with sarcastic glee, "I really like how the union discriminates against minorities!"

    The so-called Union Facts campaign, run by lobbyist Richard Berman, is funded by unidentified parties. Berman told the Journal that the group plans to film another commercial in June.