November 1, 2007

Last Chance to Vote in CWA's Election E-Poll!

If you haven't voted yet, there are just a few days left to let CWA know your choice for president, and whether CWA should make an early endorsement in the 2008 presidential race. Go to www.cwavotes.org and make your voice heard. The voting deadline is November 9. Approximately 25 locals have reached our goal of getting 10% or more of thier members to vote.

And check out the message from CWA President Larry Cohen urging all members and retirees to vote at www.cwa-union.org.

CWA Local 1298 and AT&T Fight for U-Verse and 1,300 Jobs

"Unity at AT&T" took on a whole new meaning in District 1, as members of CWA Local 1298 in Hartford, Conn., took action in support AT&T's "U-Verse" – the company's high-speed broadband and television service.

Those efforts paid off on Oct. 31 when a Superior Court Judge overturned a decision by the state utility board that would have blocked AT&T from competing with cable companies. 

"In a rare move, AT&T and Local 1298 have partnered to save 1,300 jobs," said District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton. "With this victory, Local 1298 has shown what a mobilized membership can achieve."

Local 1298 President Bill Henderson said, "We at CWA Local 1298 are thrilled and want to thank our members for all their efforts on this issue. Because of the court's decision, the layoff threat for 1,300 members has been circumvented."

Some 200 Local 1298 members rallied on Oct. 18 against the utility board decision, and Henderson, along with top officers and business agents from the local, attended an Oct. 26 Superior Court hearing seeking to overturn the DPUC decision.

The local delivered more than 13,000 letters from employees, friends and customers telling leaders of the State Legislature that "DPUC got it wrong" and asking them to call a special session to overturn the decision.

Henderson and an AT&T executive also appeared together on a YouTube video encouraging CWA members to contact the governor and state legislators to urge them to overturn a Department of Public Utility Control decision that would have made it impossible for AT&T's U-Verse high-speed broadband and TV service to compete with cable TV companies. Watch the video and get more information at www.cwa1298.org.

State regulators originally determined in 2006 that U-Verse, because it is a new technology using Internet protocol, was not a cable service, would not be regulated as such and therefore did not require a franchise license. AT&T quickly swung into action to roll out U-Verse to neighborhoods and customers.

Cable companies challenged that decision and a federal court reversed that ruling, finding that U-Verse does meet the federal definition of a cable company under the Cable TV Act. But the court's decision gave individual states great leeway in regulating cable providers.

Last month, state regulators declared that AT&T must cease deployment of U-Verse and abandon customers who had already signed up, unless it was willing to apply for a cable license and build a network to serve the entire state.

AT&T and CWA maintained that the regulations and requirements previously imposed on cable companies were as a result of the virtual monopoly that cable enjoyed. To impose those same requirements on companies that compete with a completely new and different technology – in this case Internet protocol -- would be cost prohibitive and deprive consumers of a choice of providers.

Activists Collect 5,000 Postcards Urging NH Governor to "Stop the Sale"

A delegation of CWA & IBEW members, teachers, first responders, civic leaders and others delivered a wheelbarrow full of 5,000 "Stop the Sale" post cards to New Hampshire's governor as public hearings continued over the proposed tax-free sale of Verizon's access lines in New England to FairPoint Communications.

The signed post cards were gathered through a door-to-door canvas of households across the state and urged Governor John Lynch to "take a strong stand against allowing Verizon to sell its assets to FairPoint."

CWA and IBEW have been mobilizing workers, community and consumer groups to demonstrate the growing opposition to the sale. CWA research economist Kenneth Peres testified at the Oct. 30 hearing, stressing that FairPoint lacks the financial resources to provide reliable service to customers, especially high-speed Internet services. A media campaign, including radio messages and Internet ads, also are spreading the word among residents that the proposed sale is a bad deal for consumers. 

The ads and more information can be found at www.stopthesalenow.org. A decision by the state's public utility commission is expected within the next several weeks.

At a news conference at the state house, members of the delegation delivering the postcards described how the sale would harm telephone service, hurt jobs and the region's economy.

"Cutting edge technology is essential to keeping good paying jobs in the state," said Mark MacKenzie, President of the New Hampshire AFL-CIO. "If the sale is approved it could send New Hampshire and its economy backwards."

First responders charged that the proposal "poses risks that firefighters do not want to take. In order to assess the risk of an emergency, we need reliable information." Small business owners expressed concerns about a move by state regulators that could put future economic development at risk.

House Committee Unanimously Backs Broadband Census Bill

CWA commended the House Energy and Commerce Committee for its unanimous approval of the Broadband Census of America Act of 2007, H.R. 3919.

The House bill incorporates key provisions supported by CWA's "Speed Matters" campaign, which calls on Congress to establish a national Internet policy to improve the quality, availability and affordability of high speed broadband service to every community. It is similar to the Broadband Data Improvement Act, S. 1492, which also was unanimously approved by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

The votes raise the hope of quick action by Congress to move toward a national policy that will bring about high speed Internet access for every American.

"In order for our country to move forward to ensure that a 21st century Internet is available for all, we need better data to help us get there. This measure will greatly improve the quality of that information," said CWA President Larry Cohen.  

In a letter to committee members, CWA Executive Vice President Jeff Rechenbach said CWA especially endorses the provision that calls for a "public, online map showing what types of broadband access are provided where, and by whom." The bill also would require the Federal Communications Commission to report speed of service, type of technology and other measures.

More information on CWA's campaign for high speed Internet access for all is available at www.speedmatters.org.

CWA Disaster Relief Aids Members Hit by Deadly Fires

By early reports, about a dozen CWA members lost their homes in the wildfires that ravaged more than half a million acres in southern California. Locals are canvassing their members to assess the extent of damage, overall they are reporting that "we have a lot of members helping members" through volunteer efforts, donations of food, blankets, water and dollars to the Red Cross, the San Diego AFL-CIO and other groups.

"We're asking our members with serious losses to contact their locals for help in applying for assistance from the CWA Disaster Relief Fund," said CWA Representative Cherie Brokaw, named by District 9 Vice President Tony Bixler to coordinate CWA's efforts in the district. Completed applications will be forwarded to CWA Human Rights Director Gwend Johnson for processing.

In addition, about 40 flight attendants have reported damage to their homes and about 100 were forced to evacuate, said Heather Healy, AFA-CWA director of Employee Assistance Programs. She said it appeared that fewer than 10 flight attendans have lost their homes. AFA-CWA members can contribute to the sector's Disaster Relief Fund; details are available at www.afanet.org.

Labor Reporter's Book Shows Why Unions are More Important Than Ever

In a highly touted book packed with colorful anecdotes and careful research, a veteran labor reporter examines what's happened to organized labor in the United States and what workers and unions can do to rebuild their movement and America's middle class.

"It is no overstatement to say that labor has contributed mightily to what has made America work – and what has made it unique," writes Philip Dine in his recently published book "State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy and Regain Political Influence."

Dine, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated labor reporter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and member of The Newspaper Guild-CWA Local 36047, looks at the corporate, political and economic forces that have resulted in a nationwide drop in union membership and what labor needs to do to reverse that trend. Among the positive examples he cites is CWA's Stewards' Army.

 "In a time of increasing disenfranchisement of average people, of growing gulfs between the haves and have-nots, labor's most important role may be to serve as a vehicle for the voices of people who are being drowned out," Dine writes.

The book's many fans include Mike Wallace of CBS News who said, "Phil Dine tells a compelling tale (and he writes beautifully) of the decline, fall and potential rebirth of a powerful labor movement in the U.S."

TNG-CWA President Linda Foley said Dine "has produced a must-read for both union members and members of the press. 'State of the Unions' – with its keen observations and thoughtful conclusions – could be a primer for labor leaders and labor reporters."

The book is avaliable at most book stores.

IN BRIEF:
  • CWA members were among the crowd of 150 citizens outside the Federal Communications Commission headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 31 protesting proposals that would enable a few media companies to control even more outlets. Inside at a public hearing, union, civil rights and community leaders urged the FCC not to make rule changes that will allow media companies to own a newspaper and several radio and TV stations in the same community and result in even more consolidation of media ownership.

    The hearing followed Commission Chairman Kevin Martin's proposal to again ease media concentration and ownership rules.

    Veteran radio journalist Bob Edwards, a vice president of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, told the Commission, "Mark my words. If you further deregulate media in this country, networks, broadcast stations, and newspapers will continue to consolidate, resulting in fewer voices heard by citizens? Television stations and newspapers will behave as commercial radio owners behaved when they were largely deregulated. They will adopt a business model that shuts out local news and entertainment in favor of national homogenized programming. If commercial media are given the unfettered right to abandon their obligation to serve the public interest, they will do just that."


  • CWAers from Locals 2222, 2252 and TNG-CWA, plus other union activists, are walking neighborhoods in northern Virginia to help get out the vote to support worker friendly candidates in next week's state elections. CWA Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling was on hand; check out her remarks to Northern Virginia AFL-CIO volunteers at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDgrjFTep7Y.

    Leading CWA's political campaign efforts in Virginia are Dolores Trevino-Gerber, Local 2222; District 2 legislative-political coordinator Charles "Boots" Buttiglieri and CWA Political Director Alfonso Pollard.



  • In a move that will broaden choice for consumers and restore competitiveness for other video providers, the Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to end the deals that have allowed cable companies to exclusively provide video services to residents of apartment buildings condominiums and planned subdivsions.

    CWA and consumers groups have long supported an end to the practice which gave an unfair advantage to cable operators, restricted choice for millions of consumers and resulted in higher cable rates. The FCC's decision means that cable companies cannot negotiate contracts that prevent other providers of video service from being able to provide service to customers in the same building.