September 13, 2007

Labor Board Cites Verizon Business for Unionbusting

Stating that Verizon Business "has been interfering with, restraining and coercing employees in the exercise of the rights" guaranteed by federal labor law, the NLRB has backed CWA charges against the company on behalf of VZB workers seeking to organize in Pittsburgh and Monsey, N.Y.

"When this labor board, the most anti-union, pro-business board ever, cracks down on a major corporation like Verizon, it's damning evidence that the pattern of behavior is truly egregious," said CWA President Larry Cohen.

Complaints issued by NLRB regional directors in Pittsburgh and New York found that Verizon Business management:

  • "threatened employees with layoff for supporting the union."
  •  "informed employees that Verizon Wireless, a related employer, had laid off employees because of their union activity."
  • "engaged in surveillance of employees to discover their union activities," and made sure to give the impression that they were under surveillance.
  • issued disciplinary warnings against union supporters for distributing union materials and authorization cards "while permitting nonunion solicitations and distribution" in the workplace.

CWA Vice Presidents Jim Short District 13 and Chris Shelton of District 1 both condemned Verizon's actions, and  Cohen has written to presidential candidates citing the complaints as evidence that "underscores all the more boldly why the Employee Free Choice Act is essential to restoring workers' organizing and bargaining rights."

A majority of Verizon Business technicians in New York and New England have signed unionization cards, as verified by U.S. senators and representatives and other leaders, and they would already have union representation if the Employee Free Choice Act were the law of the land.

The NLRB found that Verizon admitted that it had fired Verizon Wireless workers for union activity and used this boast as a threat to frighten the VZB workers.  For years Verizon Wireless workers have faced a relentless employer campaign of coercion, surveillance, firings and even closing of entire offices to stamp out their efforts to win collective bargaining rights.   

Separate NLRB hearings on these cases are set for Oct. 31 in Pittsburgh and Nov. 5 in New York City.

Unions Rally for Bill to Aid Those Sickened at Ground Zero

Days before the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, CWA members and leaders rallied with hundreds of other union activists near Ground Zero in New York to demand government help for workers, including CWA members, rescuers and others affected by the toxic air and other health risks in the aftermath of the 2001 tragedy.

Activists at the Sept. 8 rally, who also included religious, political and community leaders, called for passage of the bipartisan "9/11 Health and Compensation Act" introduced this week by U.S. House Democrats Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler and Republican Vita Fossella, all of New York.

"The heroes of 9/11 responded immediately when our country was attacked, but when these same heroes needed help, our government dragged its heels. Thousands are sick, and that is a fact," Maloney said.

Remembering 13 members of the CWA family who died on September 11, District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton told activists that the government betrayed the heroes who worked on and near the toxic rubble for months.

"George Bush stood on the pile alongside a New York City firefighter and said that the recovery workers would never be forgotten and would always be taken care of.  He climbed down from the pile and promptly forgot them," Shelton said. "Christine Todd Whitman, head of the EPA at the time, told the recovery workers that the air was clean, the air was fine and that they could work at the site safely."

The 9/11 Health and Compensation Act would provide funding to ensure that everyone exposed to toxic dust and debris at Ground Zero can be medically monitored and that everyone who is sick can be treated. The list includes rescuers who came from across the country, lower Manhattan residents, students and workers, including CWA members at Verizon who restored the battered area's communications network, CWA-represented city traffic enforcement officers, and nurses who traveled to the scene to help out.

"Previously all funding for monitoring and treatment has been emergency funding," said Micki Siegel de Hernandez, health and safety director for CWA District 1. "It's come piecemeal; there's no long term plan. This bill would establish a long-term program."

The bill would provide further compensation for Ground Zero workers with long-term respiratory diseases and other illnesses and disabilities by reopening the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Siegel de Hernandez said she has spoken to several CWA members with severe Ground Zero-related breathing problems who are no longer able to work. 

The bill would also require the federal government to collect and analyze data about Ground Zero-related illnesses and those affected. Doctors and clinics set up to assess and help those at risk have kept data and commissioned studies, but there is no central database or permanently funded resource.

In addition to federal help, New York state has changed its workers compensation law with regard to World Trade Center-related illnesses. Workers now have until Aug. 14, 2008, to file a registration form that protects their right to file a claim.

Whether or not workers currently show signs of illness, anyone who worked at or near Ground Zero is urged to file a WTC-12 form in order to be able to file a claim later, if necessary.

More information is available on websites for the New York Workers' Compensation Board and the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. The addresses are www.web.state.ny.us and www.nycosh.org.

Locals Urged to Honor Customer Service Professionals Oct. 1-5

Think it's easy answering phones all day, often talking to demanding, confused and even angry callers, fingers racing across a keyboard for hours on end to find answers in multiple data bases – all while a supervisor listens in or stands over your shoulder pushing you to work faster or sell more?

CWA is urging local leaders to let the union's 150,000 customer service professionals know just how proud CWA is of their hard work and dedication. And Customer Service Professional Week, a worldwide event Oct. 1-5, is just the time to do it.

"From our telecom companies to our airlines to newspapers, universities and many other office settings, we have members working on the front lines of customer service every day," CWA President Larry Cohen said. "How successful could any of our employers be without these skilled professionals who resolve countless problems and build a strong base of loyal customers?"

CWA members in customer service say call center jobs have become more stressful than ever as supervisors monitor phone calls, keep count of sales made and force call-takers to follow a script that most customers abhor. And many call center workers are coping with a range of health problems from pain in their hands, arms, necks and backs to debilitating ergonomic injuries.

But there is some good news: Despite the corporate frenzy for outsourcing call centers to low-paid workers overseas, some employers are beginning to understand how valuable an experienced U.S. workforce is. This year, CWA negotiated for the return of 2,000 AT&T jobs and 500 U.S. Airways jobs that had been sent to other countries.

CWA will have flyers available that locals can download and pass out to members as well as the public to help customers understand the value of skilled, U.S.-based call center professionals.

AFA-CWA Presses Fight for Bankruptcy Reform

AFA-CWA testified before a congressional committee on Sept. 6 as part of a continuing campaign calling for reform of the nation's bankruptcy laws.

"Many AFA-CWA flight attendants, as well as other airline workers, have had their lives destroyed by corporate bankruptcies and by management's use of the law to force devastating cuts on employees," said Master Executive Council President Greg Davidowitch, representing AFA-CWA at a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.

"Something must be done to level the playing field so that bankruptcy is no longer a 'business strategy' that simply transfers money to executives' pockets and leaves the employees with nothing more than slashed pay, diminished health care, destroyed retirement security, bitterness, mounting debs and the prospect of personal bankruptcy."

The union is working closely with Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Senate majority whip, to develop bankruptcy reform legislation that is more favorable to workers and their families.

Filing for bankruptcy protection allows corporations to tear up and force renegotiation of union contracts, slashing pay, benefit and pension costs to become more attractive to potential investors. Executives are routinely rewarded with massive bonuses and compensation packages for taking such actions, which lead to new infusions of capital, allowing companies to exit bankruptcy at the expense of the workers.

The pattern has become a trend since 2001, with over 20 airlines filing. The most recent rounds of bankruptcies have been accompanied by a dramatic slashing of jobs as well. ATA Airlines cut over 1,000 flight attendant positions and Mesaba Airlines reduced their ranks by almost half. Aloaha Airlines had a 12 percent reduction in the flight attendant workforce. US Airways saw over 3,000 slashed. United suffered the largest blow when over 12,000 flight attendants' careers were put on hold.

AFA-CWA President Pat Friend and Antoinette Muoneke, an AFA-CWA member and United Flight attendant, testified before Congress earlier this year.

Mouneke said because of job and benefit cuts, her hours away from home increased by 40 percent, yet she still could not afford to pay higher health care premiums. And even with the new retirement system AFA-CWA won when United froze her old one, Mouneke said she lost over 30 percent of her pension benefit.

"To add insult to injury, management then shops for potential investors, using employees' reduced standard of living as a selling point," Friend said.

IN BRIEF:

  • Support continues to grow for some 400 members of the California Federation of Interpreters, TNG-CWA Local 39521, who have been on strike since Sept. 5.

    More than two dozen members of the State Assembly and another two dozen members of the State Senate have signed onto a support statement calling on the court to bargain a fair contract with interpreters.

    The interpreters work for the Superior Court of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. They are fighting for equitable treatment by the court, including the salary structure that other court employees have.

 

  • Linda Chavez-Thompson, the AFL-CIO's executive vice president for 12 years, has announced she will retire this month from what she called "the greatest job I have ever had."

    AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said, "In everything she has done, she has broken new pathways for the labor movement," citing her work rejuvenating state and local labor alliances, efforts on civil, human and women's rights and leadership on immigration issues.

    Chavez-Thompson rose through the ranks of AFSCME, ultimately serving as international vice president, before being elected to her current position in 1995. As a second-generation Mexican-American, she is the first person of color to serve in one of the AFL-CIO's three highest offices.

    Upon retiring Sept. 21, Chavez-Thompson will become the executive vice president emerita of the federation. With executive council approval, she will continue to chair the council's immigration committee, advise state federations and labor councils, and serve as president of the Inter-American Regional Organization of Workers, among other assignments.

    Sweeney said he is nominating Arlene Holt-Baker, a top assistant to Sweeney and formerly to Chavez-Thompson, to fill the remaining two years of the executive vice president's term. Previously an area director for AFSCME, Holt-Baker oversaw organizing and political activity in California.

 

  • AFA-CWA members at Northwest Airlines were instrumental in blocking payment of $4.2 million in "end-of-case bonuses" for the airline's bankruptcy lawyers and they have a suggestion for how the spare cash can be used:  "Since (the airline) will not have to pay these ridiculous bonuses, we think it is far better spent on returning some of the pay and workrules the Northwest flight attendants have sacrificed," said the union's Northwest Master Executive Council President Kevin Griffen. 

    The bankruptcy judge in the case agreed with AFA-CWA's contention that the law firms have already been well compensated with tens of millions of dollars in fees.  The U.S. Trustee and a creditor joined with the union in filing objections to the bonuses.

 

  • U.S. postal rate increases are hitting small publications hard and CWA wants to know how much more locals are paying to mail newsletters, and whether it's affecting their ability to publish.

    Editors of some publications have reported hikes of 22 to 26 percent in their postage bills. Because of a complicated formula for determining how much and what type of publications are charged, there is not a common across-the-board increase.

    The International Labor Communications Association will be testifying at a hearing on Capitol Hill about the impact of the rate hikes. CWA will be sharing information from locals with the ILCA so that it can be included as part of the testimony.

    The hearing is currently scheduled for Sept. 27 before the Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service and District of Columbia, part of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

    Send information on your postage increases to cwanews@cwa-union.org.

 

  • Want to buy vehicles made in the United States or Canada by union members – including IUE-CWA members? Check out the UAW's "2008 Union-Built Car and Truck Guide."

    The guide lists the familiar American brands such as Buick, Chevrolet, Ford, Mercury, Dodge and Jeep, as well as union-made models from Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Saab, Suzuki and Toyota. The vehicles or vehicle parts are made by members of the UAW, the Canadian Auto Workers and IUE-CWA.

    The UAW cautions car shoppers that not all vehicles made in the United States or Canada are built by union-represented workers. The Toyota Corolla, for example, is made in the United States by UAW members, but the Canadian model is made in a nonunion plant and other models are imported from a third country.

    To get the scoop on other vehicles, download the guide at www.uaw.org.