September 27, 2007

Get Ready to Vote in Member e-Poll on Candidates

CWA's first-ever online "e-poll" goes live on Monday, Oct. 1, giving CWAers the opportunity to show their support for the presidential candidate who best addresses the critical issues affecting CWA members and their families. 

At www.cwavotes.org, members and retirees can read the responses to specific questions on CWA's key issues posed to every candidate – Democratic and Republican – and tell us which candidate they favor. Responses were received from seven Democratic candidates, however no Republican candidates responded despite numerous contacts to the campaigns by CWA.  

The e-poll will run through Nov. 9.  The e-poll will help determine whether a single candidate has overwhelming support from the membership.

CWA is encouraging members to become fully engaged in political campaigns and to run for election as delegates to the Democratic and Republican conventions.  The website offers "how-to's" on running for delegate and also has lots of information about the candidates with links to their campaign websites.

These are the questions CWA posed to all of the presidential contenders:

  1. Do you support the Employee Free Choice Act and what would you do as president to lead the fight to get that legislation past the hurdle of a Senate filibuster and onto your desk for signature?
  2. Tell us how you would fund universal health care to ensure that all Americans have coverage and to make U.S. jobs more competitive and not disadvantage those employers that currently provide quality health benefits to their employees. 
  3. Detail specific steps you would offer to cut the trade deficit – now more than $700 billion a year – and help spur the retention and growth of jobs in this country. 

Flight Attendants Mobilize for Coverage under FMLA

AFA-CWA members have sent more than 5,000 letters and e-mails to members of Congress to push for a bill that would give flight attendants' coverage under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The Airline Crew Family and Medical Leave Act bill has 80 cosponsors in the U.S. House and was introduced last week in the Senate by Senator Hillary Clinton. AFA-CWA staff and member lobbyists are contacting senators in every state to seek support and are encouraging flight attendants to send even more letters.

Flight attendants have been exempt from the law because of language that narrowly defines "full time work" as a traditional 40-hour week. The new bill will change that.

CWA President Larry Cohen praised the ongoing efforts of AFA-CWA staff and members, calling it a "tremendous example of excellent leg work and what it can accomplish for our members and millions of other working Americans."

In introducing the Senate bill, Clinton said that for 14 years FMLA has "helped more than 50 million men and women trying to balance the demands of work and family. The denial of leave is a particularly dire problem for flight attendants and pilots, as many of them spend several days per week away from home and family. We must do what is right and apply a fair and well-deserved benefit to the hard-working airline crew members."

A sample letter to lawmakers about FMLA is on the AFA-CWA website, www.afanet.org, though members are urged to include their own experiences to show the vital need for FMLA coverage. Members are also encouraged to send personal letters instead of e-mails, as they have more impact, and are asked to mail them via the AFA-CWA office in Washington, D.C. That way, leaders said they can be hand-delivered to members of Congress, bypassing the security that can otherwise delay mail for months. The address is: AFA-CWA, Office of Government Affairs, 501 Third St. NW, Washington, DC 20001.

Coalition Asks Maine Governor to Oppose Verizon Landline Sale

Showing growing opposition to the proposed sale of Verizon landlines to FairPoint Communications, a delegation including CWA Local 1400 Steward Cliff Knapp delivered more than 5,000 postcards to the governor of Maine at his office in Augusta on Sept. 25 asking him to oppose the sale.

The postcards, collected door-to-door and delivered by union members, seniors, first responders, parents and health care providers, asked Gov. John Baldacci to "take a strong stand against allowing Verizon to sell its assets to FairPoint."

Maine Public Advocate Richard Davies received the cards for the governor. The event received coverage from three TV stations, the Associated Press and public radio, and coincided with the third and final public hearing on the proposed sale that evening, conducted by the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

At a news conference, Knapp expressed doubt that FairPoint will be able to provide quality telephone service and high-speed Internet to Maine residents and voiced concern for his daughter's education, for consumers and shareholders and for his own job security.

"For the last few years, Verizon has totally abandoned the Northern states," Knapp said. "It's left the network in complete disarray. I don't think FairPoint knows what they're buying."

He also cited a report by the Liberty Group, commissioned by the PUC to study the proposed deal. "It's an unbiased group," Knapp said. "As the current deal is structured, they don't believe that FairPoint has the resources to make it work."

"If this sale is approved it could send Maine and it economy backwards," said Ed Gorham, president of the Maine AFL-CIO. "Cutting edge technology is essential to keeping good paying jobs in the state. FairPoint has not demonstrated it has the resources or the technology to keep pace with today's world."

CWA has opposed the sale in written testimony to the public utility commissions of all three states that would be affected – Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire – and CWA members have been active for months in the mobilization to raise public consciousness about the harm that it would bring.

All three states have now concluded their public hearings on the deal.  The Maine PUC will conduct technical hearings Oct. 2-5 and Oct. 9-12, then the hearing examiner will submit a report to the PUC in November and the PUC will begin deliberations after Thanksgiving.

All three states are expected to make their decisions some time in December. The sale also requires the approval of the Federal Communications Commission.

Probation Officers Join California's CWA COPS

The San Bernardino County Probation Officers' Association, representing 305 officers, voted on Sept. 13 to become part of CWA Local 9111, the California Organization of Police and Sheriffs (COPS).

"We certainly look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship," said Michael DiCesare, the local's full-time organizer who coordinated the campaign. "We're working hard now to get some negotiations going, not only to secure their present level of benefits, but hopefully to get them the safety retirement they deserve."

The desire for a safety officer's retirement at age 50 based on 3 percent of salary, as opposed to a regular county retirement at 55 based on 2 percent, is what drove the probation officers to disaffiliate from the Safety Employees Benefit Association (SEBA) and then seek affiliation with a stronger union. In its last round of bargaining, SEBA, which is controlled by the county's deputy sheriffs, secured improved retirement for the deputies but not for the probation officers, DiCesare said.

DiCesare and local Director of Field Services Don Ruize, under the leadership of COPS Executive Director Monty Holden and probation officers' association President Gorden Gregg, conducted numerous meetings with probation officers at 15 locations around the county. They mailed information to probation officers and conducted phone banks to get members on board for the affiliation. The probation officers voted 156-54 to join CWA.

Quick Action by Local 6132 Member Saves Austin Man

Navor Hernandez, a member of CWA Local 6132, was honored by AT&T for his bravery and quick action that saved a man from a burning van. Hernandez calls himself a "plain old telephone man" and said "the day of the accident changed many lives, including my own."

Hernandez was on the job as an AT&T communications technician in Austin when he saw an auto accident in his rear view mirror. While dialing 911, he ran to the scene to help the victims who were trapped in the burning van that had turned upside down.

As he pulled 18-year old Mason Hagen to safety through a window, their clothing caught fire and the van continued to burn. Another bystander helped douse their burning clothes with a fire extinguisher. Mason, badly burned, was airlifted to an Austin hospital. Unfortunately, Mason's brother Marshall, 20, perished in the fire, and Hernandez made the call to the boys' family to let them know of the tragic accident.   

For his courage and heroism, Hernandez became the first employee in Texas to receive the Gold Vail Award, the industry's highest honor, named for the first AT&T president.

CWA Local 6132 and President Ray Flores presented Hernandez with a plaque honoring "his heroic deeds performed in the service of his community."

The American Red Cross also named Hernandez its 2007 Adult Good Samaritan and presented him the Central Texas Heroes Award.

As UAW Settles Strike at GM, IUE-CWA Prepares for Talks

This week's Auto Workers strike against General Motors caused a postponement in talks that were set to begin Tuesday on behalf of 2,300 members of IUE-CWA at the Moraine, Ohio, GM plant.  Those negotiations now are set to open early next week following a tentative settlement and end to the UAW walkout, said IUE-CWA Automotive Conference Board Chair Willie Thorpe.  The current contract expires Oct. 15.

UAW reported achieving its goal of job security improvements as a result of the brief strike by 74,000 workers.  While full details weren't being reported pending contract explanation meetings and ratification, the parties did announce a breakthrough agreement to shift retiree health care costs to a GM-funded voluntary employee beneficiary association (VEBA), to be managed by the union. 

Future jobs at the plant will be a major discussion point for the Moraine workers, who assemble SUVs, since production of the Chevy Blazer will be winding down over the next couple of years:  "We need to get new production in this plant," Thorpe said.   He noted that the Moraine plant has been one of GM's most productive facilities for many years.

IN BRIEF:
  • Iowa Governor Chet Culver is the latest public official to personally urge Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon's CEO and President, to respect its employees' organizing rights. In a letter to the corporate executive, Culver, a Democrat and son of the late U.S. Senator John Culver, urged Seidenberg to consider accepting card check sign up as a means for employees to organize. 

  • Almost 90 million Americans under age 65 lacked health care insurance for at least part of 2006 or 2007 – even though 70 percent of the insured were employed full time, according to a new study by the advocacy group Families USA.

    The report, drawn mainly from U.S. Census Bureau data, showed that nearly two-thirds of the 89.6 million people lacked coverage for six months or more and that half were uninsured for at least nine months.

    News coverage of the health care crisis typically cites 47 million uninsured Americans, but Families USA said that figure applies to people uninsured year-round. The new data suggests that maintaining health insurance is a constant struggle for tens of millions more Americans, approximately one in every three people under age 65.

  • The Newspaper Guild and NABET are urging members to attend a late October forum that will bring together media workers, employers, advertising professionals and academics to discuss the future of news industry jobs.

    The forum, sponsored by CWA and the University of Maryland, runs Oct. 26-27 on the university campus in suburban Washington D.C. Seminars will look at the upheaval in the industry, tools and resources for journalists, the political-economic forces driving change in the industry and other issues. Panelists will include representatives of ABC-TV, the Washington Post and other major newspapers, Gannett Video Enterprises, news websites and university programs.

    Registration is $50 and includes two breakfasts and a lunch. Checks should be made payable to the University of Maryland and be sent to Malinka Franklin at The Newspaper Guild-CWA, 501 Third St. N.W., 20001. Registration is also available onsite at the university's conference center, 3501 University Blvd. East in Adelphi, Md.

    A limited number of rooms has been reserved at a nightly rate of $159 at a campus Marriott. Participants should call (800) 676-6137 and mention the "Future of News" conference. If you are told no more rooms are available, contact Franklin by e-mail at mfranklin@cwa-union.org. More details are available on the Guild website at www.newsguild.org.

  • The United Steelworkers will be out in force at 100 Home Depot locations nationwide on Sept. 29, asking the public not to purchase certain lumber products made by their 7,000 striking members in Canada. 

    Calling it “bloody lumber,” USW pointed out that 65 forest workers have been killed in British Columbia since January 2006, performing the dangerous work of felling large trees and turning them into lumber.

    USW is asking the public not to buy lumber supplied by Western Forest Products, Interfor and Weyerhaeuser (Cedar One).  “We’re not boycotting Home Depot,” said Gary Steinbock, USW subdirector for northeaster Ohio. “It is a public awareness campaign. We’re just asking people not to buy these products."

    USW forest workers have been on strike against more than 30 companies in the forestry industry along the British Columbia coast since July, negotiating over worker safety, imposed shifts of up to 16 hours and job security. Since 2000, at least 39 major wood and paper manufacturing facilities have closed, and one in five workers in the industry has lost his or her job.

    For more information visit www.usw.ca.

  • Here's how to order all of the organizing or education tools and materials, including videos and the stewards training manual that your local needs:  Go online to www.cwa-union.org/organize, find the box that says: "CWA Organizers: Click here to order materials," and click on that link. You'll find a wide range of organizing and education materials, along with detailed instructions for ordering.