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June 3, 2010
Members of CWA Local 1122 in Buffalo are engaged in an unfair
labor practice strike at the American Red Cross, citing the
organization's record of labor law violations and its
refusal to negotiate a fair contract.
CWAers are not standing alone. Members of AFSCME Local 3145
in Connecticut; Teamsters Local 580 and Office and Professional
Employees Local 459 in Michigan; UFCW Local 75 in Ohio; SEIU
1199 in West Virginia, and SEIU 721 in Los
Angeles also are participating in the strike action.
Local 1122 represents 160 Red Cross workers in Buffalo who
have been working without a contract since May 2009. CWA
has filed several unfair labor practices charges against the Red
Cross over serious contract violations. The Red Cross
drastically changed workers' health care coverage, eliminated
retiree health care, eliminated the defined pension benefit for
new hires and eliminated the company's match to the 401k plan,
all without bargaining over the changes, which labor law
requires.
The NLRB has issued complaints on all four charges and a
trial will be held soon. The last contract offer by the Red
Cross was overwhelmingly rejected by CWAers, in a 91 percent
vote. In that offer, the Red Cross demanded that CWA drop all
unfair labor practice charges against the company.
Separately, members of Local 13500 in northeastern
Pennsylvania are continuing to bargain with the Red Cross; that
contract was extended to June 8. Big issues are the company's
demand for health care cost shifting and pay treatment for last
minute changes in scheduling and weekend work assignments.
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| CWAers from Local 3403 in Baton Rouge,
LA, above, and Local 3122 in Miami, below, wear
red and mobilize for a quality
contract. |
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CWA members at AT&T Mobility in District 3 ratified a new
four-year agreement by a 68 percent "yes" vote. The agreement
covers about 11,200 workers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina
and Tennessee.
The settlement provides for a 10 percent wage increase over
the contract term plus a $500 bonus on ratification. Three new
job titles will provide upgrades for some 800 call center
workers, and the wireless technician I title has been upgraded
to wireless technician II.
Improvements for selection of vacation and other days off
were negotiated for retail and call center workers; severance
pay was increased, and the grievance procedure was
expanded.
From Lafayette and Baton Rouge, La., to Ashland, Ky., and
throughout the state of Florida, CWAers leafleted outside call
centers and retail stores, held solidarity "stand-ups" at their
desks, and made lots of mobilization videos that revved up
members.
Check out the District 3 mobilization.
CWAers won two big victories in Congress last week. In
separate votes, the House of Representatives voted to ban the
Reverse Morris Trust tax loophole and to retain a valuable jet
engine program that means 2,000 jobs.
By a 215-204 vote, the House voted to ban the Reverse Morris
Trust tax loophole, which has allowed companies like Verizon to
sell assets to smaller or sometimes financially shaky companies
to get a tax break. Specifically because of this tax loophole,
Verizon sought out companies like FairPoint in northern New
England and Frontier in West Virginia and 13 other states to
sell its landlines. FairPoint has filed for bankruptcy,
affecting workers' jobs and quality service.
The measure to ban the RMT now moves to the Senate.
In another big victory for good jobs, the House voted to
retain funding for an alternative engine for the F-136 Joint
Strike Fighter that is built by 1,200 IUE-CWAers at General
Electric in Lynn, Mass.
IUE-CWA members worked hard to persuade lawmakers that the
program was good for competition, holding costs down in the
defense industry over the long term.
A video message from Jeff Crosby, president of IUE-CWA Local
81201, was sent to every congressional office, providing a
"worker's perspective" on the importance of saving the engine
and jobs. "Lynn, Massachusetts, is about as good a place as any
in the United States to make a stand for manufacturing," he
said.
This fight now moves to the Senate.
CWA District 3 reached a tentative three-year agreement with
AT&T covering nearly 700 workers in the National Directory
and Customer Assistance unit. The workers handle directory and
customer service for AT&T Mobility customers.
The agreement boost wages at the top pay rates by 7.5 percent
over term, brings health care costs in line with other workers
at AT&T, and expands employment security.
"This is a good agreement in what are very tough times in the
industry and intense competition from non-union companies," said
CWA District 3 Vice President Judy Dennis. AT&T's directory
and customer assistance unit faces intense competition from an
increasing number of low-cost, non-union providers.
Workers now have recall rights for the first time, along with
ability to transfer to AT&T operations nationwide.
Membership ratification is underway; ballots will be counted
June 18.
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Delta CEO Richard Anderson
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It's no surprise that Delta's CEO Richard Anderson is a big
supporter of Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson. Isakson spearheaded
a campaign on Capitol Hill to block the National Mediation
Board's rule change that finally brings a majority vote
determination to airline elections.
Challenging Isakson in next year's Senate race is Labor
Commissioner Michael Thurmond, who is the first African-American
to ever be elected to a statewide office in Georgia.
We know which side Anderson is on, and it's not standing with
AFA-CWA flight attendants who are working hard to ensure that
workers at Delta have bargaining rights.
CWA's Customer Service Advocate Network Team is already
planning the Customer Service Professionals Conference, set for
Oct. 20-23 in San Diego.
The team is putting together a program covering the issues
that are most important to customer service professionals, with
the goal of providing lots of opportunity for discussion and
brainstorming. So save the date: Oct. 20-23, and stay tuned for
more details. Updates will be posted at www.cwa-union.org.
After a nine-year battle that CWA helped lead, a bill to
ensure medical monitoring and treatment of workers exposed to
toxins at Ground Zero has passed the House Energy and Commerce
Committee.
In a bipartisan 33-12 vote, the committee voted to send the
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 to the
full House. It would provide mandatory funding for medical
monitoring and treatment programs for emergency responders,
recovery crews and others working at Ground Zero, including
about 1,500 CWA members in telecom, the public sector,
newspapers and broadcasting.
The bill is named for a NYPD detective who died in 2006 of
respiratory disease believed to be linked to his work at Ground
Zero.
In stark contrast to the Bush years, federal contractors and
subcontractors must now post notices alerting workers to their
rights under the National Labor Relations Act, including their
right to join a union.
President Obama ordered the rule just ten days after taking
office. The notice spells out the rights of workers to form and
join unions and bargain collectively, provides examples of
unlawful conduct that interferes that those rights and tells
employees how to contact the NLRB with questions or complaints.
Contractors that fail to comply can face suspension or
cancellation of their federal contracts.
CWA members in Richmond, VA., rally at the Massey Energy
shareholders meeting, to show their respect for miners killed at
the company's operations in West Virginia and to put Massey on
notice that the company's criminal behavior won't be tolerated
any longer.
CWAers from Locals 2201, 2204 and 82162 joined the
demonstration.
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