Communications Workers of America | E-Activist Newsletter

Delta flight attendants today moved closer to holding the first truly democratic election at the airline as the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA filed with the National Mediation Board to trigger a union representation election.

AFA-CWA asked the NMB to declare that the airline is a single transportation system as a result of the Delta/Northwest merger, thus paving the way for an election. Northwest Airlines flight attendants are currently represented by AFA-CWA, while Delta flight attendants are not represented. With nearly 21,000 flight attendants at the combined airline, the election will be among the largest ever conducted in the airlines.

"Delta and Northwest flight attendants have waited a long time for this day and are eager to move forward in creating a world-class contract at the world's largest carrier," stated AFA-CWA President Patricia Friend.

Court Upholds NMB's New Democratic Airline Election Rules

In rejecting the airline industry's challenge to new, democratic rules governing representation elections for airline and railroad workers, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman said the National Mediation Board was fully within its rights to change the rules, and that the agency demonstrated "that the change is essential."

As a result of the June 25 decision, the new rules went into effect Wednesday, June 30, opening the door to fair elections for tens of thousands of unrepresented airline workers at Delta Northwest, Piedmont, Fedex and other carriers.

Under the changes supported by AFA-CWA, the outcome of union representation elections will be based on a majority of the votes cast. Until now, workers who didn't cast ballots were counted as "No" votes. During elections, airlines frequently packed employee eligibility lists with furloughed workers to increase the number of non-voters.

AFA-CWA President Patricia Friend applauded the decision. "Democracy has prevailed and we gladly usher in a new era where aviation and railway employees have a voice," she said, adding "For the first time in recent history, elections conducted by the NMB will be held to the standards and principles that our country was founded upon."

Based on thousands of comments the NMB received on the rule change from airline workers, unions, and the industry, the judge said the Board provided "evidence and analysis of why the new rule will better determine employees' preference regarding representation."

Friedman also rejected industry claims that the NMB acted beyond its authority and in violation of the Railway Labor Act, stating that the new rule "is consistent with the Board's broad discretion to investigate representational disputes and to decide how a majority of a craft or class shall exercise its right to determine a representative under the RLA."

The Air Transport Association, which sought to block the rule on behalf of Delta Air Lines and at least nine other carriers, and with the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said it "will thoroughly study the decision to determine" whether it would appeal the ruling.

Senator Byrd Remembered as Workers' Champion Who 'Loved CWA'

Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, center, met often with CWA and other unions during his long career fighting for workers. The group above includes CWA District 2 Staff Representative Elaine Harris, in yellow, who said Byrd "loved CWA." He died Monday after 51 years in the U.S. Senate.

The death of Robert Byrd on Monday was the end of an era in West Virginia, where the country's longest-serving senator was a hero to CWA members and workers across the state who knew he was always in their corner.

He loved CWA, as many of the things he believed in and fought for are the very same things that are important to us," said CWA District 2 Representative Elaine Harris, whose many memories of Byrd include his stand for workers when AT&T tried to close its Charleston call center in 1994. At least some of the 500 jobs were going to be sent overseas.

"He had a meeting with Bob Allen, the AT&T CEO, and he scolded him, he said, 'How dare you take the jobs away from the people in my state!'" Harris said. AT&T backed down.

Although the center ultimately was closed in 2004, "because of Senator Byrd, we had those jobs for 10 years longer than we would have," Harris said.

In another show of support, Byrd wrote to Verizon Wireless CEO Ivan Seidenberg in 2005 to inquire, in his typically polite fashion about "concerns that Verizon Wireless is infringing upon the collective bargaining rights of its employees."

Through his five decades in the Senate, he fought tirelessly for workers' jobs, rights and safety, championing laws to protect miners, opposing job-killing trade deals and, as majority leader in the 1970s, battling a Republican filibuster of labor law reform.

"He was a giant in West Virginia, as a senator and as a friend to so many of us," Harris said, recalling the letter and poem Byrd sent her when her father died. On Wednesday, her office had lunch delivered to Byrd's grieving staff. Tonight, CWA members in red shirts will march in a procession through Charleston as Byrd's body is carried to the state capitol for a memorial. "Everybody here was touched by him," she said.

AT&T Store Shooting Puts Spotlight on Retail Workers' Safety

A CWA Local 1126 member who was shot while working at an AT&T Wireless store in central New York will be honored at the CWA convention, along with the off-duty police officer who killed the gunman before he could hurt anyone else.

The shooting and the events leading to it are a textbook argument for more retail store security and worker training.

The victim, Seth Turk, is out of the hospital but has a long road to full recovery. He was one of four CWA members and six workers total named on a "hit list" carried by gunman Abraham Dickan, 79, a meddlesome, almost daily visitor to the New York Mills store. A month earlier, Dickan brandished a gun to another CWA member there. AT&T sent him a letter banning him from the store, but no changes were made in security.

On May 27, after the county seized the weapon and revoked his carry permit in response to the earlier incident, Dickan returned, pulled a .357 caliber revolver and shot Turk in the stomach. Nearby in a short line of customers, off-duty Police Officer Donald Moore swiftly pulled his gun and fatally shot Dickan. No one else was injured.

In spite of his grave injury, Turk, 37, managed to call 911 and calmly provide details. "He was even able to tell them about Officer Moore having a weapon so they didn't come in thinking he was possibly the assailant," Local 1126 Vice President Jason White said. "The police said it was a textbook 911 call."

White praised AT&T for its efforts since the shooting, which include re-opening the store at a new site with multiple video cameras, panic buttons and, for now, a constant police presence. But he is concerned about long-term safety for his members and all CWA retail workers nationwide. "We definitely need to establish a protocol, jointly with the company, that workers can follow if they ever feel threatened by a customer," he said.

Flag Array on Mall Calls Attention to Fight for Clean Energy, Green Jobs

Standing among a flag array spelling out "Freedom From Oil," CWA Senior Director George Kohl speaks out for green jobs and clean energy at a June 30 event with other unions, veterans and environmental groups.

Calling for green jobs and a clean energy future, CWA joined with other unions, veterans and environmentalists Wednesday in the shadow of the Washington Monument where 10,000 American flags spelled out "Freedom From Oil."

CWA Senior Director George Kohl, speaking among the sea of flags that volunteers planted overnight, stressed how vital it is to build high-speed broadband networks that will create jobs and "play a critical role in reducing emissions and improving our environment."

"These networks bring vital information and services to our hospitals, schools, libraries and homes," he said. "Yet with all our vast wealth, this critical infrastructure is still out of reach for 100 million Americans."

The June 30 event was hosted by the Sierra Club, one of CWA's partners in the Blue Green Alliance of unions and environmental groups. Other speakers included former Army captain and Iraq veteran Jonathan Powers.

"It is a shame that we will let yet another July Fourth pass us by without ending our unnecessary dependence on oil – a dependence that is funding the bullets that our enemies fire at our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan," Powers said. "It is for that reason, and many more, that the fight for energy independence is being fought here at home, a struggle we hope more Americans will join in support of those who are fighting abroad."

Local 1032 Fighting to Keep NJ Public Broadcasting in Public's Hands

CWA Local 1032 members working at NJN have set up a website (pictured below) in their fight to save New Jersey public broadcasting. Some of the 100 members at NJN are pictured outside the network's Trenton studios.

Determined to save public broadcasting in New Jersey, CWA Local 1032 members had reason to celebrate, cautiously, this week as the state Legislature put off a decision about privatizing NJN until at least mid-October.

That's also good news for New Jersey residents, who count on the publicly owned and run network for local coverage they don't get on other channels: Of 12 commercial stations licensed in New Jersey, 11 focus on New York City and Philadelphia.

Many of the 100 CWA members working at NJN have met repeatedly with legislators, expressing fear that a private owner would sell off NJN's assets or merge them with assets in the neighboring states. The network's TV, radio and broadband licenses are valued at more than $200 million.

"When people think of New Jersey now, they think of the Jersey Shore, Rutgers and NJN," Local 1032 President Patrick Kavanagh said. "That will no longer be the case if New Jersey loses control of these major television and radio assets."

Lawmakers, pushed by Gov. Chris Christie and New Jersey Network's interim director, originally set a July 1 deadline to turn the system over to a non-profit corporation. Instead, Senate and Assembly committees voted to create a commission to study the proposals and report back by Oct. 15.

Local 1032 has set up a information-packed website, where you can sign an online petition and share a video the NJN workers produced. Find it at www.saveNJN.com.

Local 9413 Hospital Workers in Reno Nearly Unanimous in First Contract Vote

Technical workers at St. Mary's Hospital in Reno, Nev., will get a 9.5 percent raise over the next two years under a first contract that the new members of CWA Local 9413 ratified overwhelmingly Tuesday night.

The 170-member unit cast a 98 percent "yes" vote on the contract, which includes a $1,000 bonus for workers with special certification, holds the line on health care and separates sick leave from personal time. Previously, employees had to use personal days when they were sick.

Local 9413 Executive Vice President Liz Sorenson said she began organizing the, pharmacy techs, radiology techs, respiratory therapists and other technical employees about a year ago, shortly after organizing 570 service workers at the hospital. The technical workers voted for representation in February and bargaining on the two-year contract began this spring.