Members Win Strong Contract after Comcast Decert Backfires in Detroit

Solidarity was key as CWAers in Detroit and Port Huron, Mich., bargained strong contracts. Above, Local 4100's bargaining team in Detroit: Charles Collier,  Vince Baldwin, Nikkia Johnson and Rodney Woods. Below, Local 4008's Port Huron bargaining team included Executive Board Member Don Richardson, left, and Chief Steward Tim Davis.

CWA locals are taking on Comcast and coming through with good contracts and solid bargaining units. That's exactly what happened most recently in Detroit and Port Huron, Mich., where members of Locals 4100 and 4008 overwhelmingly ratified new agreements.

"Our members at Comcast have to fight every day against attacks on our existence," CWA District 4 Vice President Seth Rosen said. "They're not just fighting for fair treatment, they have to deal with decerts and union-busting against a company determined to eliminate the union. It takes hard work and a very high level of solidarity to bargain a contract that moves us forward under these conditions, and that is what these workers did."

In Detroit, Comcast had persuaded a group of newer workers in a unit of 38 technicians to file for decertification, promising raises if they got rid of the union. Ultimately, the very members Comcast counted on as anti-union votes sided with CWA and helped bargain a contract that provides for wage increases of 5.8 percent over the three year term, plus retroactive pay increases ranging from 6.9 to 11.3 percent.

"Educating the members and getting them involved made a world of difference," Local 4100 President Greg Wynn said. "They truly understood what they were voting on, and truly understood the value of having a union."

CWA Staff Representative Shannon Kirkland said CWA members got the decert campaign leader to listen to the truth about Comcast. "He found out he was being deceived by Comcast and ultimately he came to the bargaining table on our side," Kirkland said.

In Port Huron, Local 4008 members bargained a three-year contract that provides a 5.8 percent wage increase over the contract term, a signing bonus and a new post-retirement health care benefit, among other improvements. "The retirement health care stipend follows a formula based on years of service that will provide up to $800 a month to help reimburse health care costs," Local President Mike Schulte said.

Breaking: Voting Period Set for Piedmont Agents

Check out this bulletin board in Charlotte, where Piedmont agents can get the facts about why CWA representation means fairness and a real voice on the job.

Fleet and passenger service workers at Piedmont Airlines will be voting for CWA representation beginning Oct. 7, the NMB said today.

The NMB will mail out voting materials to the 2,900 agents on Oct. 7, with workers voting by telephone or by Internet electronic voting through
Nov. 4.

Agents at Piedmont have been building support among co-workers for a CWA voice for several months. CWA represents more than 60,000 workers in the airline industry.

For more airline news, see the Delta/Northwest story in this issue.

We're One Nation, Working Together

One Nation allies in New Jersey held a kickoff news conference and event this week at the State House. CWA's New Jersey coordinator Lionel Leach and District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton were on hand; check out the video at http://event.playonsports.com/widget.html?eventId=11985.

CWAers are getting fired up for the Oct. 2 rally and march at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where more than a quarter of a million activists from 200 organizations will stand together for jobs and a government that works for working families.

And supporters in communities in California, Texas and other states are planning One Nation events too. No matter where you live, make sure you're a part of this historic event. Go to www.cwa-union.org/onenation for more information.

Labor Day Events Kick Off Election Season

Detroit area union members carried this banner in this year's Labor Day parade.

CWAers across the country turned out for Labor Day events and parades that put the spotlight on the November elections and why we must elect political leaders who support working families.

In Louisville, Kentucky, CWAers were among the 8,000 union members attending the Labor Day celebration at the zoo. Among those on hand: Senate Democratic candidate Jack Conway, who commended the unions for representing working families across the state. CWA's state political coordinators are Nick Hawkins, Local 3305, and Steve Wimsatt, IUE-CWA Local 83761. Watch the video here. 

At a Labor Day breakfast in Manchester, N.H., with lots of CWAers from Local 1365 on hand, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called for an end to the devastating trade policies that have caused the loss of millions of American jobs. "We have to tell corporate America that if they want us to buy their products, which they certainly do, they have to start manufacturing those products back here in America."

Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White, state and local elected officials and some 200 union members celebrated Labor Day at CWA Local 6137 in Corpus Christi, Tex., at the Coastal Bend AFL-CIO's annual Labor Day breakfast.

Labor Day is the traditional start of the November election process; stay tuned to www.cwa-union.org for more info about the stakes this November for working families.

Delta/Northwest Flight Attendants' Election Begins Sept. 29

Starting Sept. 29, Delta/Northwest flight attendants' campaign for bargaining rights officially gets underway, with voting materials set to be mailed out by the National Mediation Board to 20,000 flight attendants. The voting period ends Nov. 3.

The election will be the first in the airline industry to follow the same democratic voting standard that Americans use to elect local, state, and federal representatives.

Now, the outcome in airline elections will be decided by a majority of those who vote. Under the old rules, workers who didn't vote were considered to be "No" votes, giving management a huge advantage in anti-union campaigns. The NMB's rule change came about through years of hard work by AFA-CWA and CWA, and the testimony from airline workers about election abuses.

"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," said AFA-CWA President Patricia Friend.

Flight attendants from the old Delta are fighting to win bargaining rights for the first time, while flight attendants from Northwest Airlines want to keep the union rights they've had for more than 50 years.

For more information, go to www.deltaafa.org.

Transport and Medical Workers Join CWA

More workers are gaining CWA representation.

In New Jersey, 65 part-time medical consultants at the State of New Jersey Disability Determination Service won representation with Locals 1037 and 1038. The workers had been excluded by management from the existing CWA bargaining unit even though they were doing the same work as full-time medical examiners, but finally won recognition and bargaining rights.

In Washington State, five utility workers at MV Transportation in Seattle won a CWA voice through a unanimous NLRB vote. They join the 332 workers at the company already represented by CWA Local 7800.

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