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Close the tax loophole, protect your jobs |
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Written by admin
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Thursday, 07 January 2010 16:27 |
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Dear CWA Members,
 CWA jobs could be at risk because some companies don't want to pay their taxes.
Over the past several years, Verizon has been taking advantage of an obscure tax loophole called a Reverse Morris Trust (RMT). This lets Verizon save billions in taxes by dumping its landlines to smaller companies on shaky financial ground.
Those smaller companies may not have the resources to meet the obligations of CWA labor agreements, putting our jobs, pay, and benefits in jeopardy.
We must stop this from happening -- and thanks to U.S. Representative Paul Hodes (D-NH), we now have a great opportunity to close this RMT loophole once and for all. Rep. Hodes will be introducing legislation to reform the RMT. Will you take a moment to send a letter urging your member of Congress to co-sponsor this important bill?
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/rmt_loophole/e3b5e734p7dwx757?
Concerns about the RMT's impact aren't hypothetical.
Verizon recently took advantage of this loophole to sell its operations in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont to FairPoint Communications. As a result of the huge debt load it took on, FairPoint is now in bankruptcy, putting our members' jobs and collective bargaining agreements at risk.
This is all made possible by the RMT loophole. If it remains open, then Verizon and other companies could expand their efforts to dump their landlines -- jeopardizing telecom jobs all across the country.
Federal dollars shouldn't subsidize this kind of irresponsible behavior. Tell your member of Congress to co-sponsor Rep. Hodes' legislation to reform the RMT -- click here to speak out now:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/rmt_loophole/e3b5e734p7dwx757?
Thanks for taking a stand against corporate greed and protecting jobs all over the country.
Sincerely,
Beth Allen
Online Mobilization Coordinator
CWA e-Activist Network
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A Loud Message to the Senate: Don't Tax Our Health Care |
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Written by admin
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Thursday, 10 December 2009 00:00 |
A Loud Message to the Senate: Don't Tax Our Health Care
CWAers Visiting Hill Tell Lawmakers: Drop the Tax on our Health Care
Report Reveals Abuses by T-Mobile USA
CWA Joins Mexico, Canada to Discuss Workers' Shared Concerns
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Take a CWA/NETT Course Now and CWA Will Pay Your Exam Fees
Cast Your Vote Now for 2009's Biggest Business Scrooge
A Loud Message to the Senate: Don't Tax Our Health Care
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| Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) expresses opposition to the Senate's proposed excise tax on health benefits. With him are Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn), CWA Pres. Larry Cohen and CWA Local 2204 health care coordinator Valerie Castle-Stanley. |
On the steps of the U.S. Capitol, leaders from CWA, the National Educational Association, the AFL-CIO and union members joined Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) at a news conference that focused congressional and public attention on the devastating effect of the proposed Senate plan to tax health care benefits.
Sanders and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) have sponsored an amendment to strip the excise tax from the Senate bill and use funding sources passed by the House of Representatives. Representative Courtney gathered signatures from 187 of his House colleagues expressing their strong opposition to the excise tax plan.
CWA President Larry Cohen told the news conference that taxing employers that already provide benefits is bad public policy. "Instead of taxing those who already provide benefits, those employers who don't pay, should pay," he said.
This tax will hit 30 million families in the first five years of the plan, he said. Cohen also cited a new poll commissioned by CWA that finds that 70 percent of voters surveyed strongly oppose the tax on health benefits.
Valerie Castle-Stanley, a member of CWA Local 2204, said that "when I heard that some senators want to tax our health care benefits, I just couldn't believe it. It will hurt families like mine."
Castle-Stanley, who works at an AT&T relay center in Norton, Va., said CWA has bargained good benefits, benefits she and her family count on. "We're not rich. We're average middle class Americans. We need quality health care," she said.
"But there's no question that companies will look for ways to pass on this tax – they're sure not going to pay it. That means my benefits will be cut and my costs will go up. I support health care reform but I can't afford this tax," she said.
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Read more...
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Health Care Reform Fight Moves Back to House |
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Written by admin
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Friday, 18 December 2009 05:38 |
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Health Care Reform Fight Moves Back to House
CWA District 3 Reaches Tentative Agreement with AT&T
CWA, IBEW, AT&T and Verizon Team Up to Oppose Tax on Health Care
Voters, Economists Agree: Tax on Health Care is a Bad Idea
Excise Tax Would Have 'Devastating' Impact, CWA, Allies Warn Senate
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Slammed for Terminating Retiree Health Care
Ohio Local Wins TAA Benefits for Laid-Off Delphi Workers
IUE-CWA Elves Taking Calls for Santa Through Friday
Let's 'Sock' Pediatric AIDS
Reminder: Vote Now for 2009's Biggest Scrooge
Health Care Reform Fight Moves Back to House
Meeting late today in person and by conference call, CWA's Executive Board issued a call to locals across our union to step up the fight against the excise tax on our health care plans. The focus now shifts to the House of Representatives, then to consideration of conference legislation.
The Senate will vote on its health care bill that includes the excise tax next Thursday. This proposal would have disastrous consequences for the majority of CWA members and retirees under age 65 beginning in 2013 and escalating dramatically every year after that.
The Senate and House then have to work out conference legislation that both bodies must pass before sending it to the President for approval. The House version has NO excise tax and 188 House members have signed a letter to Speaker Pelosi saying that there can be no excise tax in the final version. CWAers across the country must rally around those 190 members, particularly those that face tough elections in 2010.
Taxing the health plans of 30 million Americans in the first ten years of the tax is a huge mistake for members of Congress. CWA released a national poll last week which found that three-quarters of all respondents are less likely to vote for any member of Congress who supports the excise tax on health care plans.
CWA District 3 Reaches Tentative Agreement with AT&T
CWA District 3 reached a tentative agreement with AT&T covering 35,000 CWA-represented workers at AT&T Southeast. Click here for details.
The agreement covers workers at AT&T (formerly BellSouth), Utilities, BAPCO and Billing in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
"In these very difficult economic times, CWA was able to maintain the job security provisions that were currently in the contract, along with quality health care. The team worked very hard to achieve a fair and equitable contract," said CWA District 3 Vice President Judy Dennis.
The CWA bargaining team unanimously supports the agreement and recommends ratification. A contract explanation meeting will be held for local presidents, starting the ratification process.
The three-year tentative agreement increases pay by 9 percent compounded over the contract term and provides pension band increases of 2 percent in each year of the agreement, among other gains.
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Read more...
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Written by admin
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Wednesday, 09 December 2009 13:42 |
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Dear CWA Member,
 The Senate is about to vote on a bill that would tax health care benefits.
This new tax is supposedly aimed at high-priced "Cadillac" health care plans -- but it would also hit many union families like yours. That could lead employers to cut back on benefits to avoid the tax -- or just pass the tax along to us.
That's an outcome we just can't afford.
It's a good bet that in the past few days your senators have heard from lobbyists supporting this tax. Now make sure they hear from you.
Take just a minute to call 1-888-580-0792 and urge them to oppose this new tax on working families and support amendments that would roll back or eliminate the tax.
CWA is fighting to eliminate this tax on benefits but to be successful, we need the support of CWA members across the country.
It's going to take thousands of calls to make our Senators understand that the proposed tax on benefits wouldn't just affect wealthy people with "Cadillac" health plans -- it would hit working families like ours.
Let's make sure your Senators get this message and keep their phones ringing off the hook.
Dial 1-888-580-0792 to be directly connected to one of your Senators' offices and urge them to support amendments to roll back the tax on benefits.
I hope you'll continue to be a part of this fight for good health reform.
In Solidarity,
Beth Allen
Online Mobilization Coordinator
CWA e-Activist Network
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