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CWAers, Five Other Unions in Unfair Labor Practice Strike at Red Cross |
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Written by admin
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Thursday, 03 June 2010 15:23 |
- CWAers, Five Other Unions in Unfair Labor Practice Strike at Red Cross
- CWAers Ratify AT&T Mobility Contract in D3
- House Votes to Kill RMT and Keep Manufacturing Jobs at GE
- CWA District 3 Reaches Tentative Agreement with AT&T for ND&CA Unit
- Delta CEO Shows Which Side He's On
- Mark Your Calendar for the Customer Service Professionals Conference
- Long Fight for Medical Monitoring of 9/11 Workers Finally Moves to House
- DOL Rule Tells Federal Contractors: Make Sure Workers Know Their Rights
- CWA: Putting Massey on Notice
CWAers, Five Other Unions in Unfair Labor Practice Strike at Red Cross
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.
CWAers Ratify AT&T Mobility Contract in D3
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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.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 03 June 2010 15:28 )
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NMB Brings 'Majority Vote' Rule to Airline Union Elections |
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Written by admin
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Thursday, 13 May 2010 16:09 |
NMB Brings 'Majority Vote' Rule to Airline Union Elections
The National Mediation Board issued a new rule for union representation elections in the airline and railroad industries that finally adopts the majority determination rule that is the standard for elections in the United States.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and all of CWA made the fight for fairer elections for airline workers a top priority. "Our elected officials, from the President of the United States, to mayors and other representatives in our communities, attain office by winning majority support of the votes being cast," said AFA-CWA International President Pat Friend. "That's the way U.S. elections are conducted, and AFA-CWA commends the NMB for restoring the majority rule standard for airline workers."
The previous rule gave management enormous opportunities to stack the deck, because workers who didn't vote were counted as no votes. Airlines also have resorted to intimidation and other tactics to suppress voter turnout by making workers fearful of voting.
The NMB said that its rule change, first issued for public comment last November, was necessary "to provide a more reliable indicator of employee sentiment in representational issues." The wishes of those who take the time and trouble to cast ballots should not be superseded by those choosing not to participate, the NMB said.
CWA Activists Ready to Build a Strong Political Movement
About 110 CWAers met in Baltimore to gear up for the 2010 elections. Photo by Herb Keener, CWA 6215
Local union officers and activists who will lead CWA's electoral work in 2010 met for two days of training and brainstorming to get geared up for the elections.
CWA President Larry Cohen outlined CWA's political agenda and stressed that "our work isn't about one party. We're not in the pocket of any party but we stand for working families, for CWAers, for our communities." Watch President Cohen's remarks here.
Also meeting with the group was CWA Executive Vice President Annie Hill, who told participants that the CWA triangle remains more important and more effective than ever. We must continue to build our legislative and political actions teams in order to offset the attack on collective bargaining, she said.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 13 May 2010 16:14 )
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Check Out these New 'Ready for the Future' Proposals! |
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Written by admin
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Thursday, 27 May 2010 00:00 |
- Check Out these New 'Ready for the Future' Proposals!
- Fighting Cruel Budget Cuts, 35,000 Turn Out for Massive NJ Rally
- Health Benefits Restored for 140 Windstream Retirees, CWA Keeps up Fight
- Union Election Certified at One Dish Network Unit in Texas
- Workers Join CWA in Record Time and at Record Pace
- Verizon West Members Overwhelmingly Approve New Contract
- NABET-CWA Warns Against Giant TV Broadcasting Alliances
- Campaign Demands Samsung Protect Korean Workers in Wake of Cancer Deaths
- CWA: Keep the Joint Strike Fighter Engine Program
Check Out these New 'Ready for the Future' Proposals!
As a result of feedback and comments from CWA locals and members, we have made some changes to the most recent Ready for the Future proposals that will be considered by delegates at the 2010 CWA Convention.
The new proposals, approved by the Executive Board, are online at http://www.cwa-union.org/pages/future. Members are encouraged to check out the new proposals and voice comments and ideas by logging on at http://rff.cwaforum.com and entering this access code: CWARFF2010. Note that anonymous comments can't be accepted.
Changes to the proposals include:
- Four year terms for national officers, instead of two-year terms. In comments and postings, many locals indicated that holding elections at every convention might not be an effective way to carry out other convention business.
- In non-convention years, appeals will be addressed at a Presidents meeting.
- Clarification of language regarding the Communications and Technologies and Telecom sectors merger, to make it clear that bargaining responsibilities remain the same. This is a language change only.
This Ready for the Future effort is carrying out the 2005 CWA convention mandate to look at the "right sizing" of the CWA Executive Board by 2011 and to review the use of union resources to make sure our approach is effective and efficient. Any recommendations must be acted on by delegates at the 2010 convention to be implemented in 2011.
The Ready for the Future plan already has been a big success. Working together, we've accomplished a lot, including a hugely successful strategic industry fund (SIF) program that has financed bold campaigns, like Speed Matters, telecom fights and health care and bargaining rights. We have included local leader perspective through the at-large members on the Executive Board and built an active Stewards Army that has made a real difference.
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Ver.di to T-Mobile USA Workers: 'We've Got Your Back' |
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Written by admin
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Saturday, 08 May 2010 04:26 |
- Ver.di to T-Mobile USA Workers: 'We've Got Your Back'
- House Members Urge Deutsche Telekom to Respect U.S. Workers' Rights
- CWAers Challenge Windstream CEO on Retiree Health Care, Lawsuit
- NY State Senate Hearing Calls Out Xerox/ACS on EZ Pass Fight
- CWAers Out in Force at VZ Annual Meeting
- Improving Call Center Jobs a Top Priority for CWA Customer Service Activists
- Protecting Workers' Rights, Broadband Key to Green Jobs Being 'Good Jobs"
- Sierra Club, CWA Join Forces on Broadband Build-Out
- 315 AT&T Mobility Workers Join CWA in Indiana & Michigan
Ver.di to T-Mobile USA Workers: 'We've Got Your Back'
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CWA District 13 Vice President Ed Mooney leaflets outside the Deutsche Telekom annual meeting in Cologne, Germany.
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The Deutsche Telekom shareholders meeting was a marathon, but the T-Mobile USA workers and CWAers who attended the meeting are still pumped by the support they got from members of ver.di, the union representing German workers at T-Mobile. CWA District 13 Vice President Ed Mooney headed the U.S. group; see tweets, postings, photos and videos at www.loweringthebarforus.org.
Even before the meeting, ver.di was standing up for the rights of T-Mobile USA workers to have a union, without the company intimidation and interference they now face. Lothar Schröder, a leader and executive board member of ver.di, told a huge May Day crowd that Deutsche Telekom uses "vicious methods" to keep out CWA.
"Ver.di and CWA have created a global union that will fight for the rights of T-Mobile workers. Together we will go to the annual meeting of Deutsche Telekom to turn on some heat!" Schröder said. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QNffh7muhs
More than 50 ver.di members distributed leaflets outside every entrance to the meeting that described T-Mobile USA's "wild west" tactics.
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| Kornelia Dubbel |
At the meeting, Kornelia Dubbel, a ver.di member and member of the T-Mobile supervisory board, said that in the U.S., DT is known as an employer who spreads fear among its workers. "There is fear of arbitrary dismissal for being 'caught' by management for simply taking and reading a leaflet from the union. Why do you act this way?"
As to T-Mobile USA management's claim that the CWA campaign is 'all lies,' "I have been to the United States with some of my colleagues from ver.di and I could not talk to T-Mobile workers. I have seen this treatment first hand," she said.
Also at the meeting, Greg Kinczewski, vice president of the Marco Consulting Group, stressed that companies should not exploit the inadequacies of American labor law. "Decency requires more than compliance with the law!" And Markus Dufner, Association of Critical Shareholders, questioned why DT allows a double standard of respect for rights in Germany and a constant campaign of union avoidance in the United States.
The German media continues to report about the double standard that DT allows in the United States. And members of Congress also have stepped in, signing a letter to DT CEO René Obermann urging him to protect and respect workers' rights in the United States (see next story.)
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In your work with telecommunications technicians and other members who perform work outdoors and/or in industrial settings, please encourage Local stewards, occupational safety and health activists, and other members to access and read the CWA heat stress fact sheet as well as go to and complete the on-line heat stress survey. Data gathered from the survey will be analyzed and translated into a report for use in CWA's collective bargaining, safety and health, education, and mobilizing activities.
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