"Our Future at AT&T" training held in Philadelphia
June 19, 2008
More than 45 Local representatives from each of our districts and C&T came together this week in Philadelphia for a "train the trainer" session. They learned how to conduct the upcoming "Our Future at AT&T" workshops, which will be held for our members at AT&T companies across the country. At the request of the Telecom Vice Presidents, this project falls under the Telecom Strategic Industry Fund, and it focuses on member education that will help us to meet our current and future challenges. The trainers’ next charge will be to coordinate and schedule training with the CWA Locals with a goal of reaching 10% of our AT&T membership. Activities included in this workshop are: AT&T’s Strategy in a Changing Industry, Protecting Our Jobs & Wages, Protecting Our Health Care, Learning From the Past, Moving Forward, and Our Action Plan.
CWA AT&T National Mobilization Committee Established
June 17, 2008
Local union representatives and District and Sector staff have joined together to form the CWA AT&T National Mobilization Committee, which will coordinate mobilization and education efforts among CWA's membership at AT&T. The committee recently met in Dallas for a two-day planning session, solidifying our priorities, timelines, and potential upcoming actions. Along with our monthly conference calls, the committee will help keep us on track toward our goal of building CWA's AT&T membership and strengthening our bargaining power.
Members of the committee include: District 1: Carl DiNicholas and Pat Telesco; District 2: Robert Hill and Bill Evitt; District 3: Debra Noble and Booker Lester; District 4: Diane Bailey and Susan Baxter-Fleming; District 6: Kevin Kujawa and Mike Littleton; District 7: Shari Wojtowicz and Brenda Roberts; District 9: Pam Suninga and Libby Sayre; District 13: Mary Lou Schaffer and Amennah Salaam; and C&T: Shari Wojtowicz and Laura Unger.
Negotiations continue for first contract in Dover, NH
June 17, 2008
The CWA bargaining committee is working hard to secure the first contract for more than 300 workers at an AT&T call center in Dover, NH. The workers were organized earlier this year by CWA Local 1298, and their work falls under the Service Contract Act. The bargaining committee, which is chaired by CWA Representative Lois Grimes-Patow and includes representatives from Local 1298 and District 1 staff, is standing strong to achieve the best possible agreement that improves the workers' wages, benefits, and working conditions.
Mobility Health Care Bargaining Underway
June 16, 2008
Negotiations for a National Health Care Benefits plan for Mobility workers kicked off on June 3rd. While the current agreement expires on June 30th, our benefits will continue unchanged through the rest of the year. If no agreement is reached by June 30th, a mediator will be brought in, and if that process is also unsuccessful, the company and the union will present their cases to an arbitrator for a final decision.
As negotiations began, thousands CWA members across the country mobilized in support of their brothers and sisters who work at Mobility.
Our bargaining committee is chaired by District 3 Administrative Director Betty Witte, and includes representatives from each of our four collective bargaining agreements: Paul Klabel of the District 3 agreement; Holly Sorey and Joe Sison of the "Orange" agreement; Jim Murray of the District 6 agreement; Rafael Castro of the District 3 Puerto Rico agreement; and District 1 staff representative John Alphonse.
