May 15, 2012
American Airlines Agents Press NMB to Move Forward on Union Election
More than 23,000 agents and supporters sign petition calling on the NMB to enforce the law.
May 14, 2012
Bank of America Joins the Big Bank Off-Shoring Party
Disturbing news out of the Philippines highlights the fact that “too big to fail” titan Bank of America is moving its call center operations to the Philippines – joining the other leading Wall Street banks in once again leaving American workers behind in a pursuit of profits at any cost. Further, the fact that the Filipino call center industry lacks basic security precautions to protect Americans’ financial information from fraudulent activity that has become commonplace in foreign call centers demands further scrutiny.
May 11, 2012
CWA: Real Rules Reform Needed in U.S. Senate
Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) spoke out in favor of U.S. Senate rules reform, in light of unceasing politically-motivated obstruction and continued Republican abuse of the filibuster. We commend Senate Majority Leader Reid for his remarks and for recognizing that the reform minded Senators were right, after all – that rules reforms are needed to ensure that the U.S. Senate lives up to its great traditions and is capable of meeting the challenges of our time.
May 9, 2012
CWA: Rights and Liberties of the U.S. Constitution Must Apply to All
The Communications Workers of America stands with the President and those who support equality and human rights. We oppose all discrimination and recognize the direct linkage between civil and workers' rights, and the attempts to divide Americans based on these issues.
May 9, 2012
CWA: Secret Trans-Pacific Trade Negotiations Will Harm Jobs, Communities, Environment
The Trans-Pacific free trade agreement is being negotiated in secret for good reason: for workers, jobs, communities and the environment, it promises only bad news, the Communications Workers of America said.
May 9, 2012
Grammy Award Winning Musician, Actor, Writer Steve Earle Boosts Workers’ Fight at Verizon
Thousands of Verizon employees heard a message from Steve Earle last week calling out Verizon Communications for hitting up workers for another $20,000 a year in compensation cuts while posting another record earnings quarter this year. As part of Shareholder Spring, nearly 1,000 workers, students and progressive activists demonstrated inside and outside Verizon’s annual meeting on May 3 in Huntsville, Ala., demanding that the company stop its assault on customers, employees and American taxpayers.
May 3, 2012
RNC Attacks President Obama on Unemployment… from Overseas Call Center
CWA Chief of Staff Ron Collins: “Hard to imagine anything more hypocritical than the RNC making calls about U.S. unemployment from a Verizon foreign call center.”
May 3, 2012
CWA: American Airlines Tries an End Run Around the Law
Washington, D.C. -- Following is a statement by Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America, on the continued effort by American Airlines to stop workers’ from having a fair vote on union representation: “Just when working people thought they’d seen it all, American Airlines makes an even more outrageous play. The latest outrage is a lawsuit the company filed May 2, in which American Airlines seeks to rewrite aviation legislation and substitute its own agenda for that of Congress, so it can stop nearly 10,000 passenger service agents from having a union voice.
May 1, 2012
CWA Applauds FCC Decision to ‘Stop the Clock’ on Verizon Wireless/Big Cable Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Communications Workers of America supports the decision by the Federal Communications Commission to “stop the clock” on its review of a proposed deal between Verizon Wireless and large cable operators, noting the action is an important step forward in assuring full disclosure of the potential impact on consumers and the prices they would pay.
Apr 27, 2012
CWA APPLAUDS REPS. WAXMAN AND ESHOO FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP IN HOLDING TELECOM GIANTS ACCOUNTABLE
Citing potentials harms to competition in the wireless industry, Representatives Henry Waxman and Ann Eshoo call on Energy and Commerce Committee for hearings on the Verizon/Cable Spectrum deal.
Apr 24, 2012
U.S. Senate Rejects Attack on Workers’ Rights, Upholds NLRB Rule Changes
Workers at nearly every company know firsthand how U.S. corporations use delaying tactics to keep workers from making a fair choice about union representation. Today, the U.S. Senate upheld the very modest changes made by the National Labor Relations Board last year to ensure workers have fair and timely elections.
Apr 24, 2012
ICYMI: U.S. Taxpayer Money Helping to Train Overseas Call Center Competitors
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) today said the revelation that U.S. taxpayer dollars have been used to train overseas call center workers raises worrisome questions about priorities, accountability, and common sense as the domestic call center industry continues to shed jobs, losing over 500,000 since 2006 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Apr 20, 2012
CWA Files for Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers Facing Layoffs as T-Mobile Sends Jobs Overseas
Arguing that 3,300 working Americans should not face severe economic hardship because their employer chooses to offshore call center work, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) has requested that the U.S. Department of Labor grant Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) benefits to T-Mobile USA customer service representatives at seven U.S. call centers enters slated for closure in June.
Apr 20, 2012
CWA Calls on FCC to “Stop the Clock” on Review of Anti-Competitive Verizon Wireless/Big Cable Deal
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) filed a letter on Friday with the Federal Communications Commission calling on the agency to stop the FCC’s 180 day clock in its review of the Verizon Wireless/cable transaction. According to CWA, the parties to the transaction -- Verizon Wireless, Comcast, Time Warner, Bright House Networks, and Cox -- have failed to provide requested data in a manner that allows for meaningful review.
Apr 19, 2012
Agents Fight Back Against American Airlines Cuts; Union Election to be Scheduled
Passenger service agents at American Airlines were hit with a devastating reorganization plan yesterday that will affect nearly 10,000 agents. Agents face layoffs, outsourcing, the loss of wages and benefits, being forced to work from home for no benefits, and likely even more cuts in the future as they are the only major workgroup at the airline without union representation.
Apr 18, 2012
Statement by the Communications Workers of America on Verizon Wireless’ Proposed Spectrum Sales
Today's announcement of wireless spectrum sales by Verizon Wireless as a condition of its spectrum deal with Big Cable does not protect consumers or workers from the anti-competitive heart of the deal: the joint marketing agreement.
Apr 16, 2012
Communications Workers of America, T-Mobile Workers Fight to Keep T-Mobile USA Jobs
With 3,300 workers at risk of losing their jobs when T-Mobile USA closes seven call centers in June, the Communications Workers of America launched a national campaign today to protect those jobs at a rally in Bellevue, outside corporate headquarters. Participants included CWA members and union and community supporters from the Seattle area. Also joining the rally were T-Mobile workers, including workers from the call centers that are slated to close.
Apr 13, 2012
Verizon Wireless & Time Warner Snub Regulators, Move Forward With Anticompetitive Deal Before Ruling
Verizon Wireless and Time Warner Cable have publicly snubbed the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by implementing a portion of their proposed joint marketing deal even though the DOJ and FCC are still reviewing the transaction, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) said today. In December, 2011, Verizon Wireless and the nation’s largest cable companies (Time Warner, Comcast, Cox, and Bright House Networks) announced a deal in which Verizon Wireless will purchase $3.9 billion in wireless spectrum from the cable companies and at the same time enter into joint marketing agreements to promote, market, and sell each other’s products and services. The U.S. Department of Justice and the FCC are currently reviewing this transaction.
Apr 13, 2012
Broken Record: FTC Uncovers Another Scam Targeting U.S. Consumers Operating in Overseas Call Center
Another day, another revelation of fraudulent activity targeting U.S. consumers coming from overseas call centers, the Communications Workers of America said today. The latest news, similar to a February announcement, is that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) uncovered a scam operating out of Indian call centers that preyed on American consumers.
Apr 11, 2012
CWA Statement on the Letter Sent by Reps. Bishop and Fitzpatrick to US Trade Representative Ron Kirk
The Communications Workers of America today stated their strong support for the continuing efforts by Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) and Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) to shed light on the ongoing crises of rampant consumer identity theft in foreign call centers, as their bi-partisan legislative effort to remedy this serious problem gains more support. The letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk states in part: In an increasingly global economy, countless call centers are relocating from the United States to foreign shores. Conservative estimates place call center job losses in the United States at over 500,000 in the countries like India, the Philippines, and China. In the Philippines, the outsources industry is expected to pull in $13 billion and provide 650,00 jobs in 2012; India employs roughly 330,000 call center workers and earns about $6 billion per year through the BPO industry. While some corporations may see inflated profit margins due to outsourcing practices, such profits come at the expense of the safety and security of sensitive American consumer data.
Multimedia
CWA President Larry Cohen on MSNBC’s The ED Show
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Verizon Update - August 18, 2011
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Funeral for the middle class at Ivan Seidenberg’s house
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MSNBC: Verizon workers in sixth day of strike
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Verizon Workers Fight Back
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