News

CWA reached a tentative five-year agreement with Bell South Corp. covering about 500 employees of Bell South Internet Services, just before the Aug. 6 contract expiration.

With a 95-percent "yes" vote, telephone sales and administrative workers at an Avaya facility in Brandon, Fla., have ratified an agreement that will place them under CWA's main Avaya contract. The contract caps a major organizing victory for the 143 workers and CWA Local 3108.

The 5,500 members of the Canadian Media Guild have been locked out by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation after negotiations broke down over management's demand to hire nearly unlimited numbers of "temporary workers," jeopardizing the jobs and careers of the CBC employees.

After 261 days on the picket line, members of the Youngstown Newspaper Guild in Ohio narrowly accepted a new 3-year contract Aug. 3 and returned to work at The Vindicator newspaper.

As the CWA News went to press, contract negotiations on behalf of 25,000 CWA-represented workers at Qwest Communications were continuing past the Aug. 13 contract expiration. Meanwhile, members were stepping up mobilization activities throughout District 7 to fight for a fair contract.