Jul 13, 2017 - Special Offers for CWA Members

AT&T Mobility

In a message to Mobility members, CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor reported on the status of bargaining and urged everyone, “Keep up with mobilization activities, keep engaged with your local, and know that we all win when we work together.” Here’s a summary of some of the issues:

Offshoring. More and more call center jobs are being sent to vendors around the world. When calls get routed to vendors, members lose their jobs. We are insisting on reasonable measures to protect our work and our members. The company doesn't want to agree to anything which curbs their ability to outsource.

Authorized Dealers. More and more COR stores are closing down and being replaced by Authorized Retailers. When COR stores close down, members lose their jobs. We are insisting on reasonable measures to protect our work and members. The company doesn't want to agree to anything that restricts their plans to close COR stores.

Commissions. The union is insisting that retail sales members have fair commissions and fair compensation. In recent years, our commission checks have been going down. The company wants the right to lower our commission whenever they want.

Absence Control. The company's absence control plan is unfair, cruel, and violates our previous contract. The company uses the plan to get rid of dedicated and hardworking members. The union wants to address this issue and make improvements, but the company likes things the way they are.

Sick Days. The company is trying to add wait days before we can take sick days and decrease the number of sick days for new hires. We are fighting back against these unfair limits on our ability to take care of our health.

Read the full report here.

###

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement

Workers at Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI), members of CWA Local 7102, have ratified their first contract. Iowa CCI is a progressive organization that is completely engaged in movement building on civil rights, workers’ rights, raising the minimum wage, immigration reform, clean water, and stopping bad trade deals like the TPP. The group voluntarily recognized its workers’ choice for CWA representation. The first contract provides for increases in wages and benefits and strengthens employees’ voice on the job.

###

Buffalo News

Members of the Buffalo Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA Local 31026, overwhelmingly ratified a two year contract after 10 months of negotiations. The contract provides for pay raises – the first in seven years – and continues affordable health insurance for members.

The Senate Republicans released their new health care bill today. The new bill would gut coverage for preexisting conditions and allow insurers to offer plans with higher deductibles and that do not cover basic services like maternity and newborn care, mental health services and addiction treatment, outpatient care, hospitalization, emergency room visits, and prescription drugs.

The bill would massively cut Medicaid funding, leaving millions of families with lower incomes without insurance. The bill also would allow insurers to charge older customers five times what they charge younger people – effectively instituting an "Age Tax" on older Americans.

Please call 1-855-980-2280 or click here to tell your Senator to oppose this devastating attack on health care.

Since the inception of the CWA Strong campaign, a phenomenal change has taken place at CWA Local 3603 in Charlotte, NC. With Local President Bonnie Overman's support, their organizing committee has hit the ground running.

In March 2016, the Local had an overall percentage of 61.1% members signed up. Its organizing committee of six participated in a training on March 22nd. The focus of the training was having in-depth conversations with their coworkers and asking for membership cards to be completed.

Organizing committee member Michael Roberts said, "Local 3603 has seen its membership increase tremendously. In my experience working to organize our union as part of CWA Strong, if our members don't see us, we don't exist. With our increased site visits, our members are getting informed and educated and becoming CWA activists."

As per the membership development report for May, this Local now has 76.9% members signed up. They have made a commitment to keep organizing to become stronger than ever.

Local 3603 is working hard to make their union CWA Strong.

 

CWA partners with Union Plus to bring members discounts on everything from car insurance to movie tickets, credit cards to mortgages. Text PLUS to 49484 to receive special offers for CWA members by text message.

Union Plus is a non-profit created by the AFL-CIO to negotiate exclusive deals for union members and their families. When you use Union Plus benefits, you are getting a great deal and supporting the work of the labor movement. Special offers include travel, entertainment, financial services, hardship help and scholarships, as well as discounts on AT&T services to all unionized workers.

CWA members from four locals attended a Runaway Inequality training in New York City. Members from Locals 1109, 1106, 1171, and 1180 wrote letters to their Members of Congress calling on them to support legislation that holds Wall Street accountable, including House and Senate bills to close the carried interest loophole. (HR 2295/S 1020)

CWAers from Locals 4300, 4302, 4309, and 4340 met in Akron, Oh., for a Runaway Equality training to learn how to fight for a better future for everyone – not just the 1%.

Check out this 6-minute segment, "Made in America," narrated by James Earl Jones and now airing on public television across the U.S. The workers featured were laid off by Nabisco/Mondelēz when they decided to invest in a new plant in Salinas, Mexico, rather than the iconic American bakery in Chicago – a decision that left hundreds of middle class American jobs in the dust in order to pay wages closer to $1 per hour in Mexico.

Reject the global exploitation of workers, and support the Chicago workforce by only buying Nabisco snacks made in America.

New Jersey CWAers mobilized in Trenton for back pay for state workers from the New Jersey State Government Shutdown of July 1-3, showing solidarity at their worksites East Orange One Stop, DCP&P Bergen South, and DCP&P Passaic North.