In Germany, T-Mobile USA Workers Learn 'Respect' is the Difference

It was an eye-opening experience for T-Mobile USA workers to see firsthand how differently their company treats workers in Germany.

During the 10 days that T-Mobile USA workers spent in Germany for the Deutsche Telekom annual meeting and other events, meetings with their German colleagues strengthened their commitment to continue the fight for a union in the United States.

"While there were many differences on issues like pay and due process, the most recurring issue was respect," said CWA District 6 staff representative Judy Graves who was part of the CWA delegation. When a German worker was asked how bathroom breaks are handled, she simply responded, "I go. She was taken aback to learn that it's not that simple for T-Mobile workers," said Graves.

When discussing measures used to evaluate workers' performance, T-Mobile USA workers discovered a huge difference in how management uses the data. In Germany, scores are used to encourage workers to improve performance. In the U.S., low scores mean warnings or discipline.

German management uses GPS technology to improve dispatching, the US workers learned. In the United States, management uses GPS positioning technology to punish workers for being in the wrong place.

"After the meeting, a ver.di member came up to me and apologized for our treatment," one of the T-Mobile USA workers wrote in a blog at www.LoweringTheBarForUs.org. "She had no reason to apologize. We stand together and fight for the same rights and respect. It's the greedy corporations who need to stop stuffing their pockets and taking advantage of the lack of global regulations."

Ver.di members at T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom encouraged the T-Mobile USA workers to keep fighting, not only for their own sake but to stop DT from trying to take away the gains that ver.di members have made.