TU Presses Deutsche Telekom to End 'Climate of Fear' in U.S.

What a difference real labor law makes! Following the joint news conference in Bonn, Germany, with CWA and ver.di, the union representing German workers at Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile, newspaper accounts in Germany criticized DT for the "climate of fear" it has allowed to continue at T-Mobile USA operations.

"That this is about Deutsche Telekom employees in the United States – as the professor of a study reliably confirmed – is very strange. Especially since the corporation from Bonn diligently polished its employer image in this country," one newspaper wrote.

At the news conference, CWA President Larry Cohen and Lothar Schröder, an executive board member of ver.di, said DT's double standard that allows T-Mobile USA to harass and intimidate U.S. workers must stop now.

"T-Mobile USA prefers to be with those U.S. managers that fight collective bargaining in every imaginable way, using the loopholes in current U.S. labor law that support anti-union campaigning by management. We know that T-Mobile follows a policy of aggression against union supporters that would be condemned in Germany and other European countries," Cohen said.

Schröder pointed out that "in Germany and many countries, DT complies with its Social Charter which directs the company to adhere to internationally recognized norms, directives and standards. But when it comes to the company's U.S. operations, which employs about 40,000 workers and produces about 25 percent of DT's revenue, DT's Social Charter is nowhere to be found."  

Professor John Logan, San Francisco State, Marcus Courtney, head of UNI Telecom, and Kornelia Dubbel of ver.di also joined the news conference. UNI, CWA and ver.di are pressing DT for a global agreement that would protect the fundamental labour rights of the company's workers worldwide.