Alcatel-Lucent Contracts Out While Cutting Workers' Hours

When Alcatel-Lucent won a bid to upgrade equipment at two 911 centers in Nebraska and Iowa, CWAers at the company hoped it would mean more work. Since April, many of CWA's 1,400 Alcatel-Lucent installers have had to work a reduced, 32-hour, work week because of the economy.

But instead of helping its own workers, the company subcontracted the work to an out-of-state, non-union contractor. "It was hard to for us to see the work go somewhere else," said Paul Coffman, an installer who is president of Local 7290 which represents Alcatel-Lucent workers in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota. "Losing 8 hours a week translates into a 20 percent cutback in pay," he said.

Management claims the project requires qualifications and a special certification that union members don't have, but Coffman says that many do the work regularly, which amounts to installing microwave antennas to Alcatel-Lucent routers. "They are making it look like it takes a rocket scientist, which is nonsense," he said.

To help draw attention to the company's action, local union members are conducting informational picketing at company locations in Nebraska and Iowa and are contacting elected officals.