At Cingular Wireless in Virginia, 455 former AT&T Wireless Customer Service Reps, Techs & Analysts O

Former AT&T Wireless workers employed with Cingular Wireless in Virginia – 418 customer service reps and analysts at a call center in Lebanon and 37 network technicians statewide – gained CWA representation on Sept. 6 following card checks.

In Lebanon, workers' concerns over benefits, pay, and working conditions lead them join with the 4,100 other former AT&T Wireless employees who have organized with CWA at Cingular this summer. The employees' inside organizing committee went public with their support for CWA by drafting a "mission statement" laying out reasons they support union representation. To get the word out to co-workers, whose homes are spread over a large area in rural southwest Virginia, union supporters spent hours on the phone, said District 2 Organizing Coordinator Richard Verlander. The committee also established a "command post" at a restaurant located near the call center so they could meet with employees working both day and evening shifts. Workers on the committee were assisted by CWA Local 2204 organizer Leabern Kennedy, local president Guy Angel, and members of the local's executive board.

The same day, 37 other former AT&T Wireless employees at Cingular, network technicians working throughout the state, gained representation with CWA Local 2201, reported Verlander. Benefits and job security are major issues for the technicians. Organizers and other union members who assisted the workers -- Local 2201 organizer Laurie Raborg, Local 2201 members and officers, Stephanie Pazur of Local 2202, and Scott Wirt of local 2204 – coordinated their efforts across the state to reach all of the technicians. Lunchtime meetings and evening phone calls proved key.