Bargaining Update

American Airlines Agents Mobilizing for Fair, Industry-Winning Contract

In a crucial week in the negotiations, the CWA bargaining team in Dallas is exchanging proposals on important articles in the contract, including wages, scope and classification and health care, among others.

Meanwhile, reservations and home-based agents are mobilizing. Just this week, they launched a petition educating the public about their fight for good jobs and quality service at American Airlines. 

The agents have been wearing buttons and carrying home-made signs with 10/17/15, the date that the American Airlines-US Airways merger becomes final. Last week, agents at all American call centers — Winston/Salem and Raleigh/Durham in North Carolina and Dallas, TX — along with home-based agents in Dallas/Forth Wort, Raleigh/Durham, Hartford, Conn., Miami and Norfolk, Va., stood up every two hours and held up signs with messages like “We Support Our Bargaining Team” and “We Need an Industry-Leading Contract.” See them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AmericanAgentsConnected

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AT&T Southeast Members Mobilizing for a Fair Contract

More than a month after their contracts expired, AT&T Southeast members keep doing their jobs even as their bargaining team field one insulting proposal after the other from their employer at negotiating sessions.

Morale is still high because the workers know what is at stake and they continue mobilizing. CWA Local 3607 President Jocelyn Bryant said, “the local’s members will soon begin a campaign of letter writing to their members of Congress to keep them informed of what has been going on in negotiations, especially the lack of progress.”

Members have also continued wearing specific color clothing on specific days — such as blue on Mondays, white on Wednesdays, red on Thursdays, and black on Fridays, with inside techs wearing orange — as a show of solidarity.

Bryant said turnout has been high at mobilizing classes where members get to meet counterparts from other work sites.

"We hope to show the company that we matter,” she said. “We want the company to know that we don't like this and we're not going to stand for it anymore. We want the workers to know that if they don't pay attention and stand up for what is theirs, they are going to lose a lot of things. The company will try to take back things, including some of the health care benefits. The pay raises are not going to be as good. They'll lose some of the respect that they have at work right now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CWAers ask Support of Catholic Families Conference for Fair Verizon Contract

Members of CWA Local 13000 and Local 13500 turned up in Philadelphia on Tuesday at a convention for the World Meeting of Families, the world’s largest Catholic gathering of families, asking participants to support Verizon workers and their families as they bargain a contract with the corporation.

CWA Local 13500 President Julie Daloisio, who passed out leaflets to people from across the nation and other countries attending the conference, said they received positive feedback.

“We thought what a place to do this,” Daloisio said. “We've been in negotiations with Verizon for several months, a profitable company that is trying to cut jobs and benefits. Verizon’s new slogan is 'Better Matters' but cutting jobs for families is not better.”