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Briefly...
California Cities Join CWA in Telecom Fight
Council members in 23 California cities have joined CWA, state legislators and the state Public Utilities Commission in calling on the telecom industry to live up to its promises to create jobs and invest in capital projects.
"Infrastructure investment and job creation in the telecommunications industry are crucial to the future of the California economy," CWA District 9 Vice President Tony Bixler said. "CWA commends these cities for taking a stand to bring new jobs and investment to their communities."
In May 2002, the California PUC granted long distance giants AT&T and MCI WorldCom a large subsidy to encourage them to offer local telephone service. In exchange, the companies promised to add jobs and make investments in the state.
"Over a year after being granted an unprecedented subsidy, AT&T and MCI WorldCom have yet to fulfill their promise to invest in California," Bixler said. "Instead, they have been pocketing their enormous subsidy."
More than 2 million people live in the 23 cities where city councils have passed resolutions supporting CWA's position. "It is time for regulators and elected officials to heed these calls and take action," Bixler said.
Contract Settles 15-Week Ohio Strike
A 15-week strike by CWA-represented child support enforcement workers in Allen County, Ohio, ended July 9 as members ratified a contract that raises wages by 10 percent over three years.
The contract, approved by a vote of 22-13, also puts a cap on workers' share of health care costs and provides improved longevity raises after 10 years on the job. "It's a fair and equitable contract," CWA Local 4319 President Ron Honse said. "Did it address all our concerns? No, but it addressed the big issues."
Honse praised the unit of 37 employees for standing firm against county managers who often refused to budge at the bargaining table. "We told them we were proud of them for conducting a good strike," he said. "They stuck it out, and they stuck together."
Landmark Agreement for UPTE
A strong new contract is improving job security, wages and union rights for nearly 9,000 members of UPTE-CWA Local 9119 at 10 University of California campuses, five medical centers and one national laboratory.
Local 9119 President Jelger Kalmijn called the two-year pact for the technical and research workers a "major victory," especially given the state's fiscal problems. "Given the economic hard times, we were able to make landmark breakthroughs in our contract," he said.
Among the highlights, more than 4,000 workers who had been subject to a badly broken merit-based pay system have been moved to a step system. In the event of layoffs, employees will now get both severance payments and preferential placement on a rehire list. And the union put an end to UC's practice of using temporary employees for 18 months at a time with no job security, no raises and minimal benefits. Now, employees who work more than 1,000 hours in 12 months get career status.
CWA District 9 Vice President Tony Bixler said UPTE's solidarity and mobilization efforts - which included rallies, lobbying and advertising - were as important to the process as the talks themselves. "I can't praise our members and staff enough for their hard work both at and away from the bargaining table," he said. "This would be a very good contract at any time. In a tough economy, it's an outstanding contract."
Microsoft Schemes to Ship Jobs Abroad
CWA's WashTech affiliate is blowing the whistle on Microsoft, which has long claimed it doesn't displace U.S. workers when it sends high-tech jobs overseas.
In July, Seattle-based WashTech revealed the company's secret plan to lay off at least 800 tech support employees as it shifts the work to India and Nova Scotia. Microsoft's customer support center in Las Colinas, Texas, may be closed and jobs in North Carolina and Washington State also will be affected. WashTech/CWA Local 37083 President Marcus Courtney said it's the largest firing of fulltime employees in the company's history.
Microsoft workers overheard managers discussing layoffs and office closings, and some supervisors quietly told workers they should make other career plans, Courtney said. The plan - when it was still secret - reportedly called for quietly laying off groups of workers over several months so the magnitude of job loss wouldn't make headlines.
Council members in 23 California cities have joined CWA, state legislators and the state Public Utilities Commission in calling on the telecom industry to live up to its promises to create jobs and invest in capital projects.
"Infrastructure investment and job creation in the telecommunications industry are crucial to the future of the California economy," CWA District 9 Vice President Tony Bixler said. "CWA commends these cities for taking a stand to bring new jobs and investment to their communities."
In May 2002, the California PUC granted long distance giants AT&T and MCI WorldCom a large subsidy to encourage them to offer local telephone service. In exchange, the companies promised to add jobs and make investments in the state.
"Over a year after being granted an unprecedented subsidy, AT&T and MCI WorldCom have yet to fulfill their promise to invest in California," Bixler said. "Instead, they have been pocketing their enormous subsidy."
More than 2 million people live in the 23 cities where city councils have passed resolutions supporting CWA's position. "It is time for regulators and elected officials to heed these calls and take action," Bixler said.
Contract Settles 15-Week Ohio Strike
A 15-week strike by CWA-represented child support enforcement workers in Allen County, Ohio, ended July 9 as members ratified a contract that raises wages by 10 percent over three years.
The contract, approved by a vote of 22-13, also puts a cap on workers' share of health care costs and provides improved longevity raises after 10 years on the job. "It's a fair and equitable contract," CWA Local 4319 President Ron Honse said. "Did it address all our concerns? No, but it addressed the big issues."
Honse praised the unit of 37 employees for standing firm against county managers who often refused to budge at the bargaining table. "We told them we were proud of them for conducting a good strike," he said. "They stuck it out, and they stuck together."
Landmark Agreement for UPTE
A strong new contract is improving job security, wages and union rights for nearly 9,000 members of UPTE-CWA Local 9119 at 10 University of California campuses, five medical centers and one national laboratory.
Local 9119 President Jelger Kalmijn called the two-year pact for the technical and research workers a "major victory," especially given the state's fiscal problems. "Given the economic hard times, we were able to make landmark breakthroughs in our contract," he said.
Among the highlights, more than 4,000 workers who had been subject to a badly broken merit-based pay system have been moved to a step system. In the event of layoffs, employees will now get both severance payments and preferential placement on a rehire list. And the union put an end to UC's practice of using temporary employees for 18 months at a time with no job security, no raises and minimal benefits. Now, employees who work more than 1,000 hours in 12 months get career status.
CWA District 9 Vice President Tony Bixler said UPTE's solidarity and mobilization efforts - which included rallies, lobbying and advertising - were as important to the process as the talks themselves. "I can't praise our members and staff enough for their hard work both at and away from the bargaining table," he said. "This would be a very good contract at any time. In a tough economy, it's an outstanding contract."
Microsoft Schemes to Ship Jobs Abroad
CWA's WashTech affiliate is blowing the whistle on Microsoft, which has long claimed it doesn't displace U.S. workers when it sends high-tech jobs overseas.
In July, Seattle-based WashTech revealed the company's secret plan to lay off at least 800 tech support employees as it shifts the work to India and Nova Scotia. Microsoft's customer support center in Las Colinas, Texas, may be closed and jobs in North Carolina and Washington State also will be affected. WashTech/CWA Local 37083 President Marcus Courtney said it's the largest firing of fulltime employees in the company's history.
Microsoft workers overheard managers discussing layoffs and office closings, and some supervisors quietly told workers they should make other career plans, Courtney said. The plan - when it was still secret - reportedly called for quietly laying off groups of workers over several months so the magnitude of job loss wouldn't make headlines.