Card Check Victory at AT&T, Breakthrough at GE

Seeking fair wages and job security, 76 of the 91 workers at the AT&T Local Services customer service maintenance center in Monmouth Junction, N.J., gained representation with CWA Local 1150 under the union's card check and neutrality agreement with the AT&T. The workers' majority union support was certified on May 1 by the American Arbitration Association.

The card-signing campaign took just one week, according to Local 1150 New Jersey Area Director Nancy Brett who, along with Local President Laura Unger, assisted the workers. A wide disparity in wages was a major issue along with worries over the impact of future job consolidations. The workers, responsible for maintaining service for the company's business customers, were strongly supported by a unit of CWA members who worked for AT&T in the same building.

Meanwhile, workers who install and service GE appliances for residential and business customers along Florida's east coast voted 9-3 for representation with IUE-CWA Local 712 on May 2. GE used captive-audience meetings and supervisor one-on-ones to scare off the workers, but "the desire to get a union won out over fear tactics," according to IUE-CWA Organizing Director Howard Foshinbaur.

They were last group of unorganized service and installation employees at GE along the state's east coast. It was also the first organizing victory by GE workers in nearly two decades. IUE-CWA Local 712 President Raul Garcia and Vice President Lance Bergmann assisted the workers.