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Cingular Pennsylvania Workers Win Card Check
CWA was a tough sell with Cingular Wireless employees in eastern Pennsylvania until they saw their job security on the line, learned about new benefits they would have under the union contract and saw the results of mobilization in another state by organized Cingular workers.
District 13 Vice President Vince Maisano reported that on July 23 the American Arbitration Association certified that a significant majority of 179 Cingular retail sales, administrative support workers and technicians chose CWA through card check.
Local 13000 Organizer Harry Arnold said his local started organizing Cingular about three years ago, shortly after Cingular acquired Comcast/CellularOne.
The technicians were happy. Before the transition in late 2001, the old company, competing with Verizon and Sprint to retain technicians, had increased their wages and vacation as an incentive for them to stay with the company.
"But when Cingular came in," Arnold said, "people started to realize things weren't so good."
One of the first things the company did was to consolidate operations in eastern Pennsylvania, sending about 400 customer service jobs to centers in Tulsa, Okla., and Dallas and Wichita Falls, Texas.
Still, after being retained at a premium, Arnold said, the technicians felt secure in their jobs.
Then, about a year ago, rumors began circulating of Cingular's plan to merge with AT&T Wireless. No one knew what to expect.
"The workers saw the writing on the wall that things could change in a major way, and they saw that Cingular workers were organizing all over the country," Arnold said. "They could be left behind."
Other issues came into play. Retail sales employees went two years with no raises. There was no clear-cut procedure for promotions or training.
District 13 Organizing Coordinator Pam Tronsor said the workers learned what could be gained through solidarity, hearing about how Cingular workers in New York successfully mobilized in 2003 and changed an extremely punitive discipline policy. Though the change was supposed to be company-wide, Tronsor said, it had not been implemented in Pennsylvania.
Also, they learned that if covered by the CWA contract, they would become eligible to choose a lower cost point-of-service health plan that will become available Jan. 1, 2005.
Local 13000 officers and members and several CWA staff reps conducted a card-signing blitz at 39 locations on May 6. The new unit will roll into CWA's existing contract with Cingular.
District 13 Vice President Vince Maisano reported that on July 23 the American Arbitration Association certified that a significant majority of 179 Cingular retail sales, administrative support workers and technicians chose CWA through card check.
Local 13000 Organizer Harry Arnold said his local started organizing Cingular about three years ago, shortly after Cingular acquired Comcast/CellularOne.
The technicians were happy. Before the transition in late 2001, the old company, competing with Verizon and Sprint to retain technicians, had increased their wages and vacation as an incentive for them to stay with the company.
"But when Cingular came in," Arnold said, "people started to realize things weren't so good."
One of the first things the company did was to consolidate operations in eastern Pennsylvania, sending about 400 customer service jobs to centers in Tulsa, Okla., and Dallas and Wichita Falls, Texas.
Still, after being retained at a premium, Arnold said, the technicians felt secure in their jobs.
Then, about a year ago, rumors began circulating of Cingular's plan to merge with AT&T Wireless. No one knew what to expect.
"The workers saw the writing on the wall that things could change in a major way, and they saw that Cingular workers were organizing all over the country," Arnold said. "They could be left behind."
Other issues came into play. Retail sales employees went two years with no raises. There was no clear-cut procedure for promotions or training.
District 13 Organizing Coordinator Pam Tronsor said the workers learned what could be gained through solidarity, hearing about how Cingular workers in New York successfully mobilized in 2003 and changed an extremely punitive discipline policy. Though the change was supposed to be company-wide, Tronsor said, it had not been implemented in Pennsylvania.
Also, they learned that if covered by the CWA contract, they would become eligible to choose a lower cost point-of-service health plan that will become available Jan. 1, 2005.
Local 13000 officers and members and several CWA staff reps conducted a card-signing blitz at 39 locations on May 6. The new unit will roll into CWA's existing contract with Cingular.