CWA and German Union Ver.di Form New 'T Union'

During a video-conference, CWA President Larry Cohen and other CWA officers (on right screen) celebrate the creation of T Union, a joint union for T-Mobile workers, with (on left screen) Lothar Schroeder, chairman of ver.di's telecom sector and other ver.di officials.

CWA and ver.di, Germany's largest union, officially established the first-ever union to unite and represent workers in the U.S. and Europe -- T Union, a joint affiliate of both organizations. Top officers of both unions formally signed the new partnership during a video conference and talked through strategies and plans for the new organization.

The new union will support T-Mobile workers who want a union voice and collective bargaining rights in the United States and other countries, and German union members who work for T-Mobile in the U.S. A new website is now live, where T-Mobile workers can safely share information and experiences and discuss workplace issues. That site is www.t-mobileunion.org. A text messaging system for U.S. members only also is up and running: text TUNION to 77007 to get a message about the campaign.

Workers in a number of T-Mobile locations in the United States are in contact with CWA and have expressed strong interest in getting a voice. In the past, T-Mobile has strongly opposed its U.S. employees from seeking collective bargaining rights.  T Union is a new cooperative program where unions worldwide are working together to stop corporations' attacks against workers and build bargaining power, in the United States and around the globe.

CWA President Larry Cohen said the new union is a "new step in global solidarity" and will be a major part of the struggle for workers' organizing and bargaining rights around the world. "This is an aspect of organizing that hasn't been done before – it's a huge breakthrough," he said.  "This new union sends a message to T-Mobile management in the U.S. that workers at Deutsche Telekom and at other T-Mobile operations who have bargaining rights will fight hard to protect them and to support their U.S. counterparts who also want the right to collective bargaining."  

Lothar Schroder, who heads ver.di's Telecommunications and IT Sector, said the agreement was a good basis for German-American labor relations that must be taken seriously by management. "We believe that through this new union, we will contribute to working conditions for workers in both countries. Management must get used to the idea that we are representing the interests not only of German workers but of American workers as well. This is the right response to globalization," he said.    

Ver.di, representing more than 2.4 million workers, represents workers at Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent company, and holds seats on DT's supervisory board. Ver.di already represents T-Mobile workers in Germany, and T-Mobile workers in the United Kingdom and nine other European countries already have collective bargaining rights.

Workers in a number of T-Mobile locations in the United States are in contact with CWA and have expressed strong interest in getting a voice. In the past, T-Mobile has strongly opposed its U.S. employees from seeking collective bargaining rights.  T Union is a new cooperative program where unions worldwide are working together to stop corporations' attacks against workers and build bargaining power, in the United States and around the globe.