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CWA Bargains; Unions Push For Reforms at Comcast
District 13 and CWA locals ramped up the pressure on Comcast by mobilizing at the company's shareholder meeting May 7 in Philadelphia and presenting more than 5,000 postcards urging CEO Brian Roberts to "bargain fairly and without delay" with about 1,000 members in the Pittsburgh area.
Workers from Comcast bargaining units represented by Locals 13000 and 13550 and union members from the Allegheny County Labor Council collected postcards from families and Comcast subscribers who attended the Union Industries Show in Pittsburgh last weekend. Union members in eastern Pennsylvania collected additional cards, Local 13000 Executive Vice President Ed Mooney said.
About 30 CWA members stood with Mooney as he addressed the shareholders meeting. Mooney cited past assurances of the company's willingness to bargain that preceded CWA's decision not to oppose the merger of AT&T and Comcast. Mooney said that now, members feel "betrayed."
"Instead of working toward a contract for its employees," Mooney said, "Comcast has used intimidation, threats and inducements to convince workers to give up their lawful workplace rights. This approach is not going to work in Pennsylvania."
Citing CWA members' two-year effort to conclude a contract, Mooney stressed that, "Comcast workers in the Pittsburgh area will not be bullied or bribed into giving up our rights."
He pledged a continuing, systematic outreach by Comcast workers to friends and neighbors in the communities where they live.
"If a company is successful enough to put its chief stockholder on the Forbes 400 list, then it is successful enough to pay a living wage, bargain reasonable benefits and working conditions and to sign a contract," Mooney said. "Two years is long enough."
In the interest of good corporate governance, CWA opposed a plan that will transfer 2.46 percent of the company's market value to option holders. The plan, which shareholders approved, reserves 70 million Class A voting shares to be granted as executive stock options and will give Roberts up to a $3 million bonus. With the Roberts family already entitled to an undilutable 33 percent voting power, the stock transfer will weaken the voting power of other shareholders-including union pension funds-by 4.62 percent.
"We understand the ideas of retention and offering incentive" for both Comcast founder and Chairman Ralph Roberts and son Brian, CWA Research Economist Sumanta Ray - who also addressed the shareholder meeting-told the Philadelphia Inquirer. But he warned, "There's a huge amount of dilution going on. There's a lot of transfer of wealth between the shareholders and option holders."
The AFL-CIO, also pointing out that the Roberts family controlled 33 percent of voting power despite Brian Roberts owning less than 2.2 percent of shares, urged the board of directors to remove Roberts and Director Decker Anstrom from the board's Governance and Directors Nominating Committee.
Both executives are "conflicted" the federation said - Roberts because of his family's disproportionate voting power and Anstrom because he is president and CEO of Landmark Communications, parent company of The Weather Channel. In 2002, Comcast paid over $10 million for content provided by that company.
Workers from Comcast bargaining units represented by Locals 13000 and 13550 and union members from the Allegheny County Labor Council collected postcards from families and Comcast subscribers who attended the Union Industries Show in Pittsburgh last weekend. Union members in eastern Pennsylvania collected additional cards, Local 13000 Executive Vice President Ed Mooney said.
About 30 CWA members stood with Mooney as he addressed the shareholders meeting. Mooney cited past assurances of the company's willingness to bargain that preceded CWA's decision not to oppose the merger of AT&T and Comcast. Mooney said that now, members feel "betrayed."
"Instead of working toward a contract for its employees," Mooney said, "Comcast has used intimidation, threats and inducements to convince workers to give up their lawful workplace rights. This approach is not going to work in Pennsylvania."
Citing CWA members' two-year effort to conclude a contract, Mooney stressed that, "Comcast workers in the Pittsburgh area will not be bullied or bribed into giving up our rights."
He pledged a continuing, systematic outreach by Comcast workers to friends and neighbors in the communities where they live.
"If a company is successful enough to put its chief stockholder on the Forbes 400 list, then it is successful enough to pay a living wage, bargain reasonable benefits and working conditions and to sign a contract," Mooney said. "Two years is long enough."
In the interest of good corporate governance, CWA opposed a plan that will transfer 2.46 percent of the company's market value to option holders. The plan, which shareholders approved, reserves 70 million Class A voting shares to be granted as executive stock options and will give Roberts up to a $3 million bonus. With the Roberts family already entitled to an undilutable 33 percent voting power, the stock transfer will weaken the voting power of other shareholders-including union pension funds-by 4.62 percent.
"We understand the ideas of retention and offering incentive" for both Comcast founder and Chairman Ralph Roberts and son Brian, CWA Research Economist Sumanta Ray - who also addressed the shareholder meeting-told the Philadelphia Inquirer. But he warned, "There's a huge amount of dilution going on. There's a lot of transfer of wealth between the shareholders and option holders."
The AFL-CIO, also pointing out that the Roberts family controlled 33 percent of voting power despite Brian Roberts owning less than 2.2 percent of shares, urged the board of directors to remove Roberts and Director Decker Anstrom from the board's Governance and Directors Nominating Committee.
Both executives are "conflicted" the federation said - Roberts because of his family's disproportionate voting power and Anstrom because he is president and CEO of Landmark Communications, parent company of The Weather Channel. In 2002, Comcast paid over $10 million for content provided by that company.