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CWA Members at U S West Vote Strike Authorization
Members of the Communications Workers of America at U S West have overwhelmingly voted to give union leaders authority to call a strike if negotiations between CWA and the telecom company fail to reach a fair settlement.
Some 92 percent of voting members approved strike authorization. The contract covering nearly 36,000 workers in 14 states expires Aug. 15.
Vice President Sue Pisha said major bargaining issues include the company's unreasonable position on scheduling and excessive forced overtime. "The excessive downsizing of several years ago resulted in a shortage of the trained employees. At U S West, the number of employees who provide services, install lines and work to meet customers' needs dropped nearly 17 percent from 1984-1997, while demand for new services, second telephone lines and additional business needs has exploded," she said. The result has been extreme pressure on employees through abusive, forced overtime, inflexible scheduling and unreasonable work quotas, threatening the quality of service to customers and subjecting employees to severe pressure and stress, Pisha said.
Other issues include a company demand to shift more health care costs to workers and dependents, despite the company's growing productivity and profit levels; a pay proposal that basically requires employees to put 20 percent of their earnings at risk; and the company's insistence on limiting the highly successful "Pathways" joint training and education program that has been cited as a model for lifelong learning.
CWA members are seeking improvements in wages and benefits in line with the financial success and productivity U S West has experienced. The company posted a net income of $1.1 billion in 1996, and its 1997 net income topped $1.25 billion, a "terrific year," according to the company's chief executive officer. By every measure, CWA members have been the key factor in helping make U S West profitable by offering top-quality service, and they want to share in the new opportunities opening throughout the company.
CWA represents U S West employees in the these states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. CWA is bargaining on behalf of some 400,000 telecom industry workers this year, and has so far reached agreements with AT&T, Lucent Technologies, SBC Communications and Ameritech.
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Some 92 percent of voting members approved strike authorization. The contract covering nearly 36,000 workers in 14 states expires Aug. 15.
Vice President Sue Pisha said major bargaining issues include the company's unreasonable position on scheduling and excessive forced overtime. "The excessive downsizing of several years ago resulted in a shortage of the trained employees. At U S West, the number of employees who provide services, install lines and work to meet customers' needs dropped nearly 17 percent from 1984-1997, while demand for new services, second telephone lines and additional business needs has exploded," she said. The result has been extreme pressure on employees through abusive, forced overtime, inflexible scheduling and unreasonable work quotas, threatening the quality of service to customers and subjecting employees to severe pressure and stress, Pisha said.
Other issues include a company demand to shift more health care costs to workers and dependents, despite the company's growing productivity and profit levels; a pay proposal that basically requires employees to put 20 percent of their earnings at risk; and the company's insistence on limiting the highly successful "Pathways" joint training and education program that has been cited as a model for lifelong learning.
CWA members are seeking improvements in wages and benefits in line with the financial success and productivity U S West has experienced. The company posted a net income of $1.1 billion in 1996, and its 1997 net income topped $1.25 billion, a "terrific year," according to the company's chief executive officer. By every measure, CWA members have been the key factor in helping make U S West profitable by offering top-quality service, and they want to share in the new opportunities opening throughout the company.
CWA represents U S West employees in the these states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. CWA is bargaining on behalf of some 400,000 telecom industry workers this year, and has so far reached agreements with AT&T, Lucent Technologies, SBC Communications and Ameritech.
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