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CWA Members Fight for Jobs, Health Care at SBC
CWA members at SBC Communications were gearing up for the company's annual meeting and were voting on strike authorization as contract talks at the national and regional tables continued at press time in late April. CWA represents about 100,000 workers at SBC.
CWA gave its 30-day notice of intent to strike on April 7 and also put in motion the strike authorization process among members.
CWA President Morton Bahr said the union was pursuing a two-pronged strategy: "giving our 30-day notice means CWA is in a position to strike, or to adopt other tactics to affect the company's revenue."
As the CWA News went to press, locals were compiling members' votes and sending those tallies to their districts; a cumulative strike authorization vote would be announced April 29, just a day before SBC's shareholder meeting in Columbus, Ohio, District 4 territory.
CWA's plans for the shareholder meeting included a huge turnout of CWA members for a rally and other activities to remind shareholders that CWA members are fighting for a fair contract.
Another tactic CWA is using is phase one of the carrier switch program. Similar to the campaign used successfully at Verizon last year, the carrier switch program calls on AFL-CIO organizations, other unions, and ultimately individual consumers to pledge to switch their long distance and local telephone service to a union alternative carrier, AT&T, if CWA determines that it cannot reach a fair contract.
Currently, state and local AFL-CIO bodies along with
state and local Building and Construction Trades Councils are being contacted by CWA locals and called on to pledge to switch their service. The campaign will be used in 11 of the 13 states in SBC territory. If the next phase is necessary, locals will broaden their reach to members' families and friends and other union supporters.
At the national table in Washington, D.C., CWA and SBC negotiators are meeting under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The key issues affecting workers in all four districts are being bargained at the national table. These are wages, health care, employment security, pensions and contract duration.
Talks also are ongoing at regional tables in New Haven, Conn., for SBC East; Chicago, Ill., SBC Midwest; Austin, Texas, SBC Southwest; and Pleasanton, Calif., SBC West.
Bargaining began in mid-February but substantial differences remain between SBC's proposals and CWA's determination to gain employment security and to retain quality health care coverage for active members and retirees.
SBC is continuing to demand significant health care cost shifting to active and retired workers.
On employment security, SBC has been ignoring CWA proposals that would give CWA members access to the jobs in the growth areas of the company. SBC has outsourced thousands of jobs in DSL tech services, wireless Internet and other areas, with many of those being shifted overseas to India and the Philippines.
CWA members, who have built SBC and whose efforts have enabled the company to move into new technologies and new growth areas, deserve access to these jobs, Bahr said.
Mobilization throughout SBC territory has been extremely effective, with members holding big rallies in lots of cities, informational picketing just about everywhere and other actions to show support for CWA bargainers. Locals have produced miniature picket signs to keep at their desks, have distributed clickers that seem to annoy managers, and have passed out suckers (lollipops) to let SBC know that "we are not suckers when it comes to bargaining," among actions.
Several nationwide actions also have been very successful. Members sent e-mail messages to CEO Ed Whitacre and Senior Vice President for Human Resources Karen Jennings, with copies to CWA, that eloquently outlined members' concerns about jobs, health care and their futures. Members also demonstrated across SBC territory on health care and employment security issues.
Among other recent activities:
CWA gave its 30-day notice of intent to strike on April 7 and also put in motion the strike authorization process among members.
CWA President Morton Bahr said the union was pursuing a two-pronged strategy: "giving our 30-day notice means CWA is in a position to strike, or to adopt other tactics to affect the company's revenue."
As the CWA News went to press, locals were compiling members' votes and sending those tallies to their districts; a cumulative strike authorization vote would be announced April 29, just a day before SBC's shareholder meeting in Columbus, Ohio, District 4 territory.
CWA's plans for the shareholder meeting included a huge turnout of CWA members for a rally and other activities to remind shareholders that CWA members are fighting for a fair contract.
Another tactic CWA is using is phase one of the carrier switch program. Similar to the campaign used successfully at Verizon last year, the carrier switch program calls on AFL-CIO organizations, other unions, and ultimately individual consumers to pledge to switch their long distance and local telephone service to a union alternative carrier, AT&T, if CWA determines that it cannot reach a fair contract.
Currently, state and local AFL-CIO bodies along with
state and local Building and Construction Trades Councils are being contacted by CWA locals and called on to pledge to switch their service. The campaign will be used in 11 of the 13 states in SBC territory. If the next phase is necessary, locals will broaden their reach to members' families and friends and other union supporters.
At the national table in Washington, D.C., CWA and SBC negotiators are meeting under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The key issues affecting workers in all four districts are being bargained at the national table. These are wages, health care, employment security, pensions and contract duration.
Talks also are ongoing at regional tables in New Haven, Conn., for SBC East; Chicago, Ill., SBC Midwest; Austin, Texas, SBC Southwest; and Pleasanton, Calif., SBC West.
Bargaining began in mid-February but substantial differences remain between SBC's proposals and CWA's determination to gain employment security and to retain quality health care coverage for active members and retirees.
SBC is continuing to demand significant health care cost shifting to active and retired workers.
On employment security, SBC has been ignoring CWA proposals that would give CWA members access to the jobs in the growth areas of the company. SBC has outsourced thousands of jobs in DSL tech services, wireless Internet and other areas, with many of those being shifted overseas to India and the Philippines.
CWA members, who have built SBC and whose efforts have enabled the company to move into new technologies and new growth areas, deserve access to these jobs, Bahr said.
Mobilization throughout SBC territory has been extremely effective, with members holding big rallies in lots of cities, informational picketing just about everywhere and other actions to show support for CWA bargainers. Locals have produced miniature picket signs to keep at their desks, have distributed clickers that seem to annoy managers, and have passed out suckers (lollipops) to let SBC know that "we are not suckers when it comes to bargaining," among actions.
Several nationwide actions also have been very successful. Members sent e-mail messages to CEO Ed Whitacre and Senior Vice President for Human Resources Karen Jennings, with copies to CWA, that eloquently outlined members' concerns about jobs, health care and their futures. Members also demonstrated across SBC territory on health care and employment security issues.
Among other recent activities:
- Hundreds of California CWAers and retirees joined a weekend of activities at SBC Park, the major league baseball park in San Francisco, in events sponsored by the northern California Council of CWA Locals and joined by District 9's Retired Members' Council. CWAers marched around the stadium, leafleted on two evenings and held a huge rally for a fair contract.
- Across the country, in Connecticut, members of Local 1298 have been out in force for informational picketing at facilities throughout the state.
- In District 4, Ohio union members held a day of statewide picketing, with all locals holding actions at garages, offices and customer service centers. CWA members throughout the district have held rallies and other solidarity events.
- In District 6, there has been much informational picketing, from Texas to Arkansas. Local 6201 in Fort Worth, Texas, like many locals, has an ongoing effort to show support and solidarity for retired members.