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CWA Mobilizes at Shareholder Meetings
In this season of corporate annual meetings, CWA has been a visible force, with members mobilizing from Savannah, Ga., to San Jose, Calif., in the fight for fairness for workers and retirees. CWAers and supporters spearheaded actions at five meetings last month alone.
Verizon workers launched the campaign against the company’s anti-union tactics by turning out in force at the shareholder meeting in Memphis, Tenn.
At the Knight Ridder meeting in San Jose, several members of TNG-CWA questioned Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tony Ridder about the effects of staff and operations cutbacks on quality journalism. “How can you retain editorial excellence when you create uncertainty among your employees?” asked Lynne Dennis, a copy editor at the San Jose Mercury News.
TNG-CWA members are protesting layoffs at the Akron Beacon Journal and the Grand Forks Herald, and proposed cuts at other KR newspapers as a misguided effort to put corporate profits ahead of quality journalism and accountability. The union’s Knight Ridder Council is calling on the company to abandon layoffs and reaffirm its commitment to the values that have brought honor and integrity to the company.
In Savannah, members and supporters of Alliance@IBM leafleted shareholders, urging support for a resolution that would require IBM to give all employees the same choice regarding their pension and retirement medical insurance. Inside the meeting, Alliance member Jimmy Leas of Burlington, Vt., introduced the resolution, which won the support of 14.7 percent of voted shares.
At the rally following the meeting, community leaders including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Georgia AFL-CIO President Richard Ray and other union leaders, and the Rev. Leonard Smalls joined IBM speakers, workers, retirees and supporters in their call for fairness.
A busload of workers and retirees from a number of AFL-CIO unions made the trip from Atlanta and wore Alliance T-shirts to show their solidarity. This was in stark contrast to the lack of support employees received from CEO Lou Gerstner, Alliance member Linda Guyer said.
A delegation of IUE-CWA members from Indiana, Massachusetts and Kentucky were joined by members of CWA Locals 3204, 3250 and 3263, and CWA staff for their action at the General Electric Co. meeting in Atlanta. Despite being forced by security guards and police into an isolated area of the parking lot, the union group used whistles and clickers to gain shareholders’ attention as they headed for the meeting.
Inside, CWAers urged support for a resolution introduced by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, which called on GE to acknowledge the core labor rights of workers at all its operations. CWA Representative Karen Murphy seconded the resolution, which gained 6.8 percent of shareholder votes.
The IUE-CWA retiree group invited outgoing CEO Jack Welch to join the organization, after making the point that Welch’s retirement pay is in sharp contrast to the “penny pinching” most GE retirees must do to get by.
The GE pension fund has a surplus of $21.3 billion, but retirees continue to lose ground to inflation, because the plan has no automatic cost-of-living adjustment. GE adjusted pension benefits for those already retired last year, but it was the first increase since 1996. Those who retired before 1986 saw price increases of more than 60 percent, wiping out the 15 to 35 percent increases in pension benefits, IUE-CWA members told shareholders.
At the Sprint Corp. meeting in Overland Park, Kan., John Howard, assistant to CWA Vice President T.O. Moses, Telecommunica-tions, noted that CWA is “involved for the first time in national discussions with Sprint management,” including serious “two-way discussions” about key issues. Noting “real evidence that labor relations are improving at Sprint,” Howard called on the Sprint board of directors to follow up on concerns of workers, especially in the event of another merger. “This will make a huge difference for this corporation, for CWA’s members at Sprint and for shareholders,” he said.
Verizon workers launched the campaign against the company’s anti-union tactics by turning out in force at the shareholder meeting in Memphis, Tenn.
At the Knight Ridder meeting in San Jose, several members of TNG-CWA questioned Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tony Ridder about the effects of staff and operations cutbacks on quality journalism. “How can you retain editorial excellence when you create uncertainty among your employees?” asked Lynne Dennis, a copy editor at the San Jose Mercury News.
TNG-CWA members are protesting layoffs at the Akron Beacon Journal and the Grand Forks Herald, and proposed cuts at other KR newspapers as a misguided effort to put corporate profits ahead of quality journalism and accountability. The union’s Knight Ridder Council is calling on the company to abandon layoffs and reaffirm its commitment to the values that have brought honor and integrity to the company.
In Savannah, members and supporters of Alliance@IBM leafleted shareholders, urging support for a resolution that would require IBM to give all employees the same choice regarding their pension and retirement medical insurance. Inside the meeting, Alliance member Jimmy Leas of Burlington, Vt., introduced the resolution, which won the support of 14.7 percent of voted shares.
At the rally following the meeting, community leaders including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Georgia AFL-CIO President Richard Ray and other union leaders, and the Rev. Leonard Smalls joined IBM speakers, workers, retirees and supporters in their call for fairness.
A busload of workers and retirees from a number of AFL-CIO unions made the trip from Atlanta and wore Alliance T-shirts to show their solidarity. This was in stark contrast to the lack of support employees received from CEO Lou Gerstner, Alliance member Linda Guyer said.
A delegation of IUE-CWA members from Indiana, Massachusetts and Kentucky were joined by members of CWA Locals 3204, 3250 and 3263, and CWA staff for their action at the General Electric Co. meeting in Atlanta. Despite being forced by security guards and police into an isolated area of the parking lot, the union group used whistles and clickers to gain shareholders’ attention as they headed for the meeting.
Inside, CWAers urged support for a resolution introduced by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, which called on GE to acknowledge the core labor rights of workers at all its operations. CWA Representative Karen Murphy seconded the resolution, which gained 6.8 percent of shareholder votes.
The IUE-CWA retiree group invited outgoing CEO Jack Welch to join the organization, after making the point that Welch’s retirement pay is in sharp contrast to the “penny pinching” most GE retirees must do to get by.
The GE pension fund has a surplus of $21.3 billion, but retirees continue to lose ground to inflation, because the plan has no automatic cost-of-living adjustment. GE adjusted pension benefits for those already retired last year, but it was the first increase since 1996. Those who retired before 1986 saw price increases of more than 60 percent, wiping out the 15 to 35 percent increases in pension benefits, IUE-CWA members told shareholders.
At the Sprint Corp. meeting in Overland Park, Kan., John Howard, assistant to CWA Vice President T.O. Moses, Telecommunica-tions, noted that CWA is “involved for the first time in national discussions with Sprint management,” including serious “two-way discussions” about key issues. Noting “real evidence that labor relations are improving at Sprint,” Howard called on the Sprint board of directors to follow up on concerns of workers, especially in the event of another merger. “This will make a huge difference for this corporation, for CWA’s members at Sprint and for shareholders,” he said.