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CWA Mobilizes for Sprint Contracts
Separate negotiations for seven new contracts covering nearly 3,000 CWA members at Sprint Corp. local telephone operations are continuing, backed by an effective CWA mobilization effort and an advertising campaign that's building public support.
In North Carolina, members of Local 3680 sent a strong message to Sprint and defeated a decertification campaign among workers at the call center in Fayetteville that was fostered by management. Local president Rocky Barnes and an internal committee produced an overwhelming vote in support of CWA representation.
Also in North Carolina, the contract covering the largest Sprint unit - about 1,350 workers, members of CWA Locals 3680, 3681 3682 and 3685 - expired at the end of November.
CWA Vice President Jimmy Gurganus, telecommunications, said CWA was committed to reaching a fair agreement and was fully open to discussions with Sprint, but "the company has to move off some of its unreasonable demands."
Issues that remain on various bargaining tables, with contracts expired in North Carolina and Sprint locations in Tennessee, Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania and the Northwest, include company demands for temporary layoffs without severance pay, to eliminate seniority for some workers and to cut severance pay.
Gurganus also noted that members at all seven units voted overwhelmingly in separate votes to authorize strike action and that he was seeking CWA executive board approval for strike authorization.
The mobilization campaign includes informational picketing at worksites, shopping malls and other community locations. Posters are being placed in vehicles in company parking lots and in store windows to boost public support for the campaign. One-on-one discussions with members are a critical part of the effort, Gurganus said, and those contacts are going on throughout the locals.
Bolstering negotiations is a media ad campaign, with radio and print ads alerting customers to the impact Sprint actions have on quality customer service.
In North Carolina, members of Local 3680 sent a strong message to Sprint and defeated a decertification campaign among workers at the call center in Fayetteville that was fostered by management. Local president Rocky Barnes and an internal committee produced an overwhelming vote in support of CWA representation.
Also in North Carolina, the contract covering the largest Sprint unit - about 1,350 workers, members of CWA Locals 3680, 3681 3682 and 3685 - expired at the end of November.
CWA Vice President Jimmy Gurganus, telecommunications, said CWA was committed to reaching a fair agreement and was fully open to discussions with Sprint, but "the company has to move off some of its unreasonable demands."
Issues that remain on various bargaining tables, with contracts expired in North Carolina and Sprint locations in Tennessee, Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania and the Northwest, include company demands for temporary layoffs without severance pay, to eliminate seniority for some workers and to cut severance pay.
Gurganus also noted that members at all seven units voted overwhelmingly in separate votes to authorize strike action and that he was seeking CWA executive board approval for strike authorization.
The mobilization campaign includes informational picketing at worksites, shopping malls and other community locations. Posters are being placed in vehicles in company parking lots and in store windows to boost public support for the campaign. One-on-one discussions with members are a critical part of the effort, Gurganus said, and those contacts are going on throughout the locals.
Bolstering negotiations is a media ad campaign, with radio and print ads alerting customers to the impact Sprint actions have on quality customer service.