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CWA, VIS Set Bargaining Deadline
Negotiators for CWA and Verizon Information Services were back at the bargaining table in early November and working to reach a first-contract settlement by Thanksgiving for 1,700 Yellow Pages sales and support employees in the mid-Atlantic region.
A strong rank-and-file mobilization punctuated by a strike authorization vote put stalled bargaining back on track last month. The workers received union recognition last March, and talks began in May.
Among key issues are a commission sales program imposed by management that drastically reduced the pay of sales reps, and a new performance review program that included harsh disciplinary standards. In a memorandum of agreement announced in mid-October, VIS agreed to hold off on termination of workers for poor performance while the parties negotiate a new performance plan in the union contract.
Intended to improve labor relations and workplace morale, the agreement also called for the parties to suspend litigation over unfair labor practice charges while the union and VIS work to resolve pending disputes, including several terminations.
At CWA News press time, intense negotiations had been underway in Philadelphia for two and a half weeks.
The talks are being coordinated by Districts 1, 2 and 13 and cover workers at 20 VIS offices from New York to Virginia. The employees work as sales representatives, graphic artists and clerical support staff.
A strong rank-and-file mobilization punctuated by a strike authorization vote put stalled bargaining back on track last month. The workers received union recognition last March, and talks began in May.
Among key issues are a commission sales program imposed by management that drastically reduced the pay of sales reps, and a new performance review program that included harsh disciplinary standards. In a memorandum of agreement announced in mid-October, VIS agreed to hold off on termination of workers for poor performance while the parties negotiate a new performance plan in the union contract.
Intended to improve labor relations and workplace morale, the agreement also called for the parties to suspend litigation over unfair labor practice charges while the union and VIS work to resolve pending disputes, including several terminations.
At CWA News press time, intense negotiations had been underway in Philadelphia for two and a half weeks.
The talks are being coordinated by Districts 1, 2 and 13 and cover workers at 20 VIS offices from New York to Virginia. The employees work as sales representatives, graphic artists and clerical support staff.