CWAers Participate in 'Take Back America'

CWA Executive Vice President Jeff Rechenbach and Local 2204 member Teresa Joyce, a Cingular service rep from southwestern Virginia, appeared at a workshop called Take Back the Workplace, as part of this week's Take Back America Conference in Washington, D.C. The workshop was chaired by David Bonior, chair of American Rights at Work.

They described how Cingular's agreement to remain neutral in organizing drives and grant recognition based on majority card check support has allowed 39,000 workers to gain CWA representation — 17,000 in just the past year.

Joyce and her co-workers originally tried to organize when her call center was owned by AT&T Wireless, and she described how bosses conducted one-on-one meetings to intimidate them, and how several union supporters were even fired.

When Cingular bought AT&T Wireless last year, "I was on the conference call with Cingular's CEO when he talked about the great relationship the company had with CWA," she told the conferees. "I wanted to shout out loud for all the managers to hear."

Now part of CWA, her workplace is entirely different, she said. Workers have a say on the job and better pay and good health benefits at a lower cost.

The annual Take Back America conference brings thousands of progressive activists and political leaders together to discuss ideas and develop a common agenda. For more information and to view streaming video of major speeches at the conference, go to www.ourfuture.org, the website of the Campaign for America's future.