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First Merger of IUE and CWA Locals Brings Stronger Representation in Public Sector
Seeking to take full advantage of the merger of CWA and IUE, two locals, one from each union, have decided they, too, should become one.
IUE-CWA Local 417 in Red Bank, N.J., with about 1,300 members, will remain autonomous in its own structure. But, in the first merger of an IUE-CWA local and a CWA local, it will become Branch 4 of CWA Local 1034 in West Trenton, creating a public sector local of about 14,000 members. Kevin Tauro, Local 417 president, will become Branch 4 president, with a seat on the Local 1034 executive board.
A quorum of Local 417’s membership ratified the merger unanimously at its May 15 meeting, Tauro said. Local 1034 President Carla Katz said the merger was ratified “overwhelmingly” by more than 99 percent of members who returned mail ballots by May 31. The merger has been approved by IUE-CWA President Ed Fire and IUE District 3 President Sal Ingrassia in accordance with the IUE-CWA Merger Agreement, as well as by the appropriate CWA officers.
“This is what the merger of our two unions is all about — to strengthen our locals, to better organize and to better serve our members,” said Larry Cohen, CWA executive vice president.
Katz welcomed the merger as a “way for us to develop our influence. For public workers, especially, we live in a political environment. The size of a local affects everything, from how many people you can turn out on Election Day to how much money you can spend.”
Local 1034, which represents workers in state, local and county government, bargains about 100 contracts, Katz said, and the fact that the local is involved at the state level increases leverage in bargaining.
“When we go to the table for 40 people in a municipality, it’s 14,000 of us going to the table,” Katz said. “We see it in our contracts. It makes a difference.”
Local 417 represents public workers in Monmouth County, including its departments of Public Works, Parks and Recreation, and Transportation. Local government employees such as supervisors and professionals in Middletown and workers in Long Branch, Eatontown, Belmar and Wall Township also call Local 417 home.
The local once represented 1,500 manufacturing workers at Bendix Allied Signal but lost them through a series of layoffs in 1999. In the summer of that year Bendix closed the plant and moved the entire operation to plants in Arizona and Mexico.
Down to a total of 500 members, Tauro led a strong organizing push in the public sector, more than doubling his local’s membership in little over a year with an 800-member increase.
Tauro, a graduate of several AFL-CIO training programs for union leaders, including its Organizing Institute, became acquainted with Katz about six years ago while enrolled in a Union Leadership Academy program she was teaching at Rutgers University. The two leaders found they had a common interest in representing and in organizing public workers.
Local 417 participated in political rallies with CWA locals when issues were being decided that would affect public workers throughout the state.
“After talking to other people in the IUE about the merger,” Tauro said, “it seemed like a good idea for us to merge with a CWA local and go right for the heart of it.”
Tauro said he had talks with the leaders of several CWA locals before asking Local 417’s executive board to approve a merger with Local 1034.
Katz pointed out that the IUE local is not the first to merge with her local. Seven CWA locals have made the same decision over the past several years, including Locals 1035, 1065, 1066 and 1038.
Several other IUE and CWA locals around the country are also exploring the possibility of merging.
IUE-CWA Local 417 in Red Bank, N.J., with about 1,300 members, will remain autonomous in its own structure. But, in the first merger of an IUE-CWA local and a CWA local, it will become Branch 4 of CWA Local 1034 in West Trenton, creating a public sector local of about 14,000 members. Kevin Tauro, Local 417 president, will become Branch 4 president, with a seat on the Local 1034 executive board.
A quorum of Local 417’s membership ratified the merger unanimously at its May 15 meeting, Tauro said. Local 1034 President Carla Katz said the merger was ratified “overwhelmingly” by more than 99 percent of members who returned mail ballots by May 31. The merger has been approved by IUE-CWA President Ed Fire and IUE District 3 President Sal Ingrassia in accordance with the IUE-CWA Merger Agreement, as well as by the appropriate CWA officers.
“This is what the merger of our two unions is all about — to strengthen our locals, to better organize and to better serve our members,” said Larry Cohen, CWA executive vice president.
Katz welcomed the merger as a “way for us to develop our influence. For public workers, especially, we live in a political environment. The size of a local affects everything, from how many people you can turn out on Election Day to how much money you can spend.”
Local 1034, which represents workers in state, local and county government, bargains about 100 contracts, Katz said, and the fact that the local is involved at the state level increases leverage in bargaining.
“When we go to the table for 40 people in a municipality, it’s 14,000 of us going to the table,” Katz said. “We see it in our contracts. It makes a difference.”
Local 417 represents public workers in Monmouth County, including its departments of Public Works, Parks and Recreation, and Transportation. Local government employees such as supervisors and professionals in Middletown and workers in Long Branch, Eatontown, Belmar and Wall Township also call Local 417 home.
The local once represented 1,500 manufacturing workers at Bendix Allied Signal but lost them through a series of layoffs in 1999. In the summer of that year Bendix closed the plant and moved the entire operation to plants in Arizona and Mexico.
Down to a total of 500 members, Tauro led a strong organizing push in the public sector, more than doubling his local’s membership in little over a year with an 800-member increase.
Tauro, a graduate of several AFL-CIO training programs for union leaders, including its Organizing Institute, became acquainted with Katz about six years ago while enrolled in a Union Leadership Academy program she was teaching at Rutgers University. The two leaders found they had a common interest in representing and in organizing public workers.
Local 417 participated in political rallies with CWA locals when issues were being decided that would affect public workers throughout the state.
“After talking to other people in the IUE about the merger,” Tauro said, “it seemed like a good idea for us to merge with a CWA local and go right for the heart of it.”
Tauro said he had talks with the leaders of several CWA locals before asking Local 417’s executive board to approve a merger with Local 1034.
Katz pointed out that the IUE local is not the first to merge with her local. Seven CWA locals have made the same decision over the past several years, including Locals 1035, 1065, 1066 and 1038.
Several other IUE and CWA locals around the country are also exploring the possibility of merging.