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Illegally Fired Worker Returns to Comcast Job
Stephen White, who was fired from his cable job at Comcast Corp. for trying to organize his unit into CWA, returned to work on Sept. 9.
Under a settlement reached with the National Labor Relations Board, Comcast agreed to reinstate White, restore his seniority, pay back wages of more than $22,000 and post a legal notice that it will not "issue written warnings or lower evaluations" to workers for engaging in union activities, nor will it fire "any of our other employees for engaging in activities on behalf of the union."
White was spotlighted at the Democratic National Convention as a victim of growing corporate abuses against workers and was brought to the stage by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney during his remarks.
White was fired in March from his Comcast job in Montgomery County, Md. CWA filed charges on behalf of White and other Comcast workers who have been fired or otherwise punished for exercising their legal right to union representation, and has challenged the company for other anti-union tactics. CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are working with Comcast employees nationwide who want a union voice but have been thwarted by the company's continuing attack on worker rights.
The Maryland cable workers had the strong support of two members of the Montgomery County, Md. Council, who wrote to Comcast's top executive last year and called on the company to recognize the workers' right to organize.
Those council members were subpoenaed by Comcast attorneys, who demanded all documents related to the fight for union rights at Comcast. Council members Tom Perez and George L. Leventhal accused the company of intimidation and pledged to fight the subpoenas and the company's tactics. Comcast attorneys also subpoenaed AFL-CIO officials and members of Jobs with Justice. The settlement was reached on the eve of a hearing before an NLRB administrative law judge.
Last October, arbitrators ordered that two Comcast workers in Pittsburgh be reinstated to their jobs, with seniority and back pay, determining that Comcast wrongly fired them. Comcast workers in Pittsburgh again affirmed in June that they are determined to keep their CWA representation and gain a fair contract.
Under a settlement reached with the National Labor Relations Board, Comcast agreed to reinstate White, restore his seniority, pay back wages of more than $22,000 and post a legal notice that it will not "issue written warnings or lower evaluations" to workers for engaging in union activities, nor will it fire "any of our other employees for engaging in activities on behalf of the union."
White was spotlighted at the Democratic National Convention as a victim of growing corporate abuses against workers and was brought to the stage by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney during his remarks.
White was fired in March from his Comcast job in Montgomery County, Md. CWA filed charges on behalf of White and other Comcast workers who have been fired or otherwise punished for exercising their legal right to union representation, and has challenged the company for other anti-union tactics. CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are working with Comcast employees nationwide who want a union voice but have been thwarted by the company's continuing attack on worker rights.
The Maryland cable workers had the strong support of two members of the Montgomery County, Md. Council, who wrote to Comcast's top executive last year and called on the company to recognize the workers' right to organize.
Those council members were subpoenaed by Comcast attorneys, who demanded all documents related to the fight for union rights at Comcast. Council members Tom Perez and George L. Leventhal accused the company of intimidation and pledged to fight the subpoenas and the company's tactics. Comcast attorneys also subpoenaed AFL-CIO officials and members of Jobs with Justice. The settlement was reached on the eve of a hearing before an NLRB administrative law judge.
Last October, arbitrators ordered that two Comcast workers in Pittsburgh be reinstated to their jobs, with seniority and back pay, determining that Comcast wrongly fired them. Comcast workers in Pittsburgh again affirmed in June that they are determined to keep their CWA representation and gain a fair contract.