In The News

CWA, Verizon Information Services Renew Talks
Bargaining between CWA and VIS resumed in early January for 300 CWA members who have been on strike for ten weeks.

While the unfair labor practice strike continues, members of Locals 1105, 1118, and 1122 — all in New York — are standing strong and supporting each other, and relying on the solidarity of CWA members throughout the district, reported CWA Representative Pat Telesco.

In Buffalo and other locations, CWA has organized a "dump the book" campaign, encouraging union members to turn in their Verizon telephone directories at local Verizon offices because the directories now are produced by scabs. Customers also are getting on board, alerting VIS that it needs to settle the strike or risk losing their advertising, Telesco said.

The unfair labor practice charges are going forward, and CWA attorneys have taken numerous depositions and submitted position statements to the National Labor Relations Board.

Sprint Contracts Ratified; Bargaining to Begin
Workers at Sprint locations have ratified new contracts, including those units forced to strike over the company's demands for excessive health care, disability and other benefit cuts. 

Contracts were ratified by members of Locals 3680, 3681, 3682 and 3685 in Tarboro, N.C., as well as in Pennsylvania (Local 13000), Tennessee (Local 3871), Florida (Local 3176), Indiana, (Local 4700) and Hickory, N.C. (Local 3672).

In coming months CWA will bargain for Sprint workers in Kansas/Missouri, Ohio and New Jersey.

IBM Plan to Freeze Pensions Sparks Outrage
CWA leaders and the union's members at the Alliance@IBM are condemning the company's announcement that it will freeze the defined benefit pensions of 120,000 employees.

"This is outrageous, even by the "Gilded Age" standard of today's corporate executives," CWA President Larry Cohen said. "IBM's action sends a chilling signal not just for current workers, who now have lost their retirement security, but to the future generation of workers who are penalized before they ever start their first job."

IBM says freezing the $48 billion pension plan will save $3 billion by 2010. The company hasn't said how executives' pension will be affected, if at all.

Lee Conrad, national coordinator of CWA's Alliance@IBM organizing campaign said the takeaway "is part of a national trend to drive workers' standard of living down while enhancing corporate profits and executive bank accounts."

Linda Guyer, an IBM Software Group employee and president of the Alliance@IBM said, "This is just one more top down edict from corporate headquarters that leaves employees with no say. If a union contract were in place, changes as significant as this to employee retirement would have to be negotiated. It's time for employees to fight back."

Union Explores Bid for Knight Ridder Newspapers
The Newspaper Guild-CWA is exploring a "worker friendly" buyout of nine newspapers owned by the Knight Ridder chain, in response to the company's announcement that it is contemplating the sale of all its newspapers.  The nine papers are those where CWA represents workers, a total of about 2,900, including CWA Printing Sector members. Knight Ridder is the nation's second largest newspaper chain. "Standing still is not an option," said TNG-CWA President Linda Foley.

The newspapers include the San Jose Mercury News, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Akron Beacon Journal, the Duluth News Tribune, the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Monterey Herald and the Grand Forks Herald.

More information is available at www.knightridderwatch.org.