In the News

Health Care 'Managers' Join Local 1180
More than 1,300 coordinating managers at the Health and Hospitals Corp. in New York City won representation by CWA Local 1180 on May 15, when the city's Office of Collective Bargaining (OCB) ruled that they are essentially non-managerial personnel.

"I think it's great to finally have union representation," said Ted Wright, who has worked at Bellevue Hospital since 1984 and held the coordinating manager title since 2001.

After an exhaustive series of job review meetings with representatives of the local, the OCB found that few of the so-called managers had any control over budget or policy and therefore were eligible for union representation.

"We're thrilled to welcome the coordinating managers into our union," said Local 1180 President Art Cheliotes. "We look forward to helping our new members improve their working lives."

An immediate result of gaining representation, the coordinating managers will now be compensated for any hours worked outside their regular tour of duty.

Election Underway for Flight Attendants at Northwest
More than 5,000 flight attendants at Northwest Airlines have indicated that they want AFA-CWA representation, and the National Mediation Board now is sending voting materials to the airline's 9,300 flight attendants. The representation vote will be counted July 6; voting will be conducted through a telephone process

AFA-CWA President Pat Friend credited the hard work and determination of Northwest flight attendants who are facing a difficult fight over their airline's bankruptcy and restructuring. "We are very excited and are looking forward to officially welcoming the Northwest flight attendants to our family," she said.

CWA Backs Bill to End Abuses of H1-B Program
CWA is urging members of the House of Representatives to co-sponsor the "Defend the American Dream Act," H.R. 4378, to remedy the abuses of the current visa program.

The H1-B program now victimizes large numbers of high-skilled American workers by permitting employers to displace them and hire instead lower-wage high-tech workers from other nations, CWA President Larry Cohen wrote. Currently, 237,500 H1-B visas can be issued annually due to special exceptions; the bill would reduce that to 65,000.

Separately, the immigration plan passed by the Senate would nearly double the number of technical and science workers that could be brought into the United States under the H1-B visas program. The bill would raise the current level from 65,000 to 115,000.