In The News - AT&T Call Center Workers Organize in Iowa

A unit of nearly 200 workers at the new AT&T Mobility customer care center in Davenport, Iowa, organized with CWA Local 7110.

A majority of the workers — over 70 percent — signed up through card check on April 14 and the election was certified the following week by the American Arbitration Association. The call center, which opened in December, is expected to have over 500 employees within two years.

District 7 Administrative Director Kevin Mulligan credited an exceptional inside committee with the victory. "Each of them had been talking with the co-workers for weeks about the need to organize," he said, adding that affordable health care, good pay with regular wage increases and fair and consistent company policies were key issues.

District Vice President Annie Hill said the swift and successful campaign "clearly demonstrates the need for enacting the Employee Free Choice Act. When given a choice to organize through card check, and without management intimidation, workers have shown time and time again that they want to be able to have a real say in their jobs."

Today's economic squeeze makes workers even more eager to seek union representation, said Ananda Foster, an AT&T Mobility worker from Local 7901, Portland, Ore., who assisted the workers in the drive leading up to the card signing.