Jackson, Miss., City Workers Win CWA Representation

The Jackson, Miss., city council voted unanimously on June 20 to grant collective bargaining rights to city employees and to recognize CWA's Mississippi Alliance of State Employees as bargaining representative for the 1,200 workers. The council vote caps more than a year of joint organizing and legislative work by MASE-CWA Local 3570 and CWA telecom Local 3511, which last August earned both locals CWA's President's Annual Award for organizing.

MASE-CWA President Brenda Scott and Local 3511 President Kim Sadler in 2005 spearheaded efforts to elect a mayor and city council that would support bargaining rights for city workers. The two locals then worked together to sign up a majority of the city workers and persuade Mayor Frank Melton to introduce a bill to grant recognition.

MASE-CWA presented signed cards to the mayor's office in January as evidence that a majority of city workers had chosen CWA. Scott met with the mayor and council officials several times thereafter as they sought to clarify which employees would become union eligible.

The council meeting on June 20 was packed with members and supporters wearing purple CWA organizing T-shirts when Council President Marshand Crisler called for the vote. The new law extends CWA representation to city workers other than police and firefighters, who already have collective bargaining rights and their own unions.

Local 3511 organizers Deborah Noble, Nate Williams and Calvin Banks supported the workers' organizing committee throughout the campaign. Last spring, Local 3511 had received help from MASE-CWA in organizing the Cingular call center in Jackson – the first former AT&T Wireless unit organized after the merger.