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Letter from CWA President Bahr Concerning SBC Negotiations
Following is a letter from CWA President Morton Bahr to SBC members and officers regarding SBC negotiations. The news release from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service that Bahr refers to follows his letter.
March 8, 2004
To: Local Officers and Members at SBC
From: Morton Bahr, President
At the urging of Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director Peter J. Hurtgen, CWA and SBC have agreed to conduct negotiations in Washington, D.C. under auspices of the FMCS.
Director Hurtgen noted that the parties are discussing "several significant issues, such as health care," and he cited his concern over the impact of talks affecting more than 100,000 workers upon the entire industry and the economy.
After discussions with the District Vice Presidents, and with their concurrence, I will be meeting in the director's office along with the head of human resources for SBC, Karen Jennings, on Monday, March 15 to work out details of the bargaining process and the issues to be addressed at the national table.
Director Hurtgen was most helpful in mediating our talks with Verizon last year, and we hope that a similar process can help get us to a fair and timely settlement with SBC.
I am attaching the FMCS' public announcement.
#####
Monday, March 8, 2004
For Immediate Release
Contact: John Arnold, Director
Office of Public Affairs
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Phone: (202) 606-8100
Web site: www.fmcs.gov
SBC-CWA Negotiations to be Held in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, DC– Peter J. Hurtgen, the Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), today announced that representatives for the Communications Workers of America and SBC Communications Inc. have accepted his invitation to conduct 2004 negotiations at FMCS's Washington headquarters, where he will mediate the contract talks covering more than 100,000 SBC workers in the company's west, mid-west, southwest and east regions.
The FMCS Director will begin mediating the bargaining on March 15. "I have asked both parties to move the main table of the negotiations to Washington, and they have agreed to do so," Hurtgen said. "These are critical negotiations that are important to the telecommunications of a large segment of the United States."
"The parties are discussing several significant issues, such as health care," Hurtgen said. The negotiations will encompass contracts covering more than 100,000 workers in four SBC regions that are due to expire in April.
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, created in 1947, is an independent U.S. government agency whose mission is to preserve and promote labor-management peace and cooperation. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 10 district offices and more than 70 field offices, the agency provides mediation and conflict resolution services to industry, government agencies and communities.
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March 8, 2004
To: Local Officers and Members at SBC
From: Morton Bahr, President
At the urging of Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director Peter J. Hurtgen, CWA and SBC have agreed to conduct negotiations in Washington, D.C. under auspices of the FMCS.
Director Hurtgen noted that the parties are discussing "several significant issues, such as health care," and he cited his concern over the impact of talks affecting more than 100,000 workers upon the entire industry and the economy.
After discussions with the District Vice Presidents, and with their concurrence, I will be meeting in the director's office along with the head of human resources for SBC, Karen Jennings, on Monday, March 15 to work out details of the bargaining process and the issues to be addressed at the national table.
Director Hurtgen was most helpful in mediating our talks with Verizon last year, and we hope that a similar process can help get us to a fair and timely settlement with SBC.
I am attaching the FMCS' public announcement.
#####
Monday, March 8, 2004
For Immediate Release
Contact: John Arnold, Director
Office of Public Affairs
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Phone: (202) 606-8100
Web site: www.fmcs.gov
SBC-CWA Negotiations to be Held in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, DC– Peter J. Hurtgen, the Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), today announced that representatives for the Communications Workers of America and SBC Communications Inc. have accepted his invitation to conduct 2004 negotiations at FMCS's Washington headquarters, where he will mediate the contract talks covering more than 100,000 SBC workers in the company's west, mid-west, southwest and east regions.
The FMCS Director will begin mediating the bargaining on March 15. "I have asked both parties to move the main table of the negotiations to Washington, and they have agreed to do so," Hurtgen said. "These are critical negotiations that are important to the telecommunications of a large segment of the United States."
"The parties are discussing several significant issues, such as health care," Hurtgen said. The negotiations will encompass contracts covering more than 100,000 workers in four SBC regions that are due to expire in April.
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, created in 1947, is an independent U.S. government agency whose mission is to preserve and promote labor-management peace and cooperation. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 10 district offices and more than 70 field offices, the agency provides mediation and conflict resolution services to industry, government agencies and communities.
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