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Mediation and Support Continue for ALLTEL Strikers
With talks recessed until Aug. 18 and 19, community support remained strong for members of Locals 3371 in Ashland, Ky., and 3372 in Lexington, Ky., on strike against ALLTEL since June 8.
Lexington Mayor Theresa Isaacs complained to ALLTEL that it failed to provide adequate communications paths to city traffic signals and continues to bill the city for lights at 13 intersections and for 36 analog cameras the city asked in March to have disconnected because the city had installed its own fiber optic paths.
"As Lexington's chief executive, and one of your larger customers, I urge you to reach an early agreement," she wrote. "We cannot afford to have the growing service difficulties lead to safety issues on the city's streets."
About 200 Local 3372 members and supporters attended a rally in support of bargaining in Lexington Aug. 15.
Also on Aug. 15, Lexington Herald-Leader cartoonist Joel Pett lampooned ALLTEL in a cartoon showing strikers on the picket line attempting to call the company. "I can't get through. I think they're on the no-care list," the caption reads.
On Aug. 6, The Independent, a daily newspaper in Ashland came out with an editorial condemning ALLTEL for "poor quality of service," including slowness in responding for service calls and poor quality of reception.
"Except for cellular telephone service, ALLTEL is the only choice most area residents have for telephone service," the editors wrote. "That gives everyone a vested interest in the quality of that service. At this point, the switch from Verizon to ALLTEL has resulted in a decline in service. We expect better. Actually, we demand it."
Local 3371 President Phil Coldiron, in Ashland, arranged to have three customers join him for an interview by local TV news channel WSAZ in Huntington, W.Va.
"I let the customers do most of the talking," he said. One complained that he hasn't had good service since ALLTEL took over from Verizon and another, a spokesperson for the Fairview Independent School, said that ALLTEL sends people to fix problems at the school but that they don't stay fixed.
CWA Representative Judy Dennis said the bargaining committees met Aug. 4-6 with a federal mediator and made some progress, but "when we got to managerial rights, they said it's their way or no way." The mediator, in frustration, ended the meeting and rescheduled for next week.
The company was still demanding unlimited rights for management to implement policies on any issue not specifically spelled out in the contract; to require all employees to sell its services, with rights to discipline and even terminated them for failure to comply; and to contract out all construction and maintenance work as much as possible, Dennis said.
Lexington Mayor Theresa Isaacs complained to ALLTEL that it failed to provide adequate communications paths to city traffic signals and continues to bill the city for lights at 13 intersections and for 36 analog cameras the city asked in March to have disconnected because the city had installed its own fiber optic paths.
"As Lexington's chief executive, and one of your larger customers, I urge you to reach an early agreement," she wrote. "We cannot afford to have the growing service difficulties lead to safety issues on the city's streets."
About 200 Local 3372 members and supporters attended a rally in support of bargaining in Lexington Aug. 15.
Also on Aug. 15, Lexington Herald-Leader cartoonist Joel Pett lampooned ALLTEL in a cartoon showing strikers on the picket line attempting to call the company. "I can't get through. I think they're on the no-care list," the caption reads.
On Aug. 6, The Independent, a daily newspaper in Ashland came out with an editorial condemning ALLTEL for "poor quality of service," including slowness in responding for service calls and poor quality of reception.
"Except for cellular telephone service, ALLTEL is the only choice most area residents have for telephone service," the editors wrote. "That gives everyone a vested interest in the quality of that service. At this point, the switch from Verizon to ALLTEL has resulted in a decline in service. We expect better. Actually, we demand it."
Local 3371 President Phil Coldiron, in Ashland, arranged to have three customers join him for an interview by local TV news channel WSAZ in Huntington, W.Va.
"I let the customers do most of the talking," he said. One complained that he hasn't had good service since ALLTEL took over from Verizon and another, a spokesperson for the Fairview Independent School, said that ALLTEL sends people to fix problems at the school but that they don't stay fixed.
CWA Representative Judy Dennis said the bargaining committees met Aug. 4-6 with a federal mediator and made some progress, but "when we got to managerial rights, they said it's their way or no way." The mediator, in frustration, ended the meeting and rescheduled for next week.
The company was still demanding unlimited rights for management to implement policies on any issue not specifically spelled out in the contract; to require all employees to sell its services, with rights to discipline and even terminated them for failure to comply; and to contract out all construction and maintenance work as much as possible, Dennis said.