Mobilization Update

Even though bargaining briefly stopped, mobilization continued … it’s NOT business as usual!

1051 has nearly 100% participation with wearing red Monday-Thursday & black on Friday.  S/T Rob dressed like a doctor & handed out medical bills showing how much the Company’s health care proposal is going to cost them.  The outrage caused members to shake their pill bottles even louder than usual.  They are standing, and have solidarity support signs all over the office.  “Operation Easter Bunny” delivered Union messages on red eggs to managers.  Members are taking great care with every customer to ensure they receive the best customer service.  It is NOT business as usual in LOCAL 1051.

1062 has launched a campaign for employees who use the Company’s instant message system (QLink) to add a message behind their name for others inside the Company to see.  Some examples are, “We want a fair contract”, “Mobilize”, “Health care for all”.

1150 sent early warning letters to customers including NBC, Merrill Lynch, Best Buy & Home Depot.

2252 held another rally at the Gallows Road location.  They attempted to organize an additional 20 AT&T Authorized Retailers, and continued to deliver early warning letters to JCPenney, Kmart, Pearl Vision, Pep Boys, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Sears, & Hilton.

6377 has been organizing Best Buy & Wal-Mart, both of which sell AT&T products.  They will be out in full force again this weekend to continue with the drive.

7250 has activities every day.  Members continue to stand & click hourly for 5 minutes.  The “Drastic Action Team” has been active.  Wednesday Hershey kisses were distributed with 5 different messages including “Won’t Kiss Health Care Goodbye”, “Like the Auto Industry? My (Donkey) AT&T made $12.9 Billion in profits…”; Thursday “We Won’t Settle for Peanuts” and held an informational picket & rally against Corporate Greed.  Friday they had much opposition from Management with regards to their concerted actions, so the members decided to click every 30 minutes instead of hourly.

7290 & 7290 Retiree Chapter have committed their support for our struggle.

7750 held a rally by the flagpole to let members know what it means to work without a contract and to remind everyone to take time to do a quality job.  They handed out plastic eggs, members put money in them & they shake them twice a day to “egg” on the Company.  Friday they had a rally with Jobs with Justice.

13550 handed out “No Contract – No Peace” and a flyer with a skunk & the Company’s proposal showing they both “stink”.  Members made hats out of manila folders with the skunk flier stapled on them and wear them when they stand.  They are shaking pill bottles and standing every hour.  The retirees are engaged in a letter campaign regarding health care.  They are holding practice pickets at lunch & have lots of great activities planned for next week.

Monday-Thursday there’s sea of red and Friday brings a storm of black nationwide.  Most Locals report 90-100% participation.

If you experience changes in working conditions or any other Unfair Labor Practice, make sure to get specifics to bbates@cwa-union.org.  He is working with CWA Legal to keep track of the ULP’s committed during bargaining.

Remember to have people sign the e-petition to AT&T by accessing www.standupforworkers.com so we can send a strong message to AT&T that corporate greed is not tolerated in the United States.

The AT&T Shareholder meeting will be held April 24, 2009 at the Dallas Arboretum, Rosine Hall, 8325 Garland Road, Dallas, TX 75218 at 9:00 a.m. Central time.  The meeting will be well-attended by active members and retirees, who will be prepared to discuss their concerns as shareholders about the way AT&T is treating their employees and retirees.  The AdHoc Committee will be meeting around 5:00 p.m. Thursday April 23, 2009.  The hotel location information will be sent via the AdHoc email list.

Keep collecting proxies from your members and get them to your District Offices as soon as possible.  (Locals in Districts 2 & 7, if you have proxies, let me know and I will give information on where to send them.)

For as long as we continue to work, we need to make sure that our members continue to service our customers with the highest level of quality possible, and safety always remains a priority.  The quality service from CWA members is the reason why AT&T ranks so high in customer satisfaction.

Send photos and reports to cwainfo@gmail.com so we can share your activities with everyone around the country!

Got videos of actions?  Post them on “YouTube” and share them with everyone.  There are many great ones already out there; search CWA and check out what has been going on.

Keep up the great actions!  In Solidarity.