No Stripping' Campaign Fights for Jobs at Lucent

CWA members at Alcatel Lucent are fighting back against the company's assault on their jobs and their livelihoods.

Because Alcatel, which recently purchased Lucent, is French-owned, Lucent created a shell company, Secure Lucent, to meet U.S. government demands that contract work be performed by a U.S. firm. Lucent management was transferred to Secure Lucent, but the company has refused to transfer CWA-represented technicians. Instead, these workers are being stripped of their security clearances and their work handed over to contractors.

Some 65 CWA technicians will lose their security clearances and their livelihoods if Lucent has its way. CWA represents about 2,600 Lucent workers overall.

"Alcatel Lucent management admitted that it could have transferred our members, but it wanted to get rid of collective bargaining and wanted a cheaper deal," said CWA President Larry Cohen in a video message to Lucent members, with CWA Vice President Ralph Maly, communications and technologies. (Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnkufTWsK3c.)

"Alcatel Lucent management must learn — and quickly — that there will be considerable losses to shareholder value when management acts as if our jobs, our rights and our union can be stripped away," Cohen said.

Maly stated: "This is a blatant disregard for those members who served the company well for many years — members who are dedicated employees, who have obtained the highest security clearances and have been the backbone in maintaining government contracts for Lucent."

This outrage, plus an announced 12,500 job cuts worldwide, is the focus of CWA's "No Stripping" campaign, which will build support from the labor movement, Congress, the public, European governments and others to stop the stripping of union jobs across the country and around the world.

Workers and their unions in several countries protested Alcatel Lucent's actions on Feb. 15. In France, a two-hour strike was organized by a joint committee of all five unions at Alcatel-Lucent, and in Belgium, workers held a half-hour strike. In Italy, the Netherlands and the United States, workers leafleted and held other solidarity actions.