Organizing Roundup: First Quarter Brings 4,100 New Members at Cingular

CWA organizing surged ahead in the last month with three victories at Cingular Wireless, bringing to 4,100 the total number of Cingular workers gaining CWA representation in 2002.

With earlier victories at Cingular, Verizon Information Services and elsewhere, they add up to more than 10,000 new workers organized so far this year, reported CWA Executive Vice
President Larry Cohen.

The union achieved an agreement with Cingular bringing CWA representation to 240 store and technical employees in the state of Indiana, Seth Rosen, administrative assistant to District 4 Vice President Jeff Rechenbach, reported. They will become members of Local 4900, which worked with the formerly BellSouth workers in earlier attempts to organize. CWA Representative Teri Pluta negotiated the agreement, Rosen said.

Earlier, Local 1298 achieved a voluntary recognition for 100 Cingular retail store employees in Connecticut, Rhode Island and parts of Massachusetts. CWA already represented some but not all employees of the former SNET (Southern New England Telephone) Wireless stores, Ed Sabol, administrative assistant to District 1 Vice President Larry Mancino, reported on April 10. He credited Local 1298 President Paul Hongo and CWA Representative Dennis Trainor with achieving the agreement.

Finally, Local 6315 on March 21 finished signing nine out of 15 Cingular workers in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Danny Fetonte, administrative assistant to District 6 Vice President Andy Milburn, said local President Lynnette Jenkins, Chief Steward Erin Hall, Steward Amie Heck and CWA Represent-ative Phil Ferrill were instrumental in getting the workers signed.

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Victories elsewhere:

• CWA District 7 and IUE-CWA District 8 combined efforts to organize 78 aircraft mechanics at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz. Gary Wise, IUE-CWA organizing coordinator, reported that interest in the campaign was high, despite the fact that Arizona is a Right-to-Work state. The workers, employed by the Sikorski company, which won the maintenance contract for 13 F-5 fighters from Boeing last year, had not had a raise in six years. They were also motivated by inadequate health and retirement benefits. CWA Local 7032 President Dennis Nielson and IUE-CWA Local 89118 President Bill Archer succeeded in getting 60 out of 77 eligible votes for representation. Nine votes were cast for “no union.*
  
  
• Printing Sector Organizer Jim Cosgrove reported four victories in rapid succession. Local 14210 President Lonnie Breeden and Secretary-Treasurer James Monk were instrumental in achieving wall-to-wall recognition and a first agreement for 18 employees of Printing Press of South Charleston, W.Va, Cosgrove reported on April 9. The next day he had two voluntary recognitions, for four employees of Kenefick Communications and seven workers at Freestate Printing, both in Annapolis, Md. Local 14200, on April 16, won voluntary recognition for five employees of Victory Awards in Severna Park, Md., printers and engravers for trophies and awards.