Search News
For the Media
For media inquiries, call CWA Communications at 202-434-1168 or email comms@cwa-union.org. To read about CWA Members, Leadership or Industries, visit our About page.
Qwest Bargaining: Down to the Wire in District 7
As the CWA News went to press, contract negotiations on behalf of 25,000 CWA-represented workers at Qwest Communications were continuing past the Aug. 13 contract expiration. Meanwhile, members were stepping up mobilization activities throughout District 7 to fight for a fair contract.
By an overwhelming 91 percent, members earlier voted to give CWA leaders authorization to call a strike if necessary. The CWA Executive Board also has approved strike action at Qwest.
"Our members want Qwest to succeed," CWA District 7 Vice President Annie Hill said. "But we also expect management to come to the bargaining table with fair proposals, not excessive demands for shifting health care costs to workers and retirees, and demands for increased mandatory overtime work that force workers to spend even more time away from their families."
CWA negotiators are seeking a fair wage increase, noting that workers have gone more than two years without a raise because of problems created by Qwest's former management team.
The CWA bargaining team also delivered petitions from more than 10,000 active and retired workers calling on the company to maintain quality health care benefits.
Wearing red on Thursdays, "practice picketing," and presenting managers with rocks painted with the reminder that CWA is "solid as a rock," are among the ways that members are mobilizing. Many locals also held rallies as the deadline approached.
CWA members are reminding management that "we are the front line, not the bottom line," and that quality service is key to helping Qwest succeed. The talks cover 13 states: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
The workers got a boost of support from some members of Congress, including Senator Mark Dayton (D-Minn.), who wrote to Qwest's chief executive officer Richard Notebaert about the outsourcing of jobs and his belief that CWA members at Qwest "work hard to deliver quality services every day, for which they deserve good compensation and benefits."
In another letter to Notebaert, Repre-sentative James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.) called on the company to reach a settlement "that preserves essential health care, pension and overtime benefits."
The latest information on bargaining is available on the District 7 website at http://www.cwadistrict7.org and in weekly conference calls. Members gather at local union halls to get updates on negotiations and answers to the questions they've e-mailed to the bargaining team.
By an overwhelming 91 percent, members earlier voted to give CWA leaders authorization to call a strike if necessary. The CWA Executive Board also has approved strike action at Qwest.
"Our members want Qwest to succeed," CWA District 7 Vice President Annie Hill said. "But we also expect management to come to the bargaining table with fair proposals, not excessive demands for shifting health care costs to workers and retirees, and demands for increased mandatory overtime work that force workers to spend even more time away from their families."
CWA negotiators are seeking a fair wage increase, noting that workers have gone more than two years without a raise because of problems created by Qwest's former management team.
The CWA bargaining team also delivered petitions from more than 10,000 active and retired workers calling on the company to maintain quality health care benefits.
Wearing red on Thursdays, "practice picketing," and presenting managers with rocks painted with the reminder that CWA is "solid as a rock," are among the ways that members are mobilizing. Many locals also held rallies as the deadline approached.
CWA members are reminding management that "we are the front line, not the bottom line," and that quality service is key to helping Qwest succeed. The talks cover 13 states: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
The workers got a boost of support from some members of Congress, including Senator Mark Dayton (D-Minn.), who wrote to Qwest's chief executive officer Richard Notebaert about the outsourcing of jobs and his belief that CWA members at Qwest "work hard to deliver quality services every day, for which they deserve good compensation and benefits."
In another letter to Notebaert, Repre-sentative James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.) called on the company to reach a settlement "that preserves essential health care, pension and overtime benefits."
The latest information on bargaining is available on the District 7 website at http://www.cwadistrict7.org and in weekly conference calls. Members gather at local union halls to get updates on negotiations and answers to the questions they've e-mailed to the bargaining team.