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SBC National Bargaining Begins
SBC national bargaining got underway in Washington, D.C. this week at the offices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
CWA and SBC agreed that the areas to be covered at the national table are wages, pensions, health care, employment security and contract duration, said CWA President Morton Bahr. Other issues will continue to be bargained at the regional tables.
At the opening session on March 17, following remarks by FMCS Director Peter Hurtgen, CWA presented bargaining proposals for the areas in which the union seeks improvements for members. These include substantial wage increases, an increase in pension benefits to ensure that employees will receive pension income equal to at least half of their final year's compensation, and improved employment security.
On employment security, CWA stressed the importance of keeping good hometown jobs and further proposed that members have the opportunity to perform work in all SBC businesses and in new and future technologies. CWA further proposed that training opportunities for members be expanded to enable workers to master the skills needed for the new work.
SBC made an extensive proposal on health care that called for major retrogressions, including imposing premium costs on employees. These demands would result in hundreds of millions of dollars each year in cost shifting to employees and future retirees.
The CWA national bargaining committee includes regional bargaining chairs Dennis Trainor, District 1; Kristie Darling, District 4; Bill Davis, District 6; Jim Weitkamp, District 9; and Dina Beaumont, executive assistant to Bahr.
At the table for SBC are Mike Rodriquez, senior vice president for labor and human relations and program experts and labor relations representatives from each region - SBC Southwest, formerly Southwestern Bell; SBC Midwest, formerly Ameritech; SBC West, formerly Pacific Bell, and SBC East, formerly SNET.
Meanwhile, across SBC territory, CWAers held an action day for employment security on March 18. Members distributed brochures, wore red shirts, marched into work together and stood up in unison to remind SBC that workers want access to jobs in the growth areas of the company, now and in the future.
CWA and SBC agreed that the areas to be covered at the national table are wages, pensions, health care, employment security and contract duration, said CWA President Morton Bahr. Other issues will continue to be bargained at the regional tables.
At the opening session on March 17, following remarks by FMCS Director Peter Hurtgen, CWA presented bargaining proposals for the areas in which the union seeks improvements for members. These include substantial wage increases, an increase in pension benefits to ensure that employees will receive pension income equal to at least half of their final year's compensation, and improved employment security.
On employment security, CWA stressed the importance of keeping good hometown jobs and further proposed that members have the opportunity to perform work in all SBC businesses and in new and future technologies. CWA further proposed that training opportunities for members be expanded to enable workers to master the skills needed for the new work.
SBC made an extensive proposal on health care that called for major retrogressions, including imposing premium costs on employees. These demands would result in hundreds of millions of dollars each year in cost shifting to employees and future retirees.
The CWA national bargaining committee includes regional bargaining chairs Dennis Trainor, District 1; Kristie Darling, District 4; Bill Davis, District 6; Jim Weitkamp, District 9; and Dina Beaumont, executive assistant to Bahr.
At the table for SBC are Mike Rodriquez, senior vice president for labor and human relations and program experts and labor relations representatives from each region - SBC Southwest, formerly Southwestern Bell; SBC Midwest, formerly Ameritech; SBC West, formerly Pacific Bell, and SBC East, formerly SNET.
Meanwhile, across SBC territory, CWAers held an action day for employment security on March 18. Members distributed brochures, wore red shirts, marched into work together and stood up in unison to remind SBC that workers want access to jobs in the growth areas of the company, now and in the future.