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Second ALS Unit in Orlando Wins Representation
AT&T Local Services maintenance workers in Orlando, Fla., won certification in a card-check campaign on Jan. 13. Their unit of 74 will join 97 provisioning workers at the same location. Communications and Technologies leaders are bargaining on behalf of both units in Washington, D.C.
"This is a tremendous rebound of CWA at AT&T, with new organizing in Local Services," said CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen.
An arbitrator, finding that AT&T violated the neutrality and consent agreement prior to a representation election for the provisioning workers, ordered immediate recognition for them in September. Third Party Neutral Tom Donahue also granted the maintenance workers the right to have their representation determined by card check after four months. Both units had previously submitted show of interest cards for at least 50 percent plus one of the workers.
"The key to this is that we never disbanded the maintenance workers' inside committee," said District 3 Organizing Coordinator Liz Roberson. "We met with them on Jan. 8, and they said they were ready to go. We told management on Jan. 9, and three days later, we had the cards." Thirty-eight employees, 65 percent, voted for the union.
Roberson credited an excellent inside committee led by Elizabeth Veloskey, who is assisting with bargaining. "Failure is not an option," was their slogan throughout a campaign organized primarily around job security. Management often threatened to close the facility and move the work to Dayton, Ohio, Roberson said.
The units will be represented by Local 3108 in Orlando. Local President Pamela Lawson and the local's organizing committee, headed by Keith Harmon, worked with the ALS workers throughout the campaigns.
"This is a tremendous rebound of CWA at AT&T, with new organizing in Local Services," said CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen.
An arbitrator, finding that AT&T violated the neutrality and consent agreement prior to a representation election for the provisioning workers, ordered immediate recognition for them in September. Third Party Neutral Tom Donahue also granted the maintenance workers the right to have their representation determined by card check after four months. Both units had previously submitted show of interest cards for at least 50 percent plus one of the workers.
"The key to this is that we never disbanded the maintenance workers' inside committee," said District 3 Organizing Coordinator Liz Roberson. "We met with them on Jan. 8, and they said they were ready to go. We told management on Jan. 9, and three days later, we had the cards." Thirty-eight employees, 65 percent, voted for the union.
Roberson credited an excellent inside committee led by Elizabeth Veloskey, who is assisting with bargaining. "Failure is not an option," was their slogan throughout a campaign organized primarily around job security. Management often threatened to close the facility and move the work to Dayton, Ohio, Roberson said.
The units will be represented by Local 3108 in Orlando. Local President Pamela Lawson and the local's organizing committee, headed by Keith Harmon, worked with the ALS workers throughout the campaigns.