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Sprint Strike Continues While Bargaining Resumes
While CWA members are standing strong on the picket lines at Sprint Nextel operations in four states, CWA local unions are setting dates to bargain with management in an effort to resolve outstanding issues and gain fair contracts, reported Jimmy Gurganus, CWA vice president for Telecommunications.
Members of Locals 3176, Ocala, Fla.; 3871, Bluff City, Tenn.; 3672, Hickory, N.C.; and 4700, Evansville, Ind., remain strong and solid, boosted by support from other unions and their communities. The strike began Oct. 10.
Negotiations will get underway in mid-November covering about 1,200 Sprint Nextel workers in North Carolina; those workers are in the process of voting on strike authorization.
Separately, CWA is continuing to raise concerns with regulators and the public about the spin-off of the Sprint local telephone company. The establishment of the new local telephone provider must be approved by regulators in 14 states and by the Federal Communications Commission.
So far, CWA has been granted the right to intervene and raise objections to the way the spin-off currently is structured in Pennsylvania, Missouri and Kansas, with decisions still pending in other states, including New Jersey, Ohio, and Tennessee, where a hearing will be held Nov. 7.
In radio and newspaper advertising, and in visits with elected officials, CWA has pointed out that Sprint Nextel has saddled the new local company with $7.25 billion in debt, contrary to its pledge to the FCC to make an equitable distribution of debts and assets. Further, Sprint Nextel is demanding an onerous repayment schedule from the new company, making it likely that customers will face rate increases, declining service and the inability to benefit from new technologies because the local company will be financially strapped.
CWA's activities have generated a significant number of calls to state regulators, with citizens expressing their concerns.
Members of Locals 3176, Ocala, Fla.; 3871, Bluff City, Tenn.; 3672, Hickory, N.C.; and 4700, Evansville, Ind., remain strong and solid, boosted by support from other unions and their communities. The strike began Oct. 10.
Negotiations will get underway in mid-November covering about 1,200 Sprint Nextel workers in North Carolina; those workers are in the process of voting on strike authorization.
Separately, CWA is continuing to raise concerns with regulators and the public about the spin-off of the Sprint local telephone company. The establishment of the new local telephone provider must be approved by regulators in 14 states and by the Federal Communications Commission.
So far, CWA has been granted the right to intervene and raise objections to the way the spin-off currently is structured in Pennsylvania, Missouri and Kansas, with decisions still pending in other states, including New Jersey, Ohio, and Tennessee, where a hearing will be held Nov. 7.
In radio and newspaper advertising, and in visits with elected officials, CWA has pointed out that Sprint Nextel has saddled the new local company with $7.25 billion in debt, contrary to its pledge to the FCC to make an equitable distribution of debts and assets. Further, Sprint Nextel is demanding an onerous repayment schedule from the new company, making it likely that customers will face rate increases, declining service and the inability to benefit from new technologies because the local company will be financially strapped.
CWA's activities have generated a significant number of calls to state regulators, with citizens expressing their concerns.