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Statement by CWA President Bahr on the Strike at Bell Atlantic
Communications Workers of America President Morton Bahr issued the following statement after 73,000 CWA-represented Bell Atlantic workers went on strike at 12:01 a.m. today:
The Clinton administration has put forth a vision of a society in the 21st century based on creating high skill, high wage jobs-and that's what this strike is all about.
Telecommunications is the industry that, more than any other, should be leading the way toward creating good jobs with good pay and working conditions for the Information Age. That was a prime focus of the President's Advisory Commission on the Information Infrastructure, on which I was privileged to serve. It was also a key goal of the Congress when it passed the Telecommunications Reform Act.
Our major unresolved issues at Bell Atlantic include keeping good permanent jobs from being outsourced and converted into temporary jobs at low pay and minimal benefits, and also gaining access by CWA members to the new growth areas of the company as it moves into Internet services, multi-media communications, data networking, long distance and other areas.
We're also concerned with maintaining good working conditions, and ending abusive levels of forced overtime and inflexible scheduling that steal time from employees' family lives and parental responsibilities.
Bell Atlantic and the other major telecommunications companies are among the most profitable and best positioned corporations in America. Together they make up America's leading industry and its best hope for leadership in the world economy. It is the industry that should set the standard for good American jobs -- jobs that sustain a decent living standard for our families, and that bolster the economic health of our communities.
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The Clinton administration has put forth a vision of a society in the 21st century based on creating high skill, high wage jobs-and that's what this strike is all about.
Telecommunications is the industry that, more than any other, should be leading the way toward creating good jobs with good pay and working conditions for the Information Age. That was a prime focus of the President's Advisory Commission on the Information Infrastructure, on which I was privileged to serve. It was also a key goal of the Congress when it passed the Telecommunications Reform Act.
Our major unresolved issues at Bell Atlantic include keeping good permanent jobs from being outsourced and converted into temporary jobs at low pay and minimal benefits, and also gaining access by CWA members to the new growth areas of the company as it moves into Internet services, multi-media communications, data networking, long distance and other areas.
We're also concerned with maintaining good working conditions, and ending abusive levels of forced overtime and inflexible scheduling that steal time from employees' family lives and parental responsibilities.
Bell Atlantic and the other major telecommunications companies are among the most profitable and best positioned corporations in America. Together they make up America's leading industry and its best hope for leadership in the world economy. It is the industry that should set the standard for good American jobs -- jobs that sustain a decent living standard for our families, and that bolster the economic health of our communities.
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