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Struggle Continues as CWA Celebrates Mobilization Victories
There was plenty for delegates to cheer: massive organizing victories at Verizon, AT&T Broadband and Cingular Wireless, a strike-ending contract at New Era Cap Co., and the affiliation of public safety officers of the fourth oldest state police agency in the country.
But CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen also called for intensified mobilization on behalf of workers at the Chinese Daily News who have waited 17 months for recognition by the National Labor Relations Board, at General Electric where workers have formed a unique organizing local in response to intense union busting, and on behalf of unorganized workers everywhere.
He cited “dozens of examples of breakthrough work by CWA locals” as the union strives to grow ever stronger in the face of mass layoffs, globalization and a political climate that favors the wealthy.
New Era
The hall erupted in applause when Cohen introduced President Jane Howald, officers and members of CWA Local 14177 who walked the picket line for 11 months at New Era to win a new contract (see Key Demands Met, New Era Workers End Year-Long Strike).
Their persistence inspired hundreds of CWA members, community supporters, Jobs with Justice coalitions and faith-based activists to attend rallies and leaflet on their behalf. United Students Against Sweatshops spread the story of their unsafe working conditions on campuses across the country. Thirteen universities suspended orders for New Era caps and two senators, Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), pressured the company to settle.
“It was mobilization which allowed us to enlarge our solidarity circle beyond Derby, N.Y., beyond Buffalo, to the rest of the nation and even overseas,” Howald said, thanking the entire union for its support. “Mobilization was the key to our local reaching a tentative agreement with a company that said it would be a cold day in hell before we go back. And guess what, we are going back.”
Chinese Daily News
Lynne Wang of Local 39521, a reporter at the Chinese Daily News, told the story of how she and courageous co-workers fought to win a union representation election at the paper and how they persist in solidarity while waiting for their appeal to be resolved by the NLRB.
In October 2000, 95 percent of the 153 workers — all from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong or Vietnam — signed cards stating they wanted a union. The company brought in a union-busting consultant who intimidated and harassed workers. Wang’s supervisor screamed at her for supposedly writing a pro-union article.
“In spite of all these scare tactics, my co-workers were brave enough to vote “yes,” Wang said.
Union supporters were fired or publicly humiliated. The company appealed the election in district court and to the labor board. When Wang testified before the NLRB, anti-union articles were posted on her workstation.
“We all know the company did these things to make examples of the union leaders, saying in Chinese, ‘sa chi ching ho,’ which means ‘Kill the chicken to scare the monkey,’” Wang said. “That is a tragedy for immigrant workers who believe so much in the protection guaranteed by U.S. laws.”
Wang asked the delegates to sign cards of support to be sent to her employer. They clapped loudly when she said, “Thank you for letting me call you brothers and sisters.”
WAGE at GE
Brad Buchanan told how he and fellow workers last October lost a hard-fought representation election at General Electric’s Johnson Technologies plant in Muskegon, Mich.
“At one point near the end of the campaign we were kidnapped –— told to clock in and forced on a bus to attend an off-site captive audience meeting,” Buchanan said. “At the meeting, a GE high-level executive told us that we would never come under the IUE-CWA national GE agreement. Management told us that a vote for the union would mean strikes and violence at the plant. The company threatened layoffs and plant closings.”
Instead of giving up, the workers took an alternative approach and with IUE-CWA support are building WAGE (Working at GE) chapters at six different GE locations. They will become CWA members by joining WAGE and will accrue CWA benefits while building their strength to demand collective bargaining.
West Virginia Troopers
One of CWA’s biggest recent organizing victories came with the affiliation of the West Virginia State Troopers Association. The West Virginia State Police force was born out of labor strife June 29, 1919, to quell the violence that had erupted between coal miners and their employers.
“No less a figure than Mother Jones herself spoke against the formation of the West Virginia State Police,” said Joe Parsons, president of the West Virginia State Troopers Association, who spoke to the delegates.
Sure enough, the union movement in West Virginia cooled after 4,000 armed coal miners battled 1,200 mine guards, deputy sheriffs and state troopers in the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain.
“However, as time passed, we gained a reputation as fair and impartial keepers of the peace in strike situations, both in the mining community and with other labor organizations,” Parsons said.
Parsons and others worked for two years to organize support for his union’s affiliation, impressed by the strength of CWA’s National Coalition of Public Safety Officers and the lobbying clout of CWA Representative Elaine Harris. They voted 391-55 to become Local 2019.
“We picked CWA because we view it as a union of the future,” Parsons said. “We are glad to be with you and appreciate the warm welcome we have received.”
National Campaigns
Cohen also presented workers from AT&T Broadband and Cingular Wireless who won CWA representation with mobilization support from numerous locals, districts and the international.
Tammy Wooberry, her sister-in-law, and a couple of friends were among the first hired at Cingular Wireless’ Ashland, Ky., customer service center in May 2001. After failed promises of large raises, seniority-based shift preferences and interviews for management positions, they decided they needed a union and approached CWA.
With the help of Local 3371, their center became the first large Cingular location organized in a campaign by District 3 that won representation for thousands.
“We now have a contract,” said Wooberry, to enthusiastic applause. “It allows us a wage progression, a seniority system, a grievance procedure and a voice, which is the most important.”
Sam Rocca, an AT&T Broadband technician at the South Hills garage in western Pennsylvania, told how workers there lost a representation election two years ago but kept building support to win a card-check victory when an arbitrator ruled management had violated its neutrality agreement with CWA.
“We stuck to the issues, the ‘no’ votes turned to ‘yes’ votes and in 13 days we were recognized,” Rocca said.
Latonya Harris, who led Broadband customer service representatives to CWA, learned the importance of belonging to a union when she worked in a hotel. “When I and my co-workers experienced constant changes by Broadband in our working conditions, as well as the job pressures brought on by monitoring and attendance policies, I knew that a union could make a real difference,” she said.
Both thanked District 13 staff and Locals 13550, 13500 and 13000.
Organizing Awards
Cohen presented $1,000 organizing subsidies and awards to a record 43 locals. Each organized more than 100 members over the past year, for a combined total of 13,330 members. They are: Locals 1020, Newark, 1022, Englishtown, and 1034, West Trenton, N.J.; 1105, Bronx, N.Y.; 1298, Hamden, Conn.; 1301, Bromtree, Mass.; 2108, Landover, Md.; 2222, Annandale, Va.; 3122, Miami, and 3176, Ocala, Fla., 3204, Atlanta, 3212, Columbus, and 3250, Norcross, Ga.; 3371, Ashland, Ky.; 3403, Baton Rouge, and 3406, Lafayette, La.; 3519, Gulfport, Miss.; 3680, Fayetteville, N.C.; 2871, Bluff City, Tenn.; 3912, Birmingham, Ala.; 4013, Pontiac, Mich.; 4340, Brooklyn Heights, Ohio; 4900, Indianapolis, Ind.; 34071, Chicago, Ill.; 6016, Oklahoma City, Okla.; 6127, Midland, 6132, Austin, 6150, Dallas, 6203, Lubbock, 6222, Houston, and 6733, El Paso, Texas; 86823, Florissant, Mo.; 7077, Glendale, Ariz.; 7304, Grand Forks, N.D.; 9000 and 9400, Los Angeles, 9119, Berkeley, 9408, Fresno, 9421, Sacramento and 9588, Colton, Calif.; 13000, Philadelphia, and 13500 and 13550, Pittsburgh, Pa.
He singled out for special recognition Local 9400, for 10 years of organizing at least 100 workers.
Other Programs
“We build our strength through the work and programs of our local unions,” Cohen again stressed, pointing out that 90,000 customer service representatives showed their union colors last Oct. 3, on “Customer Service Professional Day.” He said the solidarity builder will be repeated on Oct. 2 this year and will highlight at least 10 “best practices” in the industry.
More than 240 local activists and staff participated in what Cohen called the union’s “most successful ever” safety and health conference. He particularly praised IUE-CWA leadership for putting together a panel discussion with full-time safety and health representatives from Delphi Automotive.
Finally, Cohen pointed to local participation in constantly evolving CWA education programs for diversity and steward training, and CWA/NETT technical certifications taken online with local lab support. In addition to A+ and Cisco networking certifications, the union is now offering courses in Microsoft Office software (MOUS), UNIX and JAVA, as well as practice employment tests for customer service and technical positions, Cohen said. (For details, see www.cwanett.org).
But CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen also called for intensified mobilization on behalf of workers at the Chinese Daily News who have waited 17 months for recognition by the National Labor Relations Board, at General Electric where workers have formed a unique organizing local in response to intense union busting, and on behalf of unorganized workers everywhere.
He cited “dozens of examples of breakthrough work by CWA locals” as the union strives to grow ever stronger in the face of mass layoffs, globalization and a political climate that favors the wealthy.
New Era
The hall erupted in applause when Cohen introduced President Jane Howald, officers and members of CWA Local 14177 who walked the picket line for 11 months at New Era to win a new contract (see Key Demands Met, New Era Workers End Year-Long Strike).
Their persistence inspired hundreds of CWA members, community supporters, Jobs with Justice coalitions and faith-based activists to attend rallies and leaflet on their behalf. United Students Against Sweatshops spread the story of their unsafe working conditions on campuses across the country. Thirteen universities suspended orders for New Era caps and two senators, Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), pressured the company to settle.
“It was mobilization which allowed us to enlarge our solidarity circle beyond Derby, N.Y., beyond Buffalo, to the rest of the nation and even overseas,” Howald said, thanking the entire union for its support. “Mobilization was the key to our local reaching a tentative agreement with a company that said it would be a cold day in hell before we go back. And guess what, we are going back.”
Chinese Daily News
Lynne Wang of Local 39521, a reporter at the Chinese Daily News, told the story of how she and courageous co-workers fought to win a union representation election at the paper and how they persist in solidarity while waiting for their appeal to be resolved by the NLRB.
In October 2000, 95 percent of the 153 workers — all from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong or Vietnam — signed cards stating they wanted a union. The company brought in a union-busting consultant who intimidated and harassed workers. Wang’s supervisor screamed at her for supposedly writing a pro-union article.
“In spite of all these scare tactics, my co-workers were brave enough to vote “yes,” Wang said.
Union supporters were fired or publicly humiliated. The company appealed the election in district court and to the labor board. When Wang testified before the NLRB, anti-union articles were posted on her workstation.
“We all know the company did these things to make examples of the union leaders, saying in Chinese, ‘sa chi ching ho,’ which means ‘Kill the chicken to scare the monkey,’” Wang said. “That is a tragedy for immigrant workers who believe so much in the protection guaranteed by U.S. laws.”
Wang asked the delegates to sign cards of support to be sent to her employer. They clapped loudly when she said, “Thank you for letting me call you brothers and sisters.”
WAGE at GE
Brad Buchanan told how he and fellow workers last October lost a hard-fought representation election at General Electric’s Johnson Technologies plant in Muskegon, Mich.
“At one point near the end of the campaign we were kidnapped –— told to clock in and forced on a bus to attend an off-site captive audience meeting,” Buchanan said. “At the meeting, a GE high-level executive told us that we would never come under the IUE-CWA national GE agreement. Management told us that a vote for the union would mean strikes and violence at the plant. The company threatened layoffs and plant closings.”
Instead of giving up, the workers took an alternative approach and with IUE-CWA support are building WAGE (Working at GE) chapters at six different GE locations. They will become CWA members by joining WAGE and will accrue CWA benefits while building their strength to demand collective bargaining.
West Virginia Troopers
One of CWA’s biggest recent organizing victories came with the affiliation of the West Virginia State Troopers Association. The West Virginia State Police force was born out of labor strife June 29, 1919, to quell the violence that had erupted between coal miners and their employers.
“No less a figure than Mother Jones herself spoke against the formation of the West Virginia State Police,” said Joe Parsons, president of the West Virginia State Troopers Association, who spoke to the delegates.
Sure enough, the union movement in West Virginia cooled after 4,000 armed coal miners battled 1,200 mine guards, deputy sheriffs and state troopers in the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain.
“However, as time passed, we gained a reputation as fair and impartial keepers of the peace in strike situations, both in the mining community and with other labor organizations,” Parsons said.
Parsons and others worked for two years to organize support for his union’s affiliation, impressed by the strength of CWA’s National Coalition of Public Safety Officers and the lobbying clout of CWA Representative Elaine Harris. They voted 391-55 to become Local 2019.
“We picked CWA because we view it as a union of the future,” Parsons said. “We are glad to be with you and appreciate the warm welcome we have received.”
National Campaigns
Cohen also presented workers from AT&T Broadband and Cingular Wireless who won CWA representation with mobilization support from numerous locals, districts and the international.
Tammy Wooberry, her sister-in-law, and a couple of friends were among the first hired at Cingular Wireless’ Ashland, Ky., customer service center in May 2001. After failed promises of large raises, seniority-based shift preferences and interviews for management positions, they decided they needed a union and approached CWA.
With the help of Local 3371, their center became the first large Cingular location organized in a campaign by District 3 that won representation for thousands.
“We now have a contract,” said Wooberry, to enthusiastic applause. “It allows us a wage progression, a seniority system, a grievance procedure and a voice, which is the most important.”
Sam Rocca, an AT&T Broadband technician at the South Hills garage in western Pennsylvania, told how workers there lost a representation election two years ago but kept building support to win a card-check victory when an arbitrator ruled management had violated its neutrality agreement with CWA.
“We stuck to the issues, the ‘no’ votes turned to ‘yes’ votes and in 13 days we were recognized,” Rocca said.
Latonya Harris, who led Broadband customer service representatives to CWA, learned the importance of belonging to a union when she worked in a hotel. “When I and my co-workers experienced constant changes by Broadband in our working conditions, as well as the job pressures brought on by monitoring and attendance policies, I knew that a union could make a real difference,” she said.
Both thanked District 13 staff and Locals 13550, 13500 and 13000.
Organizing Awards
Cohen presented $1,000 organizing subsidies and awards to a record 43 locals. Each organized more than 100 members over the past year, for a combined total of 13,330 members. They are: Locals 1020, Newark, 1022, Englishtown, and 1034, West Trenton, N.J.; 1105, Bronx, N.Y.; 1298, Hamden, Conn.; 1301, Bromtree, Mass.; 2108, Landover, Md.; 2222, Annandale, Va.; 3122, Miami, and 3176, Ocala, Fla., 3204, Atlanta, 3212, Columbus, and 3250, Norcross, Ga.; 3371, Ashland, Ky.; 3403, Baton Rouge, and 3406, Lafayette, La.; 3519, Gulfport, Miss.; 3680, Fayetteville, N.C.; 2871, Bluff City, Tenn.; 3912, Birmingham, Ala.; 4013, Pontiac, Mich.; 4340, Brooklyn Heights, Ohio; 4900, Indianapolis, Ind.; 34071, Chicago, Ill.; 6016, Oklahoma City, Okla.; 6127, Midland, 6132, Austin, 6150, Dallas, 6203, Lubbock, 6222, Houston, and 6733, El Paso, Texas; 86823, Florissant, Mo.; 7077, Glendale, Ariz.; 7304, Grand Forks, N.D.; 9000 and 9400, Los Angeles, 9119, Berkeley, 9408, Fresno, 9421, Sacramento and 9588, Colton, Calif.; 13000, Philadelphia, and 13500 and 13550, Pittsburgh, Pa.
He singled out for special recognition Local 9400, for 10 years of organizing at least 100 workers.
Other Programs
“We build our strength through the work and programs of our local unions,” Cohen again stressed, pointing out that 90,000 customer service representatives showed their union colors last Oct. 3, on “Customer Service Professional Day.” He said the solidarity builder will be repeated on Oct. 2 this year and will highlight at least 10 “best practices” in the industry.
More than 240 local activists and staff participated in what Cohen called the union’s “most successful ever” safety and health conference. He particularly praised IUE-CWA leadership for putting together a panel discussion with full-time safety and health representatives from Delphi Automotive.
Finally, Cohen pointed to local participation in constantly evolving CWA education programs for diversity and steward training, and CWA/NETT technical certifications taken online with local lab support. In addition to A+ and Cisco networking certifications, the union is now offering courses in Microsoft Office software (MOUS), UNIX and JAVA, as well as practice employment tests for customer service and technical positions, Cohen said. (For details, see www.cwanett.org).