T-Mobile Workers Take Their Case to Shareholders

Two TU members had a pointed message for T-Mobile shareholders: There's no excuse for breaking the law!

At the company's annual shareholder meeting in Bellevue, Wash., on Tuesday, Eddie Aranda and Luis Castaneda raised awareness about their fight for collective bargaining rights at their Albuquerque call center – and at T-Mobile locations around the country. They spoke to attendees, passed out flyers and delivered a petition to T-Mobile CEO John Legere, demanding the company tell workers the truth about the recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that found T-Mobile guilty of engaging in nationwide labor law violations against its workers.

At T-Mobile's annual shareholder meeting in Bellevue, Wash., on Tuesday, workers spoke to attendees and passed out flyers.

TU is the union of T-Mobile workers.

It's been more than 77 days since the NLRB ruling. The judge ordered the company to rescind its illegal policies and inform all 46,000 employees about the verdict and the policy changes.

But, to date, the company has not followed the judge's orders, nor has it appealed 9 of the 11 guilty findings. In fact, the law breaking continues. T-Mobile now faces two hearings for unfair labor practices and more charges are pending.

Aranda was recently fired from his job for re-routing a call. But the real reason that he was singled out was because of his union support. Last month, CWA filed a charge, and the NLRB has notified both CWA and T-Mobile that it will issue a complaint unless the company admits it was wrong.

"My example, and many others like mine at T-Mobile, suggests the need for human rights reporting," Aranda told shareholders.

Aranda urged them to vote "yes" on a proposal urging the board of directors to disclose how it assesses human rights risks in its operations and supply chain. Sponsored by the AFL-CIO's Office on Investment, the proposal pointed out that T-Mobile is a known violator of its employees' freedom of association rights to organize and bargain collectively. The proposal was inspired by the United Nations' Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights which T-Mobile's parent Deutsche Telekom already endorses.

Castaneda, who still works as a senior representative at the call center, spoke about the need for greater democracy at T-Mobile, urging shareholders to vote "yes" on another proposal for "proxy access," which would allow certain shareholders to place their own director nominees on the company's proxy ballot alongside the company's own candidates. Marco Consulting, a Chicago-based registered investment adviser, sponsored the ballot item.

"I love T-Mobile. I want T-Mobile to succeed. Yet, I also believe T-Mobile employees need a voice," said Castaneda during the question-and-answer session featuring Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges. "We need a voice to correct mistakes of our managers. We need a voice to push for changes that will address the concerns of employees. Employee churn is very high at T-Mobile. A voice at work will lower that churn. Mr. Höttges, your U.S. management is making this process so adversarial. CWA-TU wants T-Mobile to succeed. Will you work with CWA-TU and with American management to bring to a close the active anti-union campaigning?"