Telcom News: Cable Workers Fight for Rights

From Pennsylvania to Texas to California, 1,500 CWA-represented cable workers are fighting back against an industry that wants to prevent workers from having a voice on the job.

CWA members in Pittsburgh achieved a big breakthrough when they gained first contracts this summer after more than five years of bargaining and battling decertification elections orchestrated by Comcast. Comcast workers in Texas continue to bargain for their first contract after voting for CWA in June 2005, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers negotiated first contracts for Comcast workers in Chicago earlier this year.

An AFL-CIO Industry Coordinating Committee is supporting CWA and the IBEW in bargaining, organizing and public campaigns that spotlight how Comcast breaks the law and abuses workers rights.

The Religious Coalition for Justice at Comcast brought Will Goodo, a Navy veteran with 10 years' experience at Comcast in Oakland, Calif., who was illegally fired last year, to Comcast's corporate headquarters in Philadelphia. Goodo met with Comcast officials, as well as religious, Jobs with Justice and labor activists.

Goodo was fired after he testified before the Oakland City Council about Comcast's violations of workers rights. He and CWA still are waiting for the National Labor Relations Board to rule on numerous unfair labor practices charges.