Telecom News - CWA Battling Idearc over Pension Freeze, Health Cutbacks

Battling a unilateral pension freeze and benefit cutbacks by Idearc Media, CWA is mounting a major grassroots mobilization and corporate campaign against the directory advertising firm, which was spun off from Verizon in 2006 but remains the official publisher of Verizon directories.

About 700 CWA and IBEW members in New England and Upstate New York have been working without a contract since June when the company declared a bargaining impasse and imposed steep concessions in all benefit programs as well as job security and sales commission plans.

The unions have filed unfair labor practice charges, currently being investigated by the National Labor Relations Board, against the company for declaring an illegal impasse, bad faith bargaining, refusing to provide information and making unilateral contract changes.

"We have fought hard over 45 years to gain the contracts we currently enjoy, and the company wants to take it all back in one round of bargaining," said District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton.  The CWA workers are represented by Locals 1301 and 1302 in Massachusetts.

Other CWA contracts with Idearc expire this summer and at various points throughout 2009.  Altogether, CWA represents 1,700 Idearc workers in 17 locals in Districts 1, 2 and 13 in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.  Their jobs include sales, customer service, graphic design and clerical support.

A campaign website has been set up — ga.cwa-union.org/idearc — and representatives of Idearc locals throughout the system have been meeting to plan rallies and activities, with support from Jobs with Justice, and are planning to have a major presence at Idearc's shareholder meeting May 1 in Dallas.

Their message to shareholders the business community and the media:  Idearc is compounding poor management decisions that have tanked the company's stock by 87 percent in less than a year by creating labor turmoil and poor employee morale.  While Idearc's stock value declined 1 percent in 2007, share value of its major competitor AT&T Advertising and Publishing grew by 16 percent.

Meanwhile, a top management shuffle is underway.  Former CEO Kathy Harliss was forced by the board to step down in February, and her replacement was on the job only 10 days before resigning for unspecified health reasons.  An interim CEO currently is in place.