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UNI Presses European Commission On WorldCom Mega-Merger
Officials of Union Network Inter-national — representing nearly 15 million telecom and information sector workers — met with the European Commission merger task force to further build their case against the proposed mega-merger of Sprint and MCI WorldCom.
During the meeting, UNI representatives stressed that the mega-merger would give the new company monopoly control over the Internet backbone, along with the power to set prices, restrict access and squeeze out many competing Internet carriers in Europe and elsewhere.
They also cited the long history of both MCI WorldCom and Sprint in denying workers’ rights, stressing that approval of this merger could undermine the existing system of social dialogue between unions and employers in the telecommunications sector within the European Union.
The meeting with the EC’s merger task force followed an unprecedented solidarity action with unions representing workers on both sides of the Atlantic taking their message to members of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Luis Neves, director of UNI’s telecom sector, said, based on MCI’s track record during the MCI WorldCom merger review and the ordered sale of its Internet holdings, it wouldn’t be surprising if the merger task force expresses dissatisfaction with the mega-merger proposal.
If the merger is permitted to proceed, conditioned on the sale of Sprint’s UUnet holdings, UNI is calling for the establishment of an independent, public body to monitor the sale and assure the EC that any conditions attached to the merger are being met, Neves said.
Philip Bowyer, UNI’s deputy general secretary, noted that “a go-ahead for the merger would put most European internet services in the hands of just two U.S. companies.” He added that although the merger task force is primarily reviewing the impact on competition that would result from the mega-merger, the social aspects cannot be ignored. “MCI WorldCom and Sprint have closed facilities and fired employees who choose union representation. Sprint was found guilty of 50 labor violations by the U.S. labor board, in its efforts to block workers seeking self organization,” he said.
Meanwhile, CWA is urging investors to support a CWA Pension Fund proposal that will be considered June 1 at the MCI WorldCom annual meeting in Jackson, Miss.
The measure would require approval by shareholders for the adoption or retention of a so-called “poison pill,” pointing out that shareholders should have the opportunity to decide what constitutes a fair price for their holdings. In a letter to major institutional investors, CWA President Morton Bahr said “shareholders should be able to determine whether a bid for their services is fair without having that right infringed upon by a ‘poison pill’ plan” that could put the interests of management in conflict with the best interests of shareholders. At the 1998 meeting, a similar proposal won 49 percent of the vote.
During the meeting, UNI representatives stressed that the mega-merger would give the new company monopoly control over the Internet backbone, along with the power to set prices, restrict access and squeeze out many competing Internet carriers in Europe and elsewhere.
They also cited the long history of both MCI WorldCom and Sprint in denying workers’ rights, stressing that approval of this merger could undermine the existing system of social dialogue between unions and employers in the telecommunications sector within the European Union.
The meeting with the EC’s merger task force followed an unprecedented solidarity action with unions representing workers on both sides of the Atlantic taking their message to members of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Luis Neves, director of UNI’s telecom sector, said, based on MCI’s track record during the MCI WorldCom merger review and the ordered sale of its Internet holdings, it wouldn’t be surprising if the merger task force expresses dissatisfaction with the mega-merger proposal.
If the merger is permitted to proceed, conditioned on the sale of Sprint’s UUnet holdings, UNI is calling for the establishment of an independent, public body to monitor the sale and assure the EC that any conditions attached to the merger are being met, Neves said.
Philip Bowyer, UNI’s deputy general secretary, noted that “a go-ahead for the merger would put most European internet services in the hands of just two U.S. companies.” He added that although the merger task force is primarily reviewing the impact on competition that would result from the mega-merger, the social aspects cannot be ignored. “MCI WorldCom and Sprint have closed facilities and fired employees who choose union representation. Sprint was found guilty of 50 labor violations by the U.S. labor board, in its efforts to block workers seeking self organization,” he said.
Meanwhile, CWA is urging investors to support a CWA Pension Fund proposal that will be considered June 1 at the MCI WorldCom annual meeting in Jackson, Miss.
The measure would require approval by shareholders for the adoption or retention of a so-called “poison pill,” pointing out that shareholders should have the opportunity to decide what constitutes a fair price for their holdings. In a letter to major institutional investors, CWA President Morton Bahr said “shareholders should be able to determine whether a bid for their services is fair without having that right infringed upon by a ‘poison pill’ plan” that could put the interests of management in conflict with the best interests of shareholders. At the 1998 meeting, a similar proposal won 49 percent of the vote.