Union Members, Supporters Press DirecTV for Fair Contract Negotiations

For More Information: Tom Newport, CWA, 314-803-8515 (cell) Or Candice Johnson, CWA Communications, 202-434-1168 or 202-415-6566 (cell)

New York -- Union members will rally outside the annual meeting of DirecTV on Tuesday, June 5, to protest the company's refusal to bargain a fair contract with technicians and other workers at the company and its latest move to shift workers' jobs in several states to contractors.

Members of the Communications Workers of America and the United Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO supporters and others will leaflet outside the meeting location, the New York Hilton, 53rd and 6th Avenue, beginning at 8 a.m. on June 5.

One year ago, workers at DirecTech Southwest in Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky voted for union representation by CWA. Since then, the company has stonedwalled contract negotiations and continues to refuse to bargain a fair agreement.

"This situation is exactly why the Employee Free Choice Act must be passed," said CWA President Larry Cohen. "If that law was in effect today, companies like DirecTV couldn't block the bargaining process. A fair arbitration system would settle disputed contracts that couldn't be resolved and true workers' rights would be restored. Instead, our current broken system allows employers to string out negotiations, sometimes for years, denying workers their rights."

DirecTV workers are seeking a fair wage increase and a fair contract. Some of the customer service representatives, or "trackers," who are mostly women, currently are paid just $6.50 an hour. Health care premiums are so high that fewer than half of the workers can afford to buy coverage for themselves and their families and some of the trackers and their families earn so little that they're eligible for public assistance, food stamps and children's health insurance, said Tom Newport, CWA District 6 organizing coordinator. 

CWA members at DirecTV are urging workers and the public to support their fight for fairness, asking supporters to contact Tom Beaudreau, the chief executive officer of DirecTech Southwest to urge him to "get serious about a contract that provides fair wages and benefits.