Ver.di Activist Joins T-Mobile Protests

Ver.di activist and Works Councilor Uli Meyer-Berhorn joined CWAers from Local 7800 and other union activists outside a T-Mobile USA store in Tacoma, Wash.

Ver.di activist and Works Councilor Uli Meyer-Berhorn joined local union activists Monday in protesting the actions of T-Mobile USA in Tacoma, Wash.

Meyer-Berhorn, giving up some of his vacation time, and activists from CWA Local 7800, the Tacoma Central Labor Council and Jobs with Justice, leafleted a local T-Mobile store, spotlighting the company's decision to close seven U.S. call centers. Meyer-Berhorn's visit is a part of the campaign by ver.di, CWA and T-Mobile USA workers to win bargaining rights for U.S. workers. It's also part of a national campaign during the first two weeks of July in which local union activists deliver messages to legislators and corporations to demand an end to the massive outsourcing and off-shoring of U.S. jobs. By shutting down seven of its 24 call centers, T-Mobile USA affected the jobs of 3,300 workers.

Also beginning this week, Lothar Schröder, a leader of ver.di, is meeting with T-Mobile USA workers in Nashville, Tenn., and Wichita, Kan., before joining the CWA bargaining team in Hartford, Conn., where negotiations are continuing for a first contract for technicians.

Schröder is Vice Chair and a member of the Supervisory Board and Vice Chair of Deutsche Telekom. He also heads ver.di's Department of Telecommunications and serves on the ver.di National Executive Board. ver.di is the German union representing Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile workers.

Ado Wilhelm, who heads ver.di's mobile communications division, joined the bargaining team in June and will return in August, making three consecutive months that ver.di will have been a key part of the bargaining.

Supporters and activists also are signing a global petition that calls on Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile USA to stop its anti-union behavior and respect workers' rights to bargain collectively. You can sign the petition here.