"We truly have a voice": How a longtime U@M member discovered the power of his union

Greg Sampo didn’t always believe in unions.

“When I started [with AT&T Mobility], I was told we were in the middle of organizing to become unionized and a part of the Communications Workers of America,” Greg recalls. “I really had no idea what that meant — besides they were going to take more money out of my paycheck.”

But it didn’t take long for Greg to see the value of organizing. After only weeks on the job as a retail sales consultant, Greg grew to understand what his co-workers already understood: They had no rights. They could be fired for no good reason or have their schedule shifted at the last minute. And without union representation, they couldn’t do anything about it.

Greg realized that joining CWA was the only way to fight back.

“I wanted to be part of the change,” Greg says.

After his workplace unionized, Greg became a steward in Local 1118 in Albany, New York. Whenever a manager unfairly disciplined an employee, or when other workplace issues reared their head, Greg was there to stand up for his union brothers and sisters.

Years passed. Greg, once so skeptical of unions, became the chief steward in his local, speaking out on behalf of his co-workers and friends.

And then, Greg says, “Things really got interesting.”

Fighting back against a disastrous policy

In June 2009, AT&T started scheduling employees using a new system called “MySchedule.” The company claimed it would make workers’ lives easier by giving them reliable schedules.

Instead, according to Greg, “Employees who wanted to open were closing. Employees who wanted to close were opening. And maybe you got a day or two off that you actually preferred for the month.” What’s more, MySchedule was in direct violation of the union’s contract with AT&T.

Rather than admit their mistake, AT&T doubled down. Complaints, formal grievances — AT&T ignored them all. Even after an arbitrator ruled in the workers’ favor, it quickly became clear that the company had no intention of ever changing MySchedule.

But no matter how stubborn AT&T grew, our union wasn’t about to back down.

Local 1118 took their protests to the street, rallying in front of AT&T stores in Albany and Syracuse with a 20-foot inflatable rat. With whistles and megaphones in hand, union members called on AT&T to honor the arbitrator’s ruling and change the disastrous MySchedule tool.

Within a few days, union negotiators got word that AT&T was willing to talk. And in the end, AT&T agreed to honor the arbitrator’s ruling and fix the MySchedule tool so that it lived up to workers’ rights. It took nearly two years, but workers won the battle.

As Greg reflects: “We truly have a voice in the workplace. You can make a change if you want to.” And Greg continues to make that difference in the workplace — not only is he Local 1118’s chief steward, but he is also a trainer for CWA’s Unity@Mobility program, bringing members together to strengthen our voices at work and in our communities.