Workers Take Different Routes to Union at Amnesty Intl and EZ Pass

Amnesty International workers won their union voice through majority sign up.

Recent organizing victories by workers at Amnesty International and EZ Pass clearly show why Congress must pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

At Amnesty International, management left the choice of a union voice up to the 70 employees working at offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C. A big majority said "yes" and joined CWA Local 1180 through majority sign up.

Compare that to what workers at EZ Pass in Staten Island, N.Y., endured as they used the broken NLRB election process to get a union voice. There was no doubt that a big majority of the 292 customer service employees wanted a union, in fact, more than 70 percent petitioned for an election last December.

EZ Pass worker Barbara Elliot said "supervisors were free to further intimidate and frighten us. They made it near-impossible for any pro-union worker to get out of our seats to discuss the union with co-workers."

But management had absolutely no respect for what employees wanted. The company, owned by Affiliated Computer Services, responded with a brutal, anti-union campaign to scare union supporters, using one-on-one and captive audience meetings. Then it delayed the election by challenging the make up of the bargaining unit. The challenge was rejected by the regional NLRB office, but the petition gave management five additional months to intimidate union supporters.

Workers managed to hold on and came through with a 144-126 victory in the NLRB election. But the company wasn't through yet; it made a last minute appeal to the full NLRB that caused the ballots to be impounded.

The workers got their union voice thanks to the courage and tremendous effort of their 27-member organizing committee and help from CWAers from Locals 1109, 1102, 1032, and 1037.

EZ Pass worker Barbara Elliot joined a panel of workers at CWA's convention/legislative-political conference last week and described management's campaign of harassment and intimidation. Watch her speech at www.cwa-1102.org.