February 7, 2008

Political Movement for Change Tops CWA's Goals for 2008

CWA's goals for 2008, set by the Executive Board at a meeting in Washington last week, center on strengthening the union's grassroots political structure and building an Election '08 ground campaign to elect leaders who support passing the Employee Free Choice Act, comprehensive health care reform, bolstering retirement security, and creation of good jobs.

The Board called for continuing to implement points 1 through 10 in the Ready for the Future program with a special focus this year of achieving at least a 10 percent increase in COPE contributions and 10 percent membership growth in CWA's Retired Members Council.

A priority in 2008 is building a political structure by congressional district that includes one-on-one relationships with elected leaders and candidates, along with expanded membership education and involvement.

In support of the critical Employee Free Choice Act, CWA's goals are to elect a filibuster-proof Senate majority of 60 supporters and to deepen the commitment of the Democratic presidential nominee.  CWA will participate in a campaign with the AFL-CIO and American Rights at Work to collect signatures of 1 million supporters of the bill, with a CWA target of at least 15 percent of our membership.

The push for a federal solution to the health care crisis will be a key part of CWA's political program this year with particular emphasis on the situation of retirees under 65 who don't qualify for Medicare.

And CWA will work to build on the resolve of unions around the world, stemming from the Global Union Federation conference in Washington in December, to make strengthening of organizing and bargaining rights labor's top international priority.  Global leaders at the conference stressed that declining union representation in the United States threatens workers' rights and standards throughout the world.

The Executive Board also laid out specific bargaining and organizing goals for 2008 in every CWA sector and industry.  Click here for a complete listing of international and telecom, sector, division and district goals.

IUE-CWA and 'Lean Manufacturing' Save Ohio Jobs

Thanks to cooperative efforts between General Motors and IUE-CWA to make production more efficient, GM will invest $69 million in its DMAX diesel engine plant in Morraine, Ohio. The investment will preserve more than 1,000 manufacturing jobs.

IUE-CWA President Jim Clark stood with John Buttermore, GM Powertrain vice president of global manufacturing, and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland as the announcement was made on Feb. 5 that DMAX will produce its new 6.6-liter V-8 turbo diesel truck engine at the Morraine plant. The state also invested $300,000 to keep the work in Morraine.

"The efforts of our members to deliver good quality parts has a lot to do with our getting this," Clark pointed out. He explained that Local 84797 members have been deeply involved in a jointly administered union-management "lean manufacturing" process through which the efficiency of the facility is constantly monitored and workers have input into the redesign of work stations.

"The workers' voice is heard," Clark said, "and the changes that are made make the operator's job easier so he can perform better without having to work harder. This shows that with the right collective effort between management and the union, you can have successful manufacturing in the United States."

DMAX, jointly owned by GM and Izuzu, was built in 1998 and currently produces an engine that meets 2007 federal emissions standards. The plant is retooling to make a new version of the engine that will meet 2010 emissions guidelines.

Though no new jobs have been promised, IUE-CWA Automotive Conference Board Chairman Willie Thorpe said it would depend on demand and volume of production. "We're optimistic," he said.

Tentative Pact at Cincinnati Bell Saves 440 from Outsourcing

A tentative contract between Cincinnati Bell and CWA Locals 4400 and 4401 preserves the jobs of 440 call center service reps whose jobs had been targeted for outsourcing, provides for returning previously outsourced jobs, and protects health benefits.

"This was a very difficult situation and we were pleased to have reached an agreement that would save our members' jobs," said District 4 Vice President Seth Rosen.

The 3-year settlement, reached Feb. 2, covers some 1,300 workers. It maintains existing health care coverage and increases the workers' pension band. The agreement provides cumulative wage increases of 4.5 percent payable in the second and third years.  About 500 workers would be eligible for an early retirement package if their age plus years of service equaled at least 75.

Cincinnati Bell had requested early negotiations with CWA in advance of a planned restructuring, according to staff representative Monica Hogan, who assisted the locals during negotiations. "We were faced with tough decisions, but we believe that this agreement, subject to members' approval, addresses both our concern to retain jobs, protect health care and enable growth for the company."

CWA Presses for Cable Choice Bill in Pennsylvania

CWA this week urged Pennsylvania legislators to approve the Consumer Choice Cable Franchising and High-Speed Broadband Promotion Act, H.B 1490, to encourage the buildout of true high speed Internet networks and end the current cable monopoly in the state.

CWA research economist Debbie Goldman testified before the House Consumer Affairs Committee and pointed out that a number of states already have passed measures to ensure that residents, communities and business have access to new Internet applications and other technological changes that have come about through true high speed broadband.  These include upgraded communications for emergency responders and municipalities, tele-medicine, distance learning, participation in government and civic affairs, and particularly, economic growth and jobs, she noted.

The bill would create a more streamlined, statewide process for companies to obtain the right to offer cable television services, spurring competition throughout the state. In addition, those companies that qualify for a statewide franchise will be required to meet minimum buildout standards for high speed Internet access to residents and businesses.  The bill provides for mapping of broadband deployment across the state and calls for a process of consumer advocacy for the first time over cable services such as Internet, video programming and VoIP.

District 13 for several months has been building a coalition of city governments, consumer groups, labor and other groups to promote the legislation and is urging citizens to contact state lawmakers by going to a campaign website – www.choice4pa.org – and sending e-mails urging support for the cable choice bill.  "Far too many of our fellow citizens have been left behind in the information age and this bill would be a huge step toward closing the digital divide," said Vice President Jim Short.

Bus Ads Drive Message: Verizon Bypasses Nation's Capitol

City buses rolled out of parking garages in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 1 with a message for city leaders and residents -- "This bus isn't the only thing passing you by. Verizon is bringing high-speed Internet to the suburbs: Not to D.C." While Verizon has been advertising its high-speed FiOS network on D.C. airwaves, plans to actually install high-speed Internet in the city are far from the drawing board, and CWA and other groups are calling on city council members to push back

More than two dozen witnesses including CWA Local 2336 President Jim Pappas testified before the council today on behalf of a community coalition – Connect-DC -- that includes CWA, Jobs with Justice and Broadband Everywhere.

"Verizon is cherry-picking and at the moment D.C.'s just not low-hanging fruit," Pappas said. According to Pappas, Verizon has moved nearly a third of its jobs from the District to the suburbs to work on FiOS over the past four years, leaving D.C. residents with increasingly poor phone service. "My members tell me that many customers have service trouble every time it rains and the troubles end up getting left so long that the sun dries out the cable and the problems disappear on their own – at least until the next rain."

Verizon customers have made similar complaints. Last month, Local 2336 members and others from Connect-DC undertook 135 random household surveys of Verizon customers throughout the city. Surveys were submitted via the Internet, advisory neighborhood commissioners, at supermarkets and subway stations. Forty-nine people said they had phone trouble when it rained and more than half rated their service as "poor" or "abysmal," the group told the city council.

While Verizon so far has not invested in FiOS in D.C., the company is pushing preemptively to win deregulation of voice over the Internet (VoIP) for the future. The city council is set to vote on the issue in March, and Connect-DC is opposing deregulation.

"From our surveys it's clear that Verizon has not been able to meet existing service quality standards for regulated phone services," said Mackenzie Baris, lead organizer with D.C. Jobs with Justice. "By giving up its right to regulate a new technology that may develop and expand in unexpected ways, the city council would be shirking its responsibility to protect consumers. Residents of the District deserve better."

Vet Fights for His Country – and Now for His Rights at Verizon Business

The American flag has become a casualty of Verizon Business' war on workers' rights.

Verizon Business technician and Air National Guardsman Terry Skiest has an American flag and a Massachusetts state flag that have flown in battle zones with him in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he proudly displayed them outside his work cubicle in Acton, Mass.  But to enforce a new "anti-solicitation policy" aimed at blocking the posting of pro-union organizing materials, management pulled down the flags when Skiest, a union supporter, returned to his third tour of duty in Afghanistan last fall.

Skiest is fighting the company's action and is joined by hundreds of coworkers who are hanging flags in their own cubicles up and down the East Coast.  Supporters have also set up a website, www.puttheflagup.org, and produced a video – which is available via the site – to help Skiest get his message out. Visitors to the website can send a message of protest to Verizon.

"Those flags flew with me in Iraq and flew outside my tent in Afghanistan," Skiest said. "Now I'm back at my post at Verizon Business and I want to know why I can't display my flags outside my cubicle."

Managers told Skiest's co-worker, Mike Wheeler, that the flags "could be considered to be propaganda" and "might be offensive to some workers," Wheeler said.

Skiest and fellow VZB technicians in New York and New England signed cards showing majority union support last year, seeking representation through CWA and the IBEW. Verizon has refused to grant union recognition even though local, state and national political leaders verified the card majority and have put pressure on the company to respect the workers' decision.

Skiest exhausted every internal avenue of redress with VZB's management and human resources department to reconsider their decision. He and his co-workers say they are determined to continue their fight for justice until management puts the flags back up where they belong.

VZB, formerly MCI, has several government contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, including installing the wireless communications system in Baghdad. "If this company is on the side of men and women fighting for our country, why does it deny me the right to fly the American flag?" Skiest asks. "That seems un-American."

IN BRIEF:

  • Verizon backed away from pushing legislation for full statewide deregulation of basic phone rates in Virginia after state regulators endorsed CWA's position that there is no real competition in rural areas of the state to justify deregulation.

    The State Corporation Commission on Feb. 1 rejected Verizon's argument that the rise of mobile phone service is a competitive alternative to its landline service.  The commission also noted that cable companies in rural areas don't yet offer telecom services, and "in smaller towns and cities? consumers do not have realistic alternatives to Verizon for reliable local telephone service."

    CWA Rep Carol Summerlyn credited the work of Virginia local Stewards Army members and Local 2201 lobbyist Kirk Jones with pressing the commission and state lawmakers to protect customer service standards and CWA jobs in rural Virginia.


  • Tune in to the PBS news program "Now" beginning the week of Feb. 11 and watch TNG-CWA President Linda Foley discuss organizing efforts among freelance editorial workers. To find out what day and time the program airs in your area, go to www.pbs.org, click on "programs A-Z" and "Now," then enter your zip code for the schedule.


  • It's the first federal budget ever to top $3 trillion, and still the Bush administration manages to put the screws to workers, senior citizens, the sick, the poor and the rest of America's vulnerable citizens.

    Critics of the mammoth proposed budget for fiscal year 2009 include many of the nation's newspaper editorial boards who are decrying it as "disastrous," "shameful" and "foolish," with the New York Times dismissing as "nonsense" the president's claims about balancing the budget by 2012.

    The proposed budget would slash funding for Medicare and Medicaid by 30 percent and add to the Pentagon's budget by the same percentage – not counting war funding.  Further, the White House wants to cut $760 million in job training programs, reduce funds for occupational safety and health research, slash $83 million for medical screening of  9/11 Ground Zero responders, and all but eliminate an agency that fights child labor.

    Congressional leaders have indicated that major portions of the proposed budget are unacceptable and that it will be drastically altered before final passage.