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March 6, 2008
CWA Kicks Off Labor's Million-Member Mobilization for Employee Free Choice ActFour hundred activists from CWA District 1 have signed the first of a planned 1 million postcards that will tell a new president and Congress in January that working families across America want them to immediately enact the Employee Free Choice Act. CWAers were photographed as they signed, and their pictures will be posted online at a special campaign website.
The signing took place at the District 1 conference Wednesday just as the AFL-CIO's Executive Council voted to commit to the program, dubbed the Million-Member Mobilization for the Employee Free Choice Act. "The labor movement has agreed to get over 1 million members to help pass the Employee Free Choice Act next year," CWA District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton said. "Our members are the first in the nation to work towards the million-person goal. In just one day, hundreds of CWA members have joined this fight by signing postcards to the new president demanding passage of this important legislation. We are committed to mobilize our membership to fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act in 2009." CWA has committed to getting at least 90,000 cards signed by members across the country, nearly 10 percent of the total that the AFL-CIO has pledged to submit to Congress. "The corporate bullies who are scared to death of the Employee Free Choice Act have millions of dollars to spend to try to defeat it," CWA President Larry Cohen said. "Our side has millions of working families who are fed up with having their rights stomped on and our postcard campaign is one way we will make that abundantly clear to lawmakers." The AFL-CIO Council statement noted that "opponents such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Right to Work Committee, the Center for Union Facts, the Heritage Foundation and hostile employers have mounted a huge no-holds-barred attack to stop workers from having their rights restored. They will say they are defending the secret ballot and speaking on behalf of workers. We need to show that workers can speak for themselves and America's workers will fight for the Employee Free Choice Act." Not only will lawmakers have signed cards, they'll be able to put a face with the name. CWA members will be encouraged to upload pictures of themselves to a website so photos can be matched with cards when they are displayed in the U.S. Capitol. More details will be coming soon. The cards, which locals, districts and sectors will be distributing across the country in coming weeks, tell the new president and lawmakers that the bill is "crucial legislation that will protect workers' freedom to choose a union and bargain collectively without management intimidation." Further, it says, "Allowing more workers to freely join unions and bargain with their employers will help rebuild the middle class by expanding health care, improving retirement security and raising the standard of living for America's working families." The cards will be presented to the new Congress after the November elections in a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol building that is being arranged by the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). For more details about the campaign, read the AFL-CI0's Executive Council statement at http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/thisistheaflcio/ecouncil/ec03042008l.cfm. Patient Care Workers Affiliate with CWA in IowaNearly 100 patient care employees at Palo Alto County Hospital in Emmetsburg, Iowa, voted to affiliate with CWA Local 7170, part of an ongoing joint organizing effort with the Operating Engineers, said CWA District 7 Vice President Annie Hill. The workers – registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants – joined with 80 other non-patient care workers at the hospital on Feb. 22 to affiliate with an umbrella organization that Local 7170 formed with the Operating Engineers to improve health care workers' bargaining power in the region. "By working together to help employees organize their hospitals wall-to-wall, we will make it more difficult for management to pit one group of workers against another during negotiations," said Local 7170 President Bonnie Winther. President Bill Zeigler of CWA Local 7172, a statewide telecom local, put the Palo Alto workers in contact with Local 7170 and provided assistance throughout the campaign. Last fall, Local 7170 organized a unit of 100 RNs, LPNs, and CNAs at Lakes Regional Health Care Hospital in Spirit Lake, Iowa, where the technical, clerical, custodial and food service employees are represented by the Operating Engineers. Bargaining talks or preparation for bargaining are now underway at both hospitals. Tentative Agreement at Windstream CommunicationsA new tentative agreement between CWA and Windstream Communications covering bargaining unit members of the former Valor Communications and Kerrville Telephone companies provides for significant wage hikes, a stronger grievance procedure, and preserves pension benefits for 500 workers. Windstream was formed in July 2006 by the merger of Valor, a regional local phone company, and Alltel's local wireline business. The employees (technicians, installers, retail sales reps, and cable splicers) work in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, and are represented by Locals 6171 and 7019. The three-year agreement, now being voted on by members, provides an annual 4 percent wage hike and increases payments for differentials, overtime, and board and lodging expenses. It also preserves workers' existing pension plan and maintains medical insurance for retirees. "These were tough negotiations, but the mobilization of Locals 6171 and 7019 made a big difference at the bargaining table," said District 6 staff representative Jerrell Miller, crediting Local 6171 President Allen Whitaker and Secretary-Treasurer Linda James and Local 7019 President Chris Rossi for energizing members throughout bargaining. "The bargaining team did a tremendous job to meet the challenge of negotiating an agreement for workers covered under prior CWA agreements at Valor Communications and Kerrville Telephone," said Telecommunications Vice President Jimmy Gurganus. Judge Awards $5 Million to Long-Suffering Chinese Daily News WorkersA federal judge has awarded more than $5 million to the embattled Chinese Daily News workers whose long struggle to try to unionize was met with years of hostility, intimidation and aggressive anti-union tactics. The court case, filed in 2004, was based specifically on the company's wage and hour law violations, in some cases forcing employees to work 12 hours or more, six days a week, without breaks. A jury awarded damages of $2.5 million last year, which trial Judge Consuelo Marshall last week combined with nearly $2.7 million in penalties and interest. "This is an important victory for California employees," said Virginia Keeny, one of the workers' lead lawyers. "Both the judge and the jury determined that these employers can't get an edge on their competition on the backs of the workers." The lawsuit was brought by 200 employees and involved violations dating back to 2000. All of the $5.19 million awarded will go the workers. The judge is to make a separate finding for attorneys' fees. In 2001, working with The Newspaper Guild-CWA, employees at the newspaper voted to unionize, but the company contested the election and refused to recognize the union. In the years afterwards, the company fired two union leaders and routinely harassed, shamed and threatened supporters. Ruling that a company supervisor had tainted the original election, the National Labor Relations Board overturned the union's victory. In a new election, the company's fear campaign won out. "This proves once again that the Chinese Daily News was willing to trample on many fundamental rights of its employees in order to keep them from having their union," said TNG President Linda Foley. Union leader and plaintiff Lynne Wang, a reporter who was fired in 2005, described high daily story quotas for writers and nearly impossible sales quotes for advertising staff. She told the New York Times that she sometimes worked 17 hours a day. "We are all new immigrants to this country, so we didn't know the law," Wang said, quoted in the Times. "If we complained, they tell us: 'If you don't like it, leave. A lot of people are waiting to take your job.' People were afraid." She said she's happy about the court victory, but, "I also feel some kind of sadness because it was so hard to get justice."
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