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June 12, 2008
CWA Ad Campaign Urges N.J. Lawmakers to Keep PromisesCWA has launched an advertising blitz in New Jersey to counter proposals from a handful of state legislators who are trying to renege on their commitment to ensure a secure retirement and health care for state workers.Union leaders say legislators are breaking a promise made to state workers in contract talks last year, when CWA agreed to concessions to help the state combat its budget problems. Television, radio and print ads, along with mailings, began
"Last year, tens of thousands of New Jersey state workers negotiated a contract with Trenton that saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars while protecting health care and retirement security for our families," said CWA District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton. "The governor, the legislature and the hard-working women and men of the Communications Workers of America agreed to this contract. Now, Trenton is trying to go back on its promises." The rollbacks proposed by legislators would change how pensions are calculated, eliminate benefits for part-time workers and allow the state to offer "incentives" to get workers to opt out of health care benefits, among other changes. CWA represents 55,000 state and local government workers in New Jersey. The union's support helped elect Democratic Gov. John Corzine in 2005. Corzine hasn't endorsed the pension reforms but, according to media reports, is considering them. "Social workers look after our elderly and abused children. Parks workers protect our outdoors. Inspectors keep our roads and bridges safe. Their work makes us proud to live in New Jersey," Shelton said. "There is a better way to fix our budget problems. Trenton should start by eliminating real waste and fraud, closing corporate tax loopholes and raising taxes on the wealthiest." The union's TV ad can be viewed on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4bFJqjb5Qk. Delta Interfered with Fair Election, AFA-CWA ChargesDelta Air Lines management engaged in tactics that interfered with the flight attendants' ability to have a fair and free union election, AFA-CWA stated in formal interference charges it filed this week with the National Mediation Board, which governs labor relations in the airline industry. The union's allegations include substantial evidence that the airline employed aggressive tactics designed to defeat the workers' campaign for representation. "Delta flight attendants were denied the opportunity to freely participate in this election," stated AFA-CWA President Patricia Friend. A majority of the airline's 13,000 flight attendants signed cards supporting union representation when AFA-CWA filed for an election last February. When the election began, the airline launched a campaign to suppress the vote, urging workers to tear up their official balloting information from the NMB as soon as they received it. In its filing with the agency, AFA-CWA is asking for a new election with a "Laker" balloting procedure that would limit the effects of any further illegal conduct by Delta management. By re-running the election under this procedure, flight attendants would be permitted to vote either "Yes" or "No" for a union, with a majority of those voting determining union representation. Under the previous, and traditional, airline election procedure, workers either vote "Yes" or write in the name of another union. Those not choosing to participate are counted as "No" votes. Health Care Workers Rally for Fair Contract at Mercy HospitalCWA-represented nurses and other health care workers held a huge rally and informational picket line outside Mercy Hospital in South Buffalo, N.Y., following an overwhelming vote by members to authorize a strike if a fair contract isn't reached. Members of CWA Local 1133 voted by a 97 percent margin to authorize a strike, a message to Catholic Health System that "enough is enough," said Local President Peggy Chadwick-Ledwon. CWA represents 2,000 employees at the hospital. Chadwick-Ledwon said one critical issue is hospital staffing and the high number of vacancies which force nurses to do the work of two people and skip breaks and lunches to provide proper patient care. Under the hospital's current staffing levels, "nurses are tired and there is nobody to relieve them. It's hard getting a call on your day off to come in because the hospital is again short-staffed, and you know your co-workers are killing themselves," she said. We need to have a competitive wage and benefit package so we can fill vacancies, especially for night shift nurses, she added. Other key issues are benefit differentials for part-time workers, who more often than not are required to work full-time hours, wages and health care, said Chadwick-Ledwon. "We don't want to go out on strike. We just want a fair contract. Unfortunately, this is the third contact where we've had to take a strike vote" to show management that workers are serious about fairness, she said. Hundreds of CWA nurses and health care workers rallied outside the hospital, joined by CWA District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton and other supporters. Negotiations will resume on June 13; the contract expired June 3. Retirees Gear Up for Employee Free Choice, Health Care CampaignsEager to go to bat for their union and working families everywhere, CWA retirees have committed to do whatever's needed to help pass the Employee Free Choice Act and health care reform. Last week, versions of the two campaigns designed specifically for retirees were rolled out at the CWA Retired Members' Council District 1 Leadership Conference. The chapter leaders in attendance were the first of the union's rapidly growing RMC to get the official presentation, though many retirees across the country are already lending a hand. District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton and Communications & Technologies Vice President Ralph Maly explained CWA's game plan for passing the Employee Free Choice Act in early 2009 – soon after a new Congress is sworn in – and passing affordable, universal health care by 2010. "There is no question in my mind that retirees play a critical role in getting the Employee Free Choice Act and a national health care policy passed in Congress," Maly said. "Retirees make things happen and their continued support is a must for the survival of the labor movement." The retiree leaders came from chapters in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Led by District 1 RMC President Audrey Buchanan-Swan and Vice President Adele Rogers, they pledged to present the campaigns to their membership. Buchanan-Swan, of Local 1365 in Massachusetts, said participants were enthusiastic about what they heard. "It was very well received," she said. "Our retirees are ready to embrace these campaigns and get to work." Toward that end, they pledged to get at least 10 percent of their members to sign postcards and get their pictures taken as part of the labor movement's Million Member Mobilization to pass Employee Free Choice. The RMC has about 24,000 members in its 169 chapters. T.O. Moses Dies, Former Telecommunications VPFormer Telecommunications Vice President T.O. Moses, who served CWA members for more than half a century before his retirement in 2002, died June 7 in Lubbock, Texas, at age 78. Moses went to work as a switchman for Southern Bell in 1949 and went on to hold every elective post with CWA Local 3414, Monroe, La. He joined the CWA staff in 1967, working with locals in St. Louis, Mo., and Lubbock and Austin, Texas, and handling negotiations with General Telephone of the Southwest. He was appointed administrative assistant to the vice president of District 12 in 1981 and was named assistant to the vice president of District 6 after the districts merged in 1986. Moses was elected telecommunications vice president in 1989. During his leadership, the first bargaining councils were established at Century Tel and Citizens Communications. He helped negotiate the cooperative resource council at GTE which brought a national focus to important member issues. Friends and colleagues fondly remember his wry and folksy humor that he often deployed to resolve conflict and move contract talks forward. When he retired, convention delegates elected him vice president emeritus by acclamation. Jake Earley Dies, Retired District 3 Staff RepJohn "Jake" Earley, 83, retired District 3 staff representative, died June 10, in Tucker, Ga. Earley came to CWA when he went to work for C & P Telephone Co. of Maryland in 1948 as a PBX installer-repair tech. He served Local 2108 for more than 14 years as a shop steward and later as president, the post he held when he was appointed to the CWA staff 1965. As a CWA representative, and later administrative assistant to the district vice president, Earley first served in Shreveport, La., and later transferred to posts in Nashville, Tenn., Columbia, S.C., and Atlanta, Ga. He was considered a skilled negotiator who at various times bargained contracts at United Inter-Mountain Telephone, Western Electric, Alltel, GTE and Southern Bell. He also was instrumental in organizing major Western Electric locations in the south. Earley retired in 1989. IN BRIEF:
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