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July 10, 2008
Organizing Leader among Layoff Victims after Guild Victory in Bay Area
Just two weeks after a huge organizing victory in June, workers at MediaNews-owned newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area were notified of the company's plans to lay off 29 new members of TNG-CWA's Northern California Media Guild including one of the most visible union organizers – campaign co-chair Sara Steffens. CWA President Larry Cohen said the layoffs of union activists are an "outrageous assault" on the workers' organizing and bargaining rights and called it "no better example of what happens to union organizing leaders today and why we must pass the Employee Free Choice Act." TNG-CWA is exploring its options for a response, including the possibility of filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board. Steffens, an award-winning reporter at the Contra Costa Times, was among the organizers who were introduced and cheered at the CWA convention in Las Vegas last month, appearing right after their election victory on behalf of 225 workers at nine Bay Area newspapers. The campaign is part of a Strategic Industries Fund initiative at Denver-based MediaNews. The Guild local this week posted a moving letter from Steffens to her colleagues, excerpted below, beginning with a question from her husband. " 'If you lose your job,' he asked, 'was the union stuff still worth it?' I didn't even have to think about my answer. I just said, 'Yes. Of course.' "I won't lie: The last week has been hard on me. I've lost sleep. My emotions have swung wildly: Shock. Anger. Sadness. Disbelief. And anger all over again. After all my years here, the hard work, the big stories, the little stories, the side projects, the things I didn't have to do but did anyway --- after all that, this is what I get? "Right now, 28 coworkers throughout the Bay Area News Group-East Bay know just how I feel. So it's fair to ask again: With my own job on the chopping block, was the union stuff still worth it? "Yes. Yes. A hundred times yes. And I'd do it again, every bit of it. What we accomplished has not been undone. Our union isn't going anywhere. "As those of us on the organizing committee have so often said: The Guild is not one person. It's all of us, working together, to advance our shared interests. Our managers can't take that away. (MediaNews owner) Dean Singleton can't take it away. Even the ever-worsening finances of the newspaper industry can't take that away. "So here is my plea to all of you: Don't give it away in fear. Stand up. Work together. Build our union. Stay engaged as those you choose struggle to win a contract. Help them along, and vote on the proposal they bring back to you. A contract matters. This single powerful document will protect all of us the next time hard times roll around, guard each of us against arbitrary choices, unfair decisions, the chance of being retaliated or discriminated against. "Months ago, a fellow organizer described a union as a family. Today I see more than ever how that's true. Family makes us stronger, shapes who we are, provides a fall-back in the toughest of times. "I may be packing up my desk, but I am sticking with the Guild." Qwest Negotiations Covering 20,000 Are UnderwayCWA's bargaining team opened negotiations with Qwest Communications in Denver on July 8 for a new agreement covering more than 20,000 workers in 13 states. The current contract expires Aug. 16. Among the critical issues for CWA members are a fair wage increase, health care security for workers and retirees, keeping quality jobs at Qwest and bringing back outsourced jobs. At the opening session, Qwest presented a "state of the business" report and indicated that the company was focused on growth and investing in the future. CWA has pointed out that CWA members who provide the quality customer assistance and technical support that customers want give Qwest a real competitive advantage. CWA members have worked hard over the past several years to help return Qwest to a solid financial footing after the company was financially devastated by former chief executive officer Joseph Nacchio in 2001. Nacchio continues to face criminal and civil prosecution for insider trading and other illegal actions. Qwest also has joined CWA in efforts to reform national health care policy. Verizon East Members Gear Up Contract MobilizationsToday, thousands of CWA members at hundreds of Verizon worksites throughout the mid-Atlantic and Northeast launched a series of mobilization activities to show support for their bargaining teams and to demonstrate to Verizon that workers are determined to secure a fair contract. The Verizon East contracts cover more than 70,000 members of CWA and the IBEW, which is coordinating the mobilizations and bargaining jointly with CWA. To get their message across, workers engaged in "practice" picketing outside garages, call centers, and other company locations. "Our contract gains aren't won exclusively at the bargaining table," said Dennis Trainor, assistant to the District 1 vice president and chair of talks for the Northeast. "Member mobilization is a key factor in convincing management that we mean business," he said. This sentiment was echoed by District 2 CWA Representative Gail Evans, who chairs talks at the mid-Atlantic table. "Vocal and visible mobilization by members in the field are what really count. Members' wearing red shirts to work, sharing information and educating their co-workers builds unity and strength," said Evans. "This is the key to success in negotiations with management." Local unions representing Verizon East members also will hold another series of worksite mobilization actions on July 17, and are planning for a mass "Unity rally" in New York City at 12 noon on Saturday, July 26, one week before the contract's August 2 expiration. Are You a Political Convention Delegate? Let Us KnowAre you or any member of your local serving as a delegate to the Democratic or Republican conventions this summer? CWA wants to know, and will be featuring some of our political activists in the CWA News during the election season. The Democratic National Convention runs Aug. 25-28 in Denver and the Republican convention is the next week, Sept. 1-4, in Minneapolis. Delegates are asked to e-mail the CWA Communications Dept. at jmiller@cwa-union.org. Please include your telephone number. If you're not a delegate but know someone who is, please ask him or her to respond. Meanwhile, please e-mail us that the person's name and any contact information. The Democratic convention will have more than 4,200 delegates. A majority are supporting presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. The Republican convention, where Sen. John McCain will be nominated as the GOP candidate for president, will draw 2,380 delegates and 2,227 alternates. IN BRIEF:
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