February 19, 2009

Stimulus Extends Trade Assistance Benefits to Service Workers

In a big victory for service workers, the Obama administration's stimulus plan corrected a long-standing injustice by extending federal Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) to customer service professionals and high-tech and public sector workers who have lost their jobs due to offshoring, imports, and other trade practices.

CWA customer service professionals have been a big part of the fight to gain equal treatment under the trade adjustment assistance program. At CWA customer service conferences, participants organized lobbying campaigns and other efforts to push Congress to give service workers the same benefits that manufacturing workers already had. TAA provides job training, extended jobless benefits and help in keeping health care coverage.  

TAA coverage also was extended to cover public workers in service occupations who increasingly are losing their jobs to offshoring as some states and municipalities send customer service jobs overseas.

CWA represents more than 200,000 customer service, high tech, and public service workers.

A new Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance has been established to help workers get the benefits they need. More information is available at http://www.doleta.gov/tradeact/.

Tech workers continue to be hit hard by offshoring. Recently IBM Corp. told U.S. and Canadian workers slated to be laid off that they could work "for local terms and conditions" in countries like China, Mexico, Romania, South Africa and Brazil. "Not only is IBM offshoring work, it wants employees to offshore themselves," said Lee Conrad, Alliance@IBM. Since the beginning of the year, IBM has laid off more than 5,000 workers.

CWAers Expand Support for AT&T Mobility Workers

CWAers in Richmond, Va.(above), and children of members in Columbus, Ohio, turned out to support fair treatment for  AT&T Mobility workers.

Mobilization activities are building nationwide as members throughout CWA show their solidarity and support for the 20,000 "Orange" Mobility CWA members who want a quality contract.   

Over the past week, thousands of CWAers leafleted at more than 100 AT&T Mobility retail stores, and AT&T Mobility members wore red to work and demonstrated at cell centers. CWAers signed on to a "Stop Breakin' Our Hearts" petition, calling on AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson to recognize workers' role in the company's success. The petition, developed by District 4's AT&T Mobility mobilization committee, has thousands of signatures to date.

More than 25 retails stores were visited in Pennsylvania, and more petitions were handed out. Store visits and demonstrations also took place in Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9.

At the AT&T Mobility call center in Atwater, Calif., hundreds of customer service representatives, members of Local 9333, held "stand-ups" every hour at their work stations.

In District 1, more than a dozen CWA locals have adopted AT&T Mobility stores in New England states. Every week, a steward, officer or executive board member visits workers at the stores to show solidarity.

More actions are planned for AT&T Mobility and AT&T workplaces on Feb. 24, the first day of negotiations for new contracts covering 150,000 workers at the "core" AT&T.

Go to www.cwa-union.org/att/mobility for more information.

VZ Connected Solutions Techs Awarded $2 Million

Last week, nearly 250 CWA technicians at Verizon Connected Solutions Inc., shared a back pay award of more than $2 million, the result of an arbitration decision that found that VCSI failed to pay workers for performing work of higher-paid senior techs, said CWA District 2 Vice President Ron Collins.

The workers, members of CWA Locals 2100, 2106, 2108, 2202, 2204, 2205, 2222, and 2336, maintain, install and repair telephony, voice and FiOS for VCSI in Maryland and Northern Virginia. "This arbitration award is a great victory for the workers and our union," said Collins. "It shows the value that a union contract has when a company tries to get around its legal obligation to employees."

The arbitration ended a more than two year fight by CWA to get the Verizon subsidiary to pay the Multimedia Services Technicians the pay they deserved for performing the work of senior technicians, including the downloading and installation of firmware and software. District 2 Administrative Director Gail Evans helped negotiate the implementation settlement for the arbitration.

CWA: Economic Stimulus is All About Jobs

CWA leaders say that the stimulus program that President Obama signed this week is a good investment in America's economic recovery.  By expanding job opportunities for working Americans – especially in critical areas like broadband build out and other infrastructure investment – this plan will get the economy moving again, said CWA President Larry Cohen.   

The economic recovery plan includes:

  • More than $7 billion in federal grants to expand broadband Internet access in rural and underserved areas, as well as $350 million in funding for broadband data mapping.
  • Nearly $54 billion for states for fiscal stabilization, plus funding for state and local governments for transportation, infrastructure, education, health care and other critical needs.  
  • $50 billion for energy programs, much of it focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy, including $2 billion for advanced battery manufacturing.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is expected to create or save 3.5 million jobs.

 "We commend President Obama and Congress for moving quickly to put Americans back to work, but also for their long term vision for America's economic future," Cohen said. "These investments, specifically for broadband build out and those that help build a green economy, will ensure that more Americans can take advantage of the promise of the Information Age and enable us to build a sustainable economy that leaves our nation cleaner for future generations."

New E-Newsletter Keeps CWA Members Up to Date on Congress

CWA's Legislative Department has launched an electronic newsletter to help CWA members stay up to date with a busy schedule of bills and administrative actions that are critical to working families.

From the Employee Free Choice Act to health care reform and 21st-century jobs, Legislative Spotlight "is a new, bi-weekly report that will bring members the latest news from our lobbying team and CWA activists around the country," CWA Executive Vice President Annie Hill said.

To subscribe, go to http://www.cwa-legislative.org/subscribe.html.

The first edition spotlights CWA's priorities in working with the new Administration and Congress, with the Employee Free Choice Act topping the list. Other key issues are health care reform, the appointment of National Mediation Board members who will protect airline workers' collective bargaining rights, reform of unfair trade laws and retirement security.

"All our hard work around the election wasn't the end, but just the beginning of our effort to restore the middle class and a government that focuses on working families," Hill said.

Easterling Elected President of Alliance for Retired Americans

Retired CWA Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling was elected president of the Alliance for Retired Americans, carrying on work she started when she founded CWA's Retired Members' Council. The ARA is an organization allied with the AFL-CIO.

Easterling said her priorities as president include educating retirees and lawmakers on ways to strengthen Medicare, lower prescription drug costs and preserve Social Security for generations.

"Our economy is in crisis and our health care system is in dire need of reform – it is more important than ever that we educate and mobilize retirees on these issues," she said.

Easterling began her career as a telephone operator in Akron, Ohio, and retired as CWA secretary-treasurer in 2008.