Company Spreads Misinformation About Negotiations
After four days of intensive and frustrating bargaining,
talks between VIS and CWA broke off late Thursday afternoon
without a contract agreement.
Since then, management has claimed that CWA said we would
agree to a provision that allowed only for "review" of changes
to the compensation plan and we then reneged on that agreement.
This is absolutely false.
From the beginning of bargaining, we have consistently
maintained that a contract that allows management to
change compensation at will is really no contract at
all. Permitting union "review" without enforceable
limits on the company's behavior doesn't change that.
The company is well aware of our position, which CWA
bargaining chair Dennis Trainor reiterated yet again in a
statement to the company last Thursday:
"VIS's insistence on maintaining ultimate control
over all aspects of wages violates the National Labor Relations
Act. You are engaged in bad faith bargaining and have been doing
so almost from the beginning. The change you propose . .
. leaves VIS with the control to change things in such a
way that makes the MOA [memorandum of agreement] meaningless as
a wage guarantor.
"Without the language we are seeking . .
. the review process in the MOA is merely a promise
and not an enforceable agreement. That is why it is unacceptable
to the Union and a violation of the
Act."
VIS's Illegal Tactics
VIS's bargainers have engaged in illegal "bait and switch"
tactics, stating verbally their intention to address the union's
need for clear contractual protection of workers' compensation
during the life of the agreement, but refusing to translate
those verbal agreements into actual contract language.
This behavior led to CWA's original charges of unfair labor
practices before the National Labor Relations Board, and the
last four days of talks will only serve to provide mountains of
additional evidence of VIS' continuing illegal approach to
bargaining.
The four days of talks at times appeared to narrow many of
the disagreements that led to the vote by 300 NYS VIS members to
go out on an unfair labor practice strike on October 31st.
But when all was said and done, management refused to relinquish
ultimate control over all aspects of wages for the next three
years, which is a violation of the National Labor Relations
Act. They simply refused to bargain in good faith over
compensation.
Mobilization Pushed VIS Back to the Table
There can be no doubt that the unity, determination and
militancy of our strike drove VIS back to the bargaining
table. They never expected us to be so strong for so long,
and there is no question that our strike is hurting their
business.
Well, they ain't seen nothing yet, because now we will
escalate and intensify our strike tactics to inflict even
greater pain on VIS management. Over the next few days, we
will be laying out the next steps in our unfair labor practice
strike plan.
"We are sick and tired of VIS stubborn refusal to bargain in
good faith for a new contract," said CWA District One Vice
President Chris Shelton. "I congratulate all of our
members for their remarkable solidarity over the last 10
½ weeks, and I am 100% confident that our solidarity will
not be broken. I also want to salute Assistant to the Vice
President Dennis Trainor, Staff Rep Pat Telesco, and all the
members of the VIS bargaining team for their incredible hard
work and perseverance over the last several days."
"All of you should be proud of what you have accomplished so
far—and you should know that all of CWA stands behind you
in your struggle for justice," Shelton said. "I have
no doubt that we will do whatever it takes to achieve
victory." | 
