March 1, 2007
Landmark Employee Free Choice Act Passes U.S. House
In an historic victory for working families, the U.S.
House of Representatives passed the Employee Free Choice
Act late Thursday night, making it clear to corporate
America that workers — after years of exile by political
opponents — can't and won't be ignored in Washington,
D.C.
Democratic leaders kept a promise made before and
after last fall's election that they would push the
party's new majority to pass the landmark workers'
rights legislation soon after taking office. The vote
was 241-185, with 13 Republicans and all but two
Democrats voting in favor.
"Congress today has recognized that collective
bargaining is critical in this democracy as it is in
every other democracy around the world," CWA President
Larry Cohen said. "Passage of the Employee Free Choice
Act by the House of Representative is a first step
towards restoring the core of the preamble of the Act
passed 70 years ago that commits our government to
promote collective bargaining in the workplace, not an
endless legal battle with management declaring war on
their own employees."
CWA members and leaders joined thousands of other
union activists for rallies, media events and other
action last week to push for passage of the measure as
members of Congress made trips to their home districts.
Members with personal stories of struggles against
employers to organize and bargain were among the
featured speakers at events. They include Comcast
technician John Pezzano, vice president of his
Pittsburgh unit of CWA Local 13000, and Local 2204
member Teresa Joyce, whose Virginia call center was only
able to organize when union-friendly Cingular took over
from AT&T.
Noting the high-paid lawyers and "union-avoidance"
consultants fueling the corporate side of the debate,
Pezzano drew a sharp line between what he called the
"anti-union industry" and the workers speaking out on
the other side.
"I do not get paid if people go union. I don't earn a
living organizing. I don't earn any more money if other
people are better paid," he said. "I do this because of
what I had to go through, what I saw with my own eyes,
the injustice being done."
The Employee Free Choice Act would allow workers to
organize when a majority at a worksite signs cards
seeking representation. The law calls for first-contract
arbitration if parties can't come to agreement and
strengthens penalties for employers who break labor
laws.
At news conferences and in testimony on Capitol Hill,
workers described a similar pattern of threats,
intimidation and even firings to keep unions at bay,
followed by stalling tactics – when workers voted to
organize anyway – to drag out contract negotiations
indefinitely.
Lawmakers Lean on Seidenberg for Recognition
Several members of the House and Senate have written
to Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, asking that he accept a
cardcheck majority and recognize the right of hundreds
of workers at Verizon Business to union representation.
CWA organizers report that more than half of VZB
technicians have signed union authorization forms in
several locations.
"These workers will soon be requesting that Verizon
recognize CWA-IBEW based on a neutral third party's
verification that a majority of the technicians have
signed union authorization cards," Sens. Hillary Rodham
Clinton and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote on behalf of
those VZB workers in the Northeast.
In their Feb. 22 letter, they pointed out that they
are among the original sponsors of the Employee Free
Choice Act, which would make cardcheck recognition the
law of the land, and that the legislation "has now been
endorsed by a majority of the members of our new
Congress."
"It is our sincere hope that you will work with your
valued employees and respect their decision to unionize
and facilitate prompt negotiations on a first contract,"
they wrote.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) earlier wrote a
similar letter.
On Feb. 23, New Jersey Reps. Steven Rothman, Donald
Payne, Frank Pallone, Bill Pascrell Jr., Albio Sires and
Rob Andrews also wrote Seidenberg, supporting the
cardcheck campaign at VZB and the Employee Free Choice
Act.
"We believe (recognition) is in the best interest of
the company, its employees and the public," they wrote.
The congressional letters came in response to visits
from VZB workers and CWA and IBEW activists. More than
3,000 shop stewards have signed a statement of support
for the workers. CWA Districts 1 and 13 have strongly
supported their campaign.
NABET-CWA: Job Security a Key Issue as ABC
Bargaining Begins
Negotiations are underway between NABET-CWA and
ABC-TV, with the union's bargaining team determined to
improve members' job security by ensuring that they have
access to jobs of the future at the network.
NABET-CWA President John Clark, in a letter to
members, said that while NABET members already do much
of the work involving emerging technologies at ABC, "our
participation depends largely on the 'good will' of the
company.
"Our aim in these negotiations is to convince ABC
that — based on our talents, dedication, value and
professionalism, and our long history in helping build
this company into what it is today – our future must be
built on a foundation more enduring than someone's good
will," Clark said.
As for wages at ABC, where NABET represents about
2,500 workers nationwide, Clark said they've fallen
behind pay rates at NBC and CBS and even many
independent stations. Other key bargaining issues
include preserving members' pension plan, improving
retiree health care and preventing rollbacks in work
rules.
In an opening statement when bargaining began
Wednesday in the Washington, D.C. area, Clark reminded
the company of its financial strength, and how workers
contributed to it.
"It's our belief that, overall, your company has been
doing very well of late," he said. "Under the strong,
imaginative leadership of Robert Iger, the fortunes of
The Walt Disney Company have revived significantly, and
ABC has been enjoying a growing success. Our members
have contributed to that success and want to continue
helping the company succeed far into the future."
He said NABET negotiators would like to reach
agreement with the company before the current four-year
contract expires March 31, and will hard toward that
goal. However, he cautioned, "We are not prepared to
roll over and capitulate to achieve it."
AFA-CWA Opposes Virgin America's Bid to Enter U.S.
Market
Seeking to protect the nation's still recovering
airline industry, AFA-CWA has asked the Department of
Transportation to once again deny the foreign carrier
Virgin America permission to fly U.S. domestic routes.
In December, the DOT rejected Virgin America's
earlier bid to enter the U.S. market, ruling that the
carrier is not owned and operated by U.S. citizens.
Airlines with foreign-ownership exceeding 25 percent
cannot operate in the United States as a domestic
carrier.
The airline said that it has retooled its application
to meet DOT approval but AFA-CWA rejected the airline's
claimed changes as "cosmetic."
"We are hopeful that the DOT will see through this
cosmetic attempt to cover the fact that the airline is
still controlled by foreign interests, and once again
reject the Virgin America application," said AFA-CWA
President Patricia Friend. "If the airline is allowed to
take flight, corporations will not stop until they
successfully weaken our long-standing foreign investor
laws." Friend warned that a weakening of the laws would
place the safety and security of U.S. airlines in
"severe jeopardy."
AFA-CWA members are conducting a letter-writing
campaign to both local and federal officials, asking
them to reject Virgin America's bid to compete in the
domestic airline market against U.S.-owned carriers.
Join in our campaign! Go to
www.unionvoice.org/campaign/NoWayVA and tell the DOT to
reject Virgin America's application.
IN BRIEF:
- Spurred by CWA members, Arizona State
Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill plans to have March 8
declared "Diane Bacon Day" in Arizona, where the
late CWA activist served countless labor and
progressive causes.
Bacon, who was political director for the
CWA Arizona State Council, died Dec. 8. On March 8,
Bacon's birthday, Burton-Cahill plans to introduce a
proclamation to name the day in Bacon's honor.
Bacon's many years of service included being a
delegate to the Democratic National Convention in
2000 and president of Arizona Jobs with Justice.
- If you're planning to attend the CWA
convention in Toronto in July, you'll need a valid
passport. If you don't have one or need to
renew yours, do so right away as changes in U.S.
State Department travel rules are bringing in tens
of thousands of new passport applications.
The rules, which went into effect in January,
require all air travelers 15 and older to have
passports for travel between the United States and
Canada. For more information about passports, see
the State Department webpage:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html.
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