March 20, 2008
CWA Gains Tentative Pact at Century
Tel Missouri
CWA reached a tentative three-year agreement with
Century Tel of Missouri which strengthens job security
provisions and safeguards seniority – two key issues in
the talks – and boosts wages, among other gains. The
pact covers about 350 workers, members of CWA Locals
6301, 6310, 6311, 6312 and 6373.
Contract explanation meetings are being scheduled and
the bargaining committee has unanimously recommended
ratification of the tentative settlement.
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CWA Local 6171 mobilizes at
Century Tel Arkansas. |
Meanwhile, the fight for a fair contract continues
for CWA Local 6171 members whose contract at Century Tel
Arkansas expired last August. The 169 workers are
fighting back against the company's attack on seniority
and recall rights, among other issues. Century Tel
Arkansas presented a "final offer" to members that was
overwhelmingly rejected by the membership, and the
members fully support the efforts of the bargaining
committee, said CWA Telecommunications Vice President
Jimmy Gurganus. The committee continues to stand firm
against management's demands and more mobilization
actions are in the works.
The tentative Century Tel Missouri settlement
provides for a 6.5 percent wage increase over the
contract term, plus improvements in in-charge pay, night
differential and compensated availability pay. For
workers in some job titles, the wage increases will be
paid as annual lump sum payments.
The agreement also protects workers' seniority rights
and improves recall rights and force adjustment
procedures in the event of a layoff. Current health
care coverage, including retiree health care, was
maintained. The pension plan for current workers remains
unchanged; new hires as of March 12, 2008 will be
covered under the Century Tel Retirement Plan.
The bargaining committee said the agreement "could
not have been reached without the mobilization efforts
of Century Tel members and locals." Bargaining committee
chair and CWA Representative Mark Franken praised
committee members for their "long hours and
determination to win a fair agreement." In addition to
Franken, members were Gene Whitfield, Local 6310; Danny
Rice, 6312; and Gary Kolb, 6373.
Employee Free
Choice Act Critical to 'Taking Back America'
"Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act is essential
to setting a political agenda that benefits working
Americans after the 2008 elections," CWA President Larry
Cohen said in an address to more than 1,000 participants
at the "Take Back America" conference in Washington,
D.C., this week.
"Passing EFCA and restoring workers' collective
bargaining rights is a critical part of any agenda to
take back America," said Cohen explaining that
"bargaining rights are the key to creating and
sustaining a middle class standard of living." He
decried the fact that the percentage of Americans with
collective bargaining rights is a fraction of what it is
in virtually every other industrialized country, and
even among newly emerging democracies like South Africa
or Brazil.
Participants at the conference, sponsored by the
Campaign for America's Future, come from labor unions
and other progressive organizations who are developing a
policy agenda for Congress and the next president that
focuses on the needs of America's working families.
Issues high on the group's agenda – affordable health
care, fair trade, fair economic policies, quality
education, and retirement security – mirror those of
CWA.
Stating that labor's success at the bargaining table
and in the political arena "have elevated workplace
conditions and middle class standards throughout
America," CWA's president asked conference participants
to pledge to get 10 percent of their members to sign
EFCA support cards as part of labor's "Million Member
Mobilization for the Employee Free Choice Act."
"These cards are the faces of America and represent a
pledge to participate in our movement to rebuild the
labor movement," said Cohen. These cards, along with
photos of the workers who signed them, will be presented
to Congress after the November elections.
'Tale of Two Countries' Video Looks at Health Care
in Canada
Canadian members of CWA talk about their country's
health care system and how it compares with the costly
system in the United States in a video that the Canadian
Media Guild produced for last year's CWA convention in
Toronto.
The video is now available online on at
www.heatlhcarevoices.org/canada. The Health Care
Voices website features hundreds of stories, ideas and
concerns of CWA members and their families as part of
the union's fight for health care reform in the United
States.
The March/April issue of the CWA News, which goes in
the mail next week, explains CWA's campaign for reform
and looks at differences between the publicly-funded
systems of Canada and Europe and the insurance-driven
system in the United States.
In the video and in other interviews, Canadians
indicate they don't understand why Americans cling to a
staggeringly expensive system that leaves so many people
without health care.
CWA Slams
Western Union Plan to Close U.S. Facilities
CWA is condemning Western Union Financial Services
Inc., for its announced plans to close three facilities
in Missouri and Texas and shift that work to non-union
and overseas operations.
Some 640 workers in Dallas, Texas, and Bridgeton and
St. Charles, Missouri, members of CWA Locals 6377 and
6178, were told they will lose their jobs over the next
five months.
"It's apparent to me that Western Union has
determined that it would prefer to operate as a
union-free enterprise," said District 6 Vice President
Andy Milburn.
"CWA will do everything legally possible to stop
these centers from closing and stop Western Union from
moving our work to non-union operations, both in the
United States and overseas," said CWA Staff
Representative Mike Neumann, who heads the Western Union
bargaining team.
Last month, CWA Local 6377 filed unfair labor
practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board
against Western Union, charging that company managers
have tried to coerce union members and subvert the
bargaining process. The local also charged that earlier
layoffs announced by Western Union – of 150 workers in
Bridgeton and Dallas – were an act of retaliation
against the workers and the union for refusing to engage
in concessionary early bargaining.
Western Union said it plans to transfer the work to
non-union locations including Denver and offshore
facilities in Costa Rica, Manila, Mexico City and
Mexicali, Mexico.
"Western Union is an American icon. Today, it has
turned its back on the very employees who built the
company into a multinational enterprise," said Earline
Jones, president of CWA Local 6377.
Olivia Espinosa, president of CWA Local 6178 in
Dallas, said "Western Union is a greedy, profitable
company that doesn't seem to care about the excellent
customer service our CWA members now provide. And that's
bad news for customers."
Two Groups Honor Speed Matters Website for
Excellence
CWA's Speed Matters website, a critical part of the
union's campaign to push for affordable high-speed
internet access nationwide, has been honored by two
organizations with awards for its content, design and
usefulness. The site was built with funds from CWA's
Speed Matters Strategic Industry Fund.
"We are proud to be recognized for our campaign and
for the exceptional work of our webmasters to bring it
to life online," CWA President Larry Cohen said.
The American Association of Political Consultants, in
its annual Pollie Awards, gave a Silver Medal to the
Speed Matters site for "Best Use of Search Engine
Marketing" and awarded it an honorable mention for "Best
Landing Page."
"The AAPC is the world's largest organization of
political and public policy professionals and the Pollie
Awards are the organization's signature annual event,"
the AAPC says in materials about the contest. "Each year
the prestigious Pollie Awards recognize the best in
political and public affairs communications in 175
different categories."
The Institute for Policy, Democracy & the Internet
named the Speed Matters site as a finalist in its Golden
Dot Awards for "Best Website – Issue Advocacy Campaign."
"This year was a great success for the Golden Dot
Awards as we democratized both the nominating and voting
process, bringing it to the public via the Internet,"
the IPDI said. "There were over 100 nominations and saw
4,000 votes in only a 5 business day-long time period."
CWA's site did extremely well in the contest against
tough competition: The winner in the issue advocacy
category was
www.TeamDarfur.org, the website of a coalition of
athletes committed to raising awareness about the Darfur
crisis and bringing an end to it.
The Speed Matters website is at
www.speedmatters.org. Its features include a speed
test to determine your own internet connection speed and
a state-by-state report on average speeds nationwide.
CWA Mourns Retired District 13 Assistant Frank
Wentzel
Frank S. Wentzel, retired assistant to two District
13 vice presidents, who helped facilitate the merger of
the independent Federation of Telephone Workers of
Pennsylvania into CWA, died March 6 at age 84.
"Frank was one of the kindest, most trustworthy
people I ever knew," said retired District 13 Vice
President Vincent Maisano. "You could always rely on
him. He had a wealth of knowledge and enjoyed sharing
it."
Wentzel joined FTWP when he went to work for Bell
Telephone of Pennsylvania in 1947 as a station installer
and PBX repairer. He rose through the ranks of FTWP's
Local 44 and eventually became president of the
federation's Pittsburgh Division. He worked with Maisano
– by then president of the Philadelphia Division – and
others to effect a merger of the 14,000-member union
with CWA in August 1984, forming the union's District
13.
Following the merger, Wentzel became assistant to
District 13 Vice President Bill Wallace and stayed on in
that position under Maisano when he was elected District
13 vice president at the 1986 convention. He retired
Nov.1, 1988.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret, of Pittsburgh. |
