June 7, 2007
Dow Jones Members Seek Alternatives to Murdoch
The Independent Association of Publishers' Employers,
CWA Local 1096, and TNG-CWA are reaching out to
investors who may be interested in making a bid for Dow
Jones & Company, publisher of the Wall Street Journal,
to help head off a bid by News Corp. owner Rupert
Murdoch.
The Yucaipa Companies, headed by Ron Burkle, has
expressed interest in working with the union and the
Bancroft family, which owns Dow Jones, on a possible
purchase of the company.
IAPE President Steve Yount said that "our union
remains hopeful that the Bancroft family will conclude
that a sale is not necessary. But if a sale must take
place, we believe there are alternatives to Rupert
Murdoch."
The workers, along with members of the Bancroft
family and many media analysts, are worried that the
steller reputation and independence of the Journal could
be jeopardized by a sale to Murdoch, who is known for
presenting sensational, tabloid-style journalism in his
newspapers, such the New York Post, and conservative
bias on his Fox News Channel.
IAPE represents 2,000 employees at Dow Jones,
including journalists at the Journal and Barrons
Magazine, and employees at the company's wire services,
broadcasting and online enterprises.
IAPE, along with Ownership Associates, the firm that
worked with TNG-CWA to assess a potential employee
buyout of some Knight Ridder properties, also is
exploring other investment relationships and has reached
out to Warren Buffet, among others, to gauge their
interest in bidding for Dow Jones.
Cohen Joins NABET Team at ABC Negotiations
CWA President Larry Cohen joined NABET leaders at a
bargaining session with ABC last week in Chicago, urging
the network to see the union as a valuable partner that
deserves respect and good-faith bargaining.
"He began by talking about the communications
business in general and that we could be even better
partners with the company because a lot of the issues on
the broadcast side are permeating into telecom," NABET
Vice President Jim Joyce said. "One of the company's
claims is that they're in an advertising war with
Google, and Larry told them, 'That fight is our fight.'
He suggested ways we could work together on that, and on
other regulatory issues."
The current ABC contract expired March 31 and in May
NABET-CWA members at the network overwhelmingly voted to
strike if necessary. ABC has demanded significant
changes in jurisdiction and work rules and what
negotiators call a "devastating" plan to freeze workers'
pensions.
After a two-month break in bargaining spurred by the
pension proposal, the union and company met for two
weeks in Chicago at the end of May. Cohen joined them
for their last session June 1.
The Chicago talks yielded minor movement by ABC on
proposals regarding work rules, but negotiators said
there is a lot of hard work still ahead. The union
represents about 2,500 technicians, camera operators,
news writers and other employees across the country
In a memo to the CWA Executive Board, Cohen praised
NABET President John Clark and the rest of the
negotiating team for staying focused and "not
discouraged despite months of bargaining." Noting
ABC-Disney's sky high-profits, he said the company
should be ashamed of its assault on workers'
livelihoods.
"Disney stock is up 25 percent in the last year and
has a market value of $70 billion," he said. "Yet more
than half of our bargaining unit is freelancers with no
employment security, and management still wants more."
Flight Attendants Gain as Northwest Exits Bankruptcy
Eligible AFA-CWA flight attendants at Northwest
Airlines will receive a cash payment and pension
contribution worth about $14,500 within the next two to
three weeks. The funds will be distributed as the result
of the union's sale of a $182 million equity claim
against Northwest that was preserved in their recently
ratified contract.
"The sale of the equity claim will provide some much
needed cash and 401(k) contributions to our flight
attendants," said Jay Hong, AFA-CWA MEC president at
Northwest. "But we should be clear: this sale recoups
only a small fraction of the financial sacrifices our
members have made in this bankruptcy."
Said Andy Wisbacher, MEC vice president, "Our fight
to rebuild our contract and recover what management has
taken from us has already begun."
Sale of the equity claim came on May 31, just two
days after the Northwest flight attendants ratified
their contract and on the same day that Northwest
emerged from bankruptcy. A federal judge ruled that the
flight attendants claim would be void unless a new
contract was ratified.
The proceeds from the sale will be distributed 40
percent in cash and
60 percent as a 401(k) contribution. Of the 8,000
Northwest flight attendants represented by AFA-CWA, all
with seniority date of Nov. 15, 2005 or earlier are
eligible for the distribution.
Unions Press DirecTV for Fair Contract Negotiations
About 50 members of CWA Locals 1101 and 1108, Jobs
with Justice and the United Electrical Workers rallied
outside the annual meeting of DirecTV in New York City
to protest the company's refusal to bargain a fair
contract with technicians and other workers at the
company as well as its latest move to shift workers'
jobs in several states to contractors.
A year ago, workers at DirecTech Southwest in
Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky voted for CWA
representation. Since then, the company has stonewalled
contract negotiations and continues to refuse to bargain
a fair agreement. Workers in Ohio, represented by the
UE, are facing the same contract fight.
"This situation is exactly why the Employee Free
Choice Act must be passed," said CWA President Larry
Cohen. "If that law was in effect today, companies like
DirecTV couldn't block the bargaining process. A fair
arbitration system would settle disputed contracts that
couldn't be resolved and true workers' rights would be
restored. Instead, our current broken system allows
employers to string out negotiations, sometimes for
years, denying workers their rights."
DirecTV workers are seeking a fair wage increase and
a fair contract. Some of the customer service
representatives, or "trackers," who are mostly women,
currently are paid just $6.50 an hour. Health care
premiums are so high that fewer than half of the workers
can afford to buy coverage for themselves and their
families and some of the trackers and their families
earn so little that they're eligible for public
assistance, food stamps and children's health insurance,
said Tom Newport, CWA District 6 organizing
coordinator.
CWA members at DirecTV are urging workers and the
public to support their fight for fairness, asking
supporters to contact Tom Beaudreau, the chief executive
officer of DirecTech Southwest, to urge him to "get
serious about a contract that provides fair wages and
benefits."
Campaign Heats Up to Stop Verizon Landline Sale
More than 200 CWA and IBEW members rallied in
Burlington, Vt., on June 2 to tell Vermont's Public
Service Board that Verizon's proposed sale of its
landlines to FairPoint Communications would leave
northern New England stranded with outmoded
telecommunications. Verizon has proposed selling its
landlines in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont for $2.72
billion.
"Even though it's one of the richest telecom firms in
the world, Verizon has failed to include much of Vermont
in its plans to build a high-speed broadband data
network," said Meg Collins, an 18-year Verizon service
rep and executive vice president of CWA Local 1400. "If
this sale goes through, Vermont's and all of Northern
New England's citizens will be 'road kill' on the
information superhighway."
Her message was echoed by other Verizon workers and
lawmakers. State Rep. Ernie Shand, a former telecom
worker, stressed the community service aspect of the
campaign. "We are here to do what we do best – take care
of our people. Mergers can be a painful process, but the
great thing about telephone people is they care about
the people they serve."
Recently, Vermont House Speaker Gaye Symington,
Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin and key House
and Senate committee chairs – honoring an amendment to
the governor's telecommunications bill – wrote to
Vermont's Public Service Board and Department of Public
Service, recommending "that any company seeking to
acquire the assets and network of Verizon New England,
Inc. have the capabilities and intentions to furnish
broadband services that are sufficient to meet the
rapidly evolving needs of Vermont residents, businesses
and institutions."
Meanwhile, with further hearings scheduled in all
three states, the campaign is urging union members and
the public to call, write or e-mail their state senators
in Maine, urging them to support LD 1866, a bill based
on similar language, essentially requiring that any
purchaser of Verizon's landlines have sufficient assets
to provide state-of-the-art services. A vote is expected
soon.
CWA Forming ALS Support Group
CWA is forming a support group for members, friends
and families affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,
or ALS.
Often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease," ALS
affects as many as 30,000 Americans at any one time. It
is a degenerative nerve disease whose symptoms include
slurred speech and diminishing control over the use of
hands and feet. More than 5,600 people within the United
States are diagnosed each year.
At the CWA Legislative-Political Conference in March,
District 2 Vice President Pete Catucci announced that he
has the disease, and that he will continue to serve in
office and to advocate for stem cell research. Stem cell
treatments, Catucci said, while not available in this
country have been shown to effect a cure rate of up to
40 percent in other countries.
"I want to change people's minds about what's really
important," Catucci said. Referring to a broad range of
diseases for which stem cell treatments may prove
effective, he said, "Up to 100 million people may
benefit from this research."
Ron Collins, administrative director in District 2,
is conducting an assessment to learn who and how many of
the CWA family are affected by ALS as well as what
activities a CWA support group might undertake. To offer
information and suggetions, you may contact Ron at (301)
562-8133 or send an e-mail to
rcollins@cwa-union.org.
IN BRIEF:
- CWA will meet with the top leadership of
Avaya and the two private equity investment firms
that are proposing to purchase the company for $8.2
billion. In discussions with Avaya, the company has
indicated that the contract will remain intact, said
Ralph Maly, CWA Vice President, Communications and
Technologies.
If the sale to investment
firms Silver Lake and TPG Capital goes through and
is approved by Avaya shareholders, the company will
become a privately owned corporation.
"CWA will evaluate this potential sale and will act
to make certain that the wages, pensions, benefits
and jobs of members, and the interests of retired
workers are protected," Maly said. CWA represents
about 2,000 Avaya workers.
- AFA-CWA and the nation's leading airline
passenger rights group have joined together to urge
Congress to address serious flaws in aviation
policy.
"Airlines have repeatedly failed
to provide Congress with any sort of deplanement
plan, despite a call from several prominent leaders.
This arrogant attempt to circumvent Congressional
requests is just another example of how airlines
continue to leave passenger rights on the ground,"
said Kate Hanni, president of the Coalition for an
Airline Passengers Bill of Rights (CAPBOR).
AFA-CWA also supports a bill of rights but
President Patricia Friend said "it will be an empty
promise until Congress enacts serious aviation
policy reforms" that would upgrade air traffic
control, improve airports, apply carry-on baggage
standards to every airline and improve cabin air
quality, among other changes.
Recently, United Airlines unveiled its “new policy”
to handle long ground delays, which describes
extraordinary delays as “flights of note.” Hanni
said that “To trivialize both the passengers and the
crew on flights held up to 11 hours in deplorable
conditions, by calling these horrific flights
‘flights of note’, is absurd.” More about the new
organization is online at
www.flyersrights.org.
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