September 20, 2007
CWA Puts Off Endorsement, Launches First-Ever,
Union-Wide Political E-Poll
CWA is holding off on an endorsement of a
presidential candidate, for now, but has put in place an
innovative on-line poll for the union's 700,000 plus
members and retirees to indicate the candidates they
prefer, based on the candidates' responses to specific
questions asked by CWA.
Those issues are the Employee Free Choice Act, health
care and jobs and trade. CWA's membership-wide poll is
the first of its kind among unions and will be a big
factor in CWA's political action program for the 2008
election season.
"CWA's goals in the political process are first, to
maximize member involvement, second, to keep the focus
of our members and the candidates on critical economic
issues, and third, to make a difference that produces
results for our members at the ballot box and in
critical legislation," said CWA President Larry Cohen.
"We are convinced that over the next 18 months all
members in every CWA industry will see the connection
between their worklife, their families and the electoral
and legislative process more than ever. We will bring
back bargaining rights in the United States, win the
fight for real health care reform and create policies
that support American jobs," he said.
Cohen was among three questioners at a political
forum in Iowa in August, where six Democratic
presidential candidates also answered specific questions
about workers' rights, health care and trade and jobs.
CWA's Executive Board reviewed the presidential
candidates' answers. The responses – some in print, some
candidates sent in videos -- will be posted on a special
CWA election and political website for reference.
CWA also is encouraging members to become fully
engaged in political campaigns to run for election as
delegates to the Democratic and Republican conventions.
All the candidates – Democratic and Republican --
were contacted numerous times and asked to provide
specific responses on CWA's key issues.
Democratic presidential
candidates who responded were Senators Joseph Biden,
Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, and
Barack Obama; Rep. Dennis Kucinich; Governor Bill
Richardson.
Not responding
were Republican candidates Senator John McCain;
Representatives Ron Paul and Tom Tancredo; former
Governors Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney;
and former mayor Rudy Giuliani, along with former
Senator Mike Gravel (a Democrat), despite numerous
contacts and opportunities.
The questions were:
- We would like to hear if you support the
Employee Free Choice Act and what you would do as
president to lead the fight to get that legislation
past the hurdle of a Senate filibuster and onto your
desk for signature.
- Tell us how you would fund universal health care
to ensure that all Americans have coverage and to
make U.S. jobs more competitive and not disadvantage
those employers who currently provide quality health
benefits to their employees.
- Detail specifics steps you would offer to cut
the trade deficit - now more than $700 billion a
year -and help spur the retention and growth of jobs
in this country.
Four Local
Leaders Named to Executive Board Diversity Seats
The CWA Executive Board has appointed four members to
the at-large diversity seats established by CWA
Convention delegates this year. They are: Carolyn Wade,
president, CWA Local 1040; Nestor Soto, president, CWA
Local 33225 in Puerto Rico; Claude Cummings, president,
CWA Local 6222; and Madelyn Elder, president, CWA Local
7901.
These members were selected from nominations made by
the Committee on Equity, the National Women's Committee
and the CWA Minority Caucus. They will serve until the
2008 CWA convention, when elections for the at-large
seats will be held.
At the 2007 convention, CWA delegates voted to expand
the Executive Board to ensure that CWA leadership fully
reflects the diversity, experiences and perspective of
local union leaders and membership. The action was a key
part of CWA's Ready for the Future program, a unionwide
initiative built on strategic planning and strong
grassroots activism.
Landmark Pact
Brings Raises, Grievance Rights to NJ Child Care Workers
More than 6,000 New Jersey child care workers –
members of the Child Care Workers Union – won a landmark
first contract that provides for pay raises, a
first-in-the-nation grievance procedure and a real union
voice, among other benefits.
The child care workers organized by CWA Local 1037
provide child care for New Jersey parents who are
receiving public assistance.
Under the contract, a worker earning $533 a month now
for one child will be earning $654 by July 1, 2009. By
the same date, a worker caring for five children will
earn $7,200 more annually. Raises are scheduled for Oct.
1 and July of 2008 and 2009, in addition to a 3 percent
cost-of-living increase the legislature approved for all
state employees in January 2008.
CWA President Larry Cohen praised the activists and
leaders of Local 1037 who went door to door for months
with union supporters, meeting with potential members
and building the organization. "This is an amazing,
ground-breaking contract that puts New Jersey child care
workers first," he said.
The contract includes a dispute resolution process
with arbitration rights and other legal and regulatory
protections, said Local 1037 President Hetty Rosenstein.
Child care worker contracts negotiated by other unions
in Illinois and Oregon don't have grievance arbitration,
she noted. "I am confident that this is the best child
care contract in the country," she said.
CCWU will be able to meet with newly hired child care
workers during their orientation and training. Seniority
dates will now be kept and be part of the referral
information given to parents.
The state also has agreed to survey child care
workers regarding their health care status and offer
enrollment in the state's reduced-cost Family Care
program to eligible workers. Data will be shared with
the union, which is setting up a health care committee
to address health coverage for members.
Rosenstein said ratification will likely be completed
by the end of October.
LifePath
Workers Vote CWA
In one of the biggest NLRB elections this year, a
unit of 467 LifePath workers who provide care for
developmentally disabled adults in Pennsylvania voted
strongly for representation by CWA Local 13500 on Sept.
19.
The campaign relied heavily on the Stewards Army to
reach LifePath workers who work at 90 different
locations in seven counties. More than 25 stewards,
members and activists of Local 13000 and Local 13500
volunteered their time to talk about the benefits of
union representation, said CWA District 13 Organizing
Coordinator Pam Trounser.
LifePath, a non-profit organization that receives
most of its funds from county and state government,
initially sought to hold captive audience meetings and
send mailings to workers' homes. But Local 13500 got
state and local legislators to sign on to public letters
of support and to alert the State Auditor General that
public funds may have been used for anti-union
activities, a violation of state law.
A radio campaign also helped let LifePath workers
know that their union colleagues in New Jersey had
turned to CWA to address similar concerns on the job,
like firings for no reason and unfair treatment, said
Marge Krueger, administrative director, District 13.
Tough Contract Talks Produce Tentative Pact at Dow
Jones
Employees at Dow Jones & Company have a tentative
contract after 10 months of tough negotiations that were
further complicated this summer when Dow Jones was sold
to News Corporation, owned by Rupert Murdoch.
The board of the Independent Association of
Publishers' Employees Local 1096, a unit of The
Newspaper Guild-CWA, recommended approval of the
settlement; plans for membership ratification are
underway.
If ratified, the three-year contract provides for
annual 3 percent wage increases plus a cost of living
adjustment that will take effect when inflation hits
3.25 percent. Increases will be retroactive to January
2007, when the previous contract expired.
The IAPE bargaining team retained the full 401k plan
and Money Retirement Plan, a guaranteed schedule of
severance pay, all rights to grievance and arbitration,
seniority, due process in discipline and due cause
protections in dismissals, said Local President Steven
Yount.
The contract adds a new wellness/disease management
program and expands coverage for physical exams and
immunizations for employees and family members. Some
health care costs will increase, including some premiums
and costs for certain in-network services.
Yount called the settlement a testament to the
incredible hard work of the IAPE bargaining team and the
resolve of countless IAPE members across the country.
"Obviously, this contract is not everything that we
wanted -- and the board believes it is short of the
quality contract" that members deserve. "But the board
also believes -- at this time, under these conditions --
this is the best package available," Yount said.
The $5 billion deal to sell Dow Jones, including its
flagship publication the Wall Street Journal to
Murdoch's News Corporation is expected to be finalized
in November. IAPE-CWA represents about 2,000 reporters,
photographers, editors and other employees at Dow Jones
operations.
1,200 More AT&T Mobility Workers Organize in Florida
Seeking the benefits and job protections enjoyed by
40,000 other CWA members at AT&T Mobility (formerly
Cingular), the company's 1,166 retail sales workers in
Florida have gained representation under CWA's card
check and neutrality agreement with the company.
The sales associates, spread across the state in 129
stores from Florida's panhandle to Key West, are among
the youngest group of workers organized by CWA, with
most being college age and many still attending school.
"What attracted them to CWA was how our agreement with
AT&T met some of their chief needs as younger workers –
tuition aid, premium pay, and lower health care costs,"
said District Three Vice President Noah Savant. Some 18
CWA Locals worked together in the massive statewide
campaign.
Last month, a unit of 22 network technicians gained
representation in Mississippi.
Virtual Strikers Take on IBM in Second Life
Second Life is the hottest thing around. It's a
virtual, three-D computer world where political
candidates like John Edwards have an office, where
companies sell products, where governments like Sweden
have set up shop, where the local residents, called
"avatars" spend money on everything from designer
clothes to gourmet coffee, and where next week, IBM
Corp. workers will be on strike.
Italian IBM Corp. workers, with the support of Union
Network International, CWA's Alliance@IBM and activists
around the globe, will go on strike beginning Sept. 25,
and the strike is expected to last about a week. Anyone
can participate, and UNI and Alliance@IBM are
encouraging union supporters to join in. Go to
www.allianceibm.org and follow links to UNI's
website. There you can get a strike kit and download
software from Second Life that shows you how to create
an avatar – your Second Life persona – who will join the
strike.
"IBM has a very large presence in Second Life, and
this is a very innovative action by Italian unionists,"
said Local 1701 President Linda Guyer. "The goal of the
IBM global unions is to put pressure on IBM in both the
virtual world and the real world, on issues that affect
all IBM employees."
In real-life IBM locations in the United States,
those issues include respect in the workplace and
respect for workers' rights to organize and bargain a
fair contract; the erosion of wages and benefits; and
the increased offshoring and contracting out of jobs,
said Lee Conrad, national coordinator, Alliance@IBM.
Local 1701 has about 6,000 members and associate members
and also represents retirees and former employees who
are concerned about what's happening at IBM and in the
information technology industry.
IBM sells products in Second Life and has "islands,"
where the company conducts business. "We expect them to
shut down islands," Conrad said, "but we don't know if
they'll create goon squads or strike breakers – anything
is possible in the virtual world."
IN BRIEF:
- The International Federation of
Journalists has been presented with the George
Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award, in
recognition of the courage of its members, the
journalists and media workers who risk their lives
in the pursuit of truth around the world.
The IFJ --TNG-CWA is a member -- is a worldwide
federation of unions and journalist associations
that presses for global action to defend press
freedom and the rights of media workers. It
documents the deaths and targeting of news workers
and fights to bring those killers to prosecution.
The IFJ's International Safety Fund provides
humanitarian relief to news workers in need. Read
more about the IFJ's work at
www.ifj.org.
- Workers with employer-paid health
insurance and families to cover are now paying an
average of $3,281 a year toward their premiums – in
addition to higher deductibles and rising
co-payments for prescriptions and doctor visits,
according to a recent survey by the Kaiser Family
Foundation and the Health Research Educational
Trust.
Although the 6.1 percent hike in health
insurance premiums this year is lower than last
year's increase and less than half the whopping 13.9
percent increase in 2003, the survey showed that
premiums overall have skyrocketed 78 percent since
2001. That's four times faster than wages or
inflation.
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