cwa newsletter, thursday, december 19, 2013

8/13/2019 CWA Newsletter, Thursday, December 19, 2013

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December 19, 2013

Want to be in next week's CWA Newsletter? Send your stories and [email protected]@CWANews. Follow the latest developmentsatwww.resistancegrowing.org.

Bargaining Update

Get Ready to Fight 'Fast Track' in January

Senate, House Pass Budget Deal Without Extending Jobless Benefits

New Jersey DREAM Act to Become Law

Supreme Court Takes Pass on Neutrality in Organizing Campaigns

AT&T Announces Plan to Sell Connecticut Holdings to Frontier

31 Mechanic Instructors Vote to Join CWA

Building Our Movement

Immigration Activists Tell GOP: See You in 2014

Senate Rules Reform Update

Mark Your Calendar: CWA Customer Service Professionals

Conference
http://action.cwa-union.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=KLRZR6fg1CtaqWnCfAKCQV7X91aGuA4khttp://action.cwa-union.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=Z61eMYCiOq1dBbCQXQbUtF7X91aGuA4khttp://action.cwa-union.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=7sHcTNY41QgrFsVf4lEer17X91aGuA4kmailto:[email protected]://action.cwa-union.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=JoF%2FgjiFx5WzS60AENwNuF7X91aGuA4k


2/14

Bargaining Update

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University of California

UPTE members rally for fairness for all UC workers.

UPTE-CWA Local 9119 and the University of California have reachedtentative agreement on a contract for the system's 15,000 researchers,technical employees and health care professionals. A ratification vote isplanned for next week.

The proposed contract includes cost-of-living increases plus step increasesover four years, and it preserves UC's quality retirement system on a single-tier for UPTE-represented workers through an additional contribution fromemployees.

"The historic agreement is a commitment to preserving the University ofCalifornia as the world's premiere academic institution," said UPTE PresidentJelger Kalmijn. "Our bargaining team made a responsible proposal tocontribute an additional 1 percent to the pension fund in exchange for the UCagreeing to keep all members on a single plan, and UC has agreed."

UC management had initially proposed a two-tier pension system that would
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have dramatically reduced benefits for current and future employees. UPTE-represented workers poured out onto picket lines, wrote letters and evenwent on strike in solidarity with other hospital workers last spring to make itclear they rejected UC's plan.

"We hope this ground-breaking agreement sets a new pattern for labornegotiations and brings to an end the years of attempted management take-backs despite healthy bottom-lines at UC's research and medical facilities,"said Kalmijn. "A four-year agreement will provide new UC president JanetNapolitano with a period of labor peace," he added, in which he hopes "wecan work together to remedy much of the damage that was done by difficultbudget times and the acrimonious employment strategies of herpredecessor."

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Airline Bargaining

Spirit Airlines Flight Attendants have reached a tentative agreement for a five-year contract. The agreement was reached with the assistance of theNational Mediation Board.

AFA-CWA also has reached a tentative agreement with Alaska Airlinesmanagement on a five year agreement that would cover over 3,100 Flight

Attendants. The tentative agreement, reached with the assistance of theNational Mediation Board, contains wage increases and improved jobsecurity and protections.

AFA-CWA International President Veda Shook said, "While the airlineindustry is now making record profits, contract bargaining continues to be agrueling experience. Too often we are forced to spend sometimes yearsbargaining just to hang on to current contract language. At both Spirit and

Alaska, through strong mobilization and effective strategies at the bargainingtables, our AFA leaders were able to negotiate for improvements in theirexisting agreements."

Spirit and Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants will vote on the tentativeagreements throughout January, following road shows conducted by AFA-

CWA leaders.

Get Ready to Fight 'Fast Track' in January


4/14

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Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiators may have missed their year-enddeadline to wrap up the deal, but "fast track" remains a serious threat.

Leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate FinanceCommittee, which have jurisdiction over trade deals, have agreed onspeeding the TPP through Congress using "fast track" also known as TradePromotion Authority which would limit lawmakers to an up-or-down vote onthe TPP without any amendments. Since they've run out of time this year,Congress is expected to introduce a "fast track" bill in the beginning ofJanuary.

This is dangerous. Despite loud protests about the lack of transparency in theTPP negotiating process, the public and many members of Congress stilldon't even know what's in this massive trade deal covering 12 Pacific Rimcountries. More than 600 corporate advisors can read and comment on thenegotiating texts, while labor, environmental, public health, consumer andopen Internet groups are left relying on leaks to glean important informationabout the agreement.

What we do know is terrifying: The TPP would give corporations new powersto attack important workers' rights, environmental and public healthprotections. It would offshore millions of American jobs and erode wages here

at home. It would decrease access to life-saving medicines and flood the U.S.marketplace with unsafe food.

We can't let this secretive free trade deal rush through Congress unchecked.Now is the time to urge our lawmakers to oppose "fast track" before it's toolate. Learn more atwww.stopthetpp.com.

Senate, House Pass Budget Deal Without Extending Jobless Benefits

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The budget agreement passed by both the House and Senate stops some ofthe senseless cuts required by sequestration and, at least for two years,means there won't be a government shutdown over the issue.
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6/14

New Jersey DREAM Act to Become Law

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Members of the New Jersey DREAM Act coalition worked for more than ayear for a measure that moves the state closer to providing equality andopportunity for undocumented students.

A coalition of CWA activists, students, the faith group PICO, immigrationadvocacy groups, SEIU and the American Civil Liberties Union convinced theNew Jersey state legislature to stand tough on legislation to allowundocumented immigrants who attended and graduated from a New Jerseyhigh school to be eligible for in-state rates at public higher educational

institutions, including in-county rates at community colleges.

As a result, these young students, who grew up in the state, now will be ableto attend college and other higher education programs at in-state tuitionrates.

Governor Chris Christie had wanted to weaken the bill even more but finallyagreed to a compromise. Christie did veto provisions that would have grantedthose students eligibility for state financial aid programs. Christie campaignedfor re-election last year and claimed he supported "tuition equality." Over thepast few weeks he has been raising objections to the bill.

Hetty Rosenstein, CWA's New Jersey state director, said, "CWA has workedwith students, immigration rights advocates, the ACLU, other unions, and thereligious community for more than a year to get this done. Through directaction and intense public pressure, we ran a campaign that will force ChrisChristie to do what he never wanted to do: sign a bill that will bring us closerto equality and opportunity for undocumented students."
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Christie was expected to sign the bill today.

Supreme Court Takes Pass on Neutrality in Organizing Campaigns

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The U.S. Supreme Court has dismissed a case dealing with the right ofunions and employers to negotiate neutrality agreements for union organizingcampaigns.

The case,Mulhall v. UNITE HERE Local 355, was brought by the NationalRight to Work Legal Defense Foundation, and stemmed from a neutrality

agreement in place at a Florida casino, Mardi Gras Gaming.

The Supreme Court heard arguments, but determined that the case shouldbe returned to the lower court, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. TheSupreme Court's decision to dismiss the case means that neutralityagreements can continue to be negotiated, though they may be challenged in

Alabama, Georgia and Florida, where a challenge to them was upheld.

AT&T Announces Plan to Sell Connecticut Holdings to Frontier

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AT&T said it plans to sell its wireline operations in Connecticut to FrontierCommunications for $2 billion. The sale must be approved by the FederalCommunications Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, theConnecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and other state regulators.

The current contract covering 2,800 CWA members at AT&T East will remainin force and workers will continue to have the protections and benefits of thatagreement.

CWA represents workers at Frontier Communications in West Virginia, Ohio,Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina and other states.
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8/14

31 Mechanic Instructors Vote to Join CWA

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Celebrating after the NLRB vote count are Dominic Torres (who was illegallyfired) with his 5 year-old daughter Deanna, Angelo Cerniglia and Local 1106Secretary-Treasurer Frank Tallarine.

In an NLRB election this week, 31 instructors at Lincoln Technical Institute in

New York voted 24-3 to join CWA Local 1106.

The instructors formed a very strong inside committee, and 17 people worered CWA wrist bands every day. The campaign run by the union busting lawfirm Jackson Lewis LLP was no match for this group, who stood strongdespite illegal terminations of three union supporters, constant threats andpromises of raises at the last minute.

CWA Local 1106 Secretary-Treasurer Frank Tallarine was instrumental tothis win.

Building Our Movement

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9/14

'We are People, Not Robots!'

Outside Amazon's global headquarters in Seattle, CWA activists protestedunfair working conditions and wages at Amazon's warehouses in Germany.CWA activists joined Amazon's German workers, who are represented by the

union ver.di, in saying, "We are people, not robots!" Amazon workers acrossGermany have been holding a series of rolling strikes in the middle of thebusy Christmas season to push the company to negotiate with their union,ver.di.Check out more photos at GeekWire.
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10/14

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Exposing Deutsche Telekom as a "Black Book Telecom"

ver.di's Lothar Schrder, CWA President Larry Cohen and Alan Tate of UNItalk with reporters in Bonn, Germany about Deutsche Telekom's violations of

workers' and human rights in subsidiaries outside Germany. They alsoreleased the results of a survey conducted among 1,800 T-Mobile workersfrom seven countries. Among the findings: 46 percent of T-Mobile workershave experienced bullying in the form of verbal aggression, denigration ofprofessional abilities or demoralizing jokes.

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11/14

USAS Members Taking a Stand Against T-Mobile

Students from the University of Memphis Progressive Student Alliance,United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) Local 68, took over a local T-Mobile US store to stand with T-Mobile workers and deliver a holiday

message to the company: respect workers' rights.Watch the video here.

This fall, USAS began a national campaign to support T-Mobile US workerswho want a union voice and to put their universities on notice that they shouldcut their contracts with T-Mobile because of the company's attack on workerswho want union representation.

Immigration Activists Tell GOP: See You in 2014

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CWAers rally outside the U.S. Capitol.

Below: Activists march down to the National Mall to join Fast4Families.
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This isn't the end. Immigration reform advocates are telling their electedrepresentatives that, "We will be back in 2014" an election year.

In California, labor, community and faith groups came together to keepimmigration reform alive by putting pressure on GOP Whip Kevin McCarthy.CWAers marched, rallied and engaged the congressman's Bakersfieldconstituents for the past 11 days.

"His office staff actually locked the door, turned off the lights and ducked andcovered behind their desks in hopes that we would leave," said CWA Local9416'sRob England, who attempted to deliver a petition. "They act likethey're scared of us. Like we're violent. Like we're threatening to them. Butthe reality is that they just don't want to talk. All we want to do, Mr. McCarthy,is talk to you. We want to talk to you so you can tell us why you refuse tobring this to a vote. At this point we don't even care if you vote for it. Justbring it up for a vote. This is a democracy. All you are doing right now isstealing our democracy."

Check out videosof the 11 days activists laid siege to McCarthy's officehere.

And in case you missed it last week,take a look at our photos of CWAactivists filling the halls of Congress. On Dec. 12, we joined 1,500immigration reform advocates in occupying more than 100 congressionaloffices, calling on House Republicans to support reform with a path tocitizenship.
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13/14

Senate Rules Reform Update

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Since the Senate returned from its Thanksgiving recess, it has confirmed 13presidential nominees, all of whom would have been blocked by Republicanobstruction had Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid not moved to change therules for confirmation of executive-office appointments and federal judicialnominees.

Among those confirmed: Rep. Mel Watt to head the Federal Housing FinanceAgency, two justices to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals and Jeh Johnson tohead Homeland Security,

Reid has promised that the Senate will move forward on 11 additionalnominations before it recesses for the year, although last week Republicanstried to slow down the Senate's process by demanding that the 30-hour rulefor debate on nominations be maintained. That resulted in an all-night "talk-a-thon," but it didn't derail any of the nominees.

CWA, working with the Fix the Senate Now coalition and the DemocracyInitiative, was a driving force in helping break Senate gridlock and allow thepresident's nominations to receive an up-or-down vote.

Mark Your Calendar: CWA Customer Service Professionals Conference

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CWA's Customer Service Professionals Conference will be held Feb. 12-14,2014, in Orlando, Fla.

This year's conference will be an exciting one. In addition to the first day,CWA-only session, CWAers will join with call center activists from UNI GlobalUnion, which is holding its meeting in conjunction with ours, for another twofull days of sessions.

That means lots of opportunity to talk with union customer service workersfrom different sectors and different countries, and to brainstorm what worksand what doesn't for improving the conditions and professionalism of
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customer service.

Sign up now here. There is a $75 registration fee. Participants will beresponsible for makingtheir own travel arrangements and hotel reservationsat the Double Tree by Hilton in Orlando, Fla.

CWA501 Third Street NWWashington, DC 20001www.cwa-union.org

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cwa newsletter, thursday, december 19, 2013

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