April 10, 2014

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NLRB Takes 'Extraordinary Action' to ConsolidateComplaints Against T-Mobile US

Money in Politics Update

Fast for Families Ends National Tour with Call for Immigration Reform

Bargaining Update

Organizing Update

Next CWA Telephone Town Hall is Apr. 17

Equal Pay For Equal Work

Missouri 'Right-To-Work' Vote Fails on Second Vote

Apply For Morton Bahr Online Learning Scholarship

Movement Building

People To Follow

AFA-CWA Advances Interests of All Work Groups at New American

NLRB Takes 'Extraordinary Action' to Consolidate Complaints Against T-Mobile US

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In an extraordinary decision, the general counsel for the National LaborRelations Board has moved to consolidate recent unfair labor practicecomplaints that have been brought against T-Mobile US. Thetelecommunications company has been cited for its relentless and escalatingattempts over the past 10 years to stop workers from obtaining unionrepresentation.

Over the past decade, NLRB complaints were repeatedly issued against T-Mobile in different regional offices. The decision to consolidate a group ofcurrent unfair labor practice complaints challenging the company'sdisciplinary actions targeting union activists and its overly broad companyrules and policies into one national case is an important step by the NLRB.The company will need to defend its systemic anti-union behavior in oneproceeding where the board can order broad relief for employees at every T-Mobile location.

There is clear evidence that T-Mobile US headquarters in Bellevue, Wash.,has been monitoring and orchestrating all union organizing activitiesnationwide.

This means that the attack on T-Mobile and Metro PCS workers in stores andcall centers nationwide has been waged with the knowledge of topmanagement.

The board's consolidation decision came in response to T-Mobile's relentless,ever-escalating national campaign to prevent its employees from obtainingunion representation, using many different harassment and surveillance tools.

The decision requires one hearing officer to hear all complaints, witnessesand evidence regarding T-Mobile's efforts to block workers from voting forunion representation. A trial now is underway in Wichita, Kan. Whentestimony is concluded, that same judge and NLRB trial team will travel toAlbuquerque, N.M., to hear witnesses and evidence on other complaints.

The board's decision recognizes that it is time for a change in the agency'senforcement strategy. The NLRB clearly is responding to the history ofbroken promises by T-Mobile when it comes to following U.S. labor law.Consolidation will allow the NLRB to issue more effective remedies to finallystop T-Mobile's outrageous conduct.

To learn more, read:

T-Mobile Manager Sought To Ban High-Fives For Pro-Union Workers

U.S. Labor Board Consolidates CWA's Complaints Against T-Mobile

NLRB Consolidates Anti-Union Cases Against T-Mobile

Money in Politics Update

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CWAers across the country took to the streets as the U.S. Supreme Court's5-4 McCutcheon v. FEC decision was announced, throwing out aggregatecontribution limits and allowing an individual super-wealthy donor to inject upto $3.6 million into our politics.

In 150 communities and 41 states, from New York to Elgin, Ill, to Oakland,Calif., CWA members joined activists from Public Citizen, Common Cause,Demos, People for the American Way and other good government allies.

Keep up with the latest, including actions during Congress's April recess, atwww.moneyout-votersin.org.

Chicago, Ill.

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Cleveland, Ohio.

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Denver, Colo.

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Denver, Colo.

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Elgin, Ill.

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Fresno, Calif.

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New York City.

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Oakland, Calif.

Fast for Families Ends National Tour with Call for Immigration Reform

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CWAers from Locals 2222, 2252 and 32035, with President Cohen, join theFast for Families activists at a rally outside the Herndon, Va., office of Rep.Frank Wolf. (R) The Virginia event capped a nationwide bus tour with activistspraying, protesting and calling on elected officials to support comprehensiveimmigration reform.

The Fast for Families Across America nationwide bus tour ended onWednesday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where thousands ofactivists protested, prayed and pledged to keep up the fight forcomprehensive immigration reform.

Beginning in Los Angeles on Feb. 25, two busloads of immigration activiststraveled to 32 states and visited the offices of 100 members of Congress,calling on elected officials to allow a vote on immigration reform. The Senatepassed S. 744 nearly a year ago, on June 27, by a bipartisan 68-32 vote.

On Tuesday, CWA President Larry Cohen, Senior Director Yvette Herreraand members of CWA Locals 2222, 2252, and TNG-CWA Local 32035,joined faith leaders, other union leaders and activists and 20 local fastersoutside the office of Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10) in Herndon, Va. Activists alsoheld a day-long vigil outside Wolf's office, and ended their fast that eveningby sharing food and stories of families in Wolf's district who are being harmedby the immigration crisis.

CWAers join the action on the National Mall, as the Fast for Families activistsend their fast and deliver thousands of petitions to senators andrepresentatives calling for reform.

Earlier this week, the fasters also held a four-day, water-only fast inRichmond, Va., the home district of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, tourge him to convince House leaders to schedule a vote on immigration reformthis year.

At the end of the Washington, D.C. rally, activists headed for Capitol Hill,carrying petitions signed by supporters across the country to their membersof Congress, calling for action now on immigration reform.

Bargaining Update

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Substitute teachers in the Santa Ana Unified School District in Californiaratified a first contract by a 70 percent margin. The 866 substitute teachersare members of CWA Local 9510 and are the first substitute teachers inOrange County to gain a contract.

They joined CWA in November 2008, but the school district continued to fighttheir right to CWA representation. Negotiations got underway in 2010.

The three-year first contract was reached with participation of a PublicEmployment Relations Board mediator. It provides for wage reopeners ineach of the contract years, a two-step grievance procedure, a guaranteed jobinterview for substitute teachers who have worked two months or more for

publicly posted teaching assignments and other gains.

CWA Local 9510 President Kenny Williams said this first contract "alreadybrings substitute teachers closer to the benefits and wages of full-timeteachers. Together we're building a movement for substitute teachers andworking people everywhere."

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The National Labor Relations Board ruled on Monday that NBCUniversal violated federal labor law by refusing to recognize and bargainwith NABET-CWA.

The case stems from an attempt by NBC in early 2009 to unilaterally changethe terms and conditions of employment for NABET-CWA members workingas news writers, editors, and photographers at owned and operated TVstations in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles, as well as at the NBCaffiliate in Washington, D.C. NBC tried to claim that it was consolidating workand creating new, non-union "content producer" jobs. NABET-CWA pushedback, and a 2011 NLRB ruling out of Region 2 made it clear that these so-called content producers were doing the same work they've always done –just with a different title.

Now the NLRB has ordered NBC to recognize and bargain with NABET-CWAand to provide the information NABET-CWA negotiators had requested lastOctober.

As a result of the decision, NABET-CWA represents all content producers atthe Chicago, New York and Los Angeles stations, whether or not thoseworkers previously had been represented by NABET-CWA before NBCchanged their job classification to content producer. At the Washington, D.C.station, a representation election must be held for the content producersgroup.

NABET-CWA President Jim Joyce said the union "is grateful for the decisionof the NLRB and we expect NBC to now negotiate a contract with us for theworkers."

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Bargaining for a new contract covering 1,600 CWA members in WestVirginia continues with Frontier Communications. The current contract, whichwas recently extended, expires Friday, April 25 at 11:59 p.m.

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Members of TNG-CWA Local 39521 delivered more than 5,800 petitions toPurple Communications CEO John Ferron calling on the company tonegotiate a fair contract. More than 225 video services interpreters, inArizona, Denver, Oakland and San Diego joined the TNG local in 2012.

Check out this awesome video of their petition delivery here.

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The Daily Beast is trying to deny overtime pay to some reporters byreclassifying them as creative employees. The New York Guild, TNG-CWALocal 31003, strongly opposed the move at a recent meeting with Daily BeastEditor-in-Chief John Avlon. Avlon said, "We don't write AP style," claimingthat makes the work creative and ineligible for overtime.

"You can have an artfully crafted news article," Guild Representative SusanDeCarava said. "But that doesn't make it a piece of creative writing. Factsmatter, accuracy matters, and part of the work of our members is to researchand report the news in a way that adheres to journalistic standards."

Read more here.

The Daily Beast is an online news and opinion site.

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The Philadelphia Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA Local 38010, can join thelegal dispute between rival owners and potentially make its own bid for itsnewspapers and websites, a Delaware judge ruled Monday.

"I'm thrilled," said Guild Executive Director Bill Ross, whose local representsabout 550 of the nearly 1,800 employees at Interstate General MediaHoldings L.L.C. IGM also owns the Philadelphia Daily News, three websites,and a printing plant. "I think the judge recognized our involvement. Once it isdetermined which type of auction it will be, I think we'll be in a position todiscuss who our potential bidders might be."

Read more here.

Organizing Update

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AT&T Mobility Network employees in Oregon now have CWA representation.The American Arbitration Association certified that a majority of workersindicated that they wanted a CWA voice. Local 7901 President and CWA At-large Executive Board member Madelyn Elder coordinated this campaign.

Next CWA Telephone Town Hall is Apr. 17

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Don't miss next week's town hall call, on Thursday, Apr. 17, starting at 7:30pm ET. The call will last half an hour.

This month, we'll talk about how our AT&T Mobility members are bargainingfor and winning real improvements at work, and we'll hear from workers atVerizon Wireless and T-Mobile who want those same bargaining rights andare standing up and fighting back against anti-union management. And we'lltalk about how CWAers can be a part of these campaigns at VerizonWireless and T-Mobile US.

Register at http://cwa-union.org/cwacall.

Equal Pay For Equal Work

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April 8 was Pay Equity Day.

It marked the number of extra days in 2014 women must work to earn whatmen earned in 2013. Because the average woman brings in a smallerpaycheck than a man, she must work much, much longer – one year, threemonths and eight days to be exact. And for women of color, that wage gap iseven bigger.

One major reason the wage gap persists is because it's so difficult to provethat you're being paid less than a co-worker who does the same job. This isespecially true in workplaces with a "gag rule" where workers arediscouraged or prohibited from sharing wage and salary information.

But on Tuesday, President Obama signed an executive order that ends the"gag rule" by prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating againstemployees who share pay information. The president also directed the LaborDepartment to require federal contractors to provide compensation databased on gender and race. Both of these orders are important for sheddinglight on the pay disparities that exist and getting us closer to closing the wagegap for employees of federal contractors.

Still equal pay has a long road ahead.

The very next day, the Senate fell six votes short of moving forward thePaycheck Fairness Act. It was the third time Senate Republicans blocked avote to open debate on the legislation that would hold employers moreaccountable for wage discrimination against women.

CWA's National Women's Committee has pushed hard to highlight payfairness and build congressional support for the issue. In advance of theSenate vote, National Women's Committee members mobilized CWA'shuman rights network and activists, encouraging them to call their electedofficials and push them to support paycheck fairness.

Missouri 'Right-To-Work' Vote Fails on Second Vote

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So-called "right to work" legislation stalled in the Missouri House onWednesday when extremists failed to get the 82 votes they needed toadvance the bill to the Senate. It was a strong rebuke to the Koch Brothers,ALEC and Grover Norquist who are all attempting to make it easier forcorporations to exploit their employees by weakening workers' ability tocollectively bargain. There will be a final vote next week. If that fails, right-to-work can't advance.

Gov. Jay Nixon said, "At a time when we should be focused on policies thatcreate jobs and move our state forward, this misguided political maneuverwould take us backward by undermining workers and weakening oureconomy. I will continue to stand on the side of the hard-working men and

women of Missouri as we work together to build a brighter, more prosperousfuture for our state."

CWA members from CWA Locals 6300, 6301, 6312, 6314, 6355, 6360, 6450and IUE-CWA Local 86116 and D6 staff A.J. Villegas and Kara Hutchasonwere among the thousands of union and progressive activists who rallied atthe State Capitol and lobbied their representatives to vote against the right towork bill and a "paycheck deception" bill which silences the voice of workingfamilies. Unfortunately the same out-of-state special interests pushing "right-to-work for less" were able to narrowly get "paycheck deception" bill throughthe House. It now moves to the Senate, but the good news is that Nixonvetoed a similar measure last year.

Apply For Morton Bahr Online Learning Scholarship

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Empire State College of the State University of New York is now acceptingapplications for the Morton Bahr Online Learning Scholarship for the 2014-2015 academic year.

The scholarship honors the commitment to educational opportunity andonline learning of Morton Bahr, CWA's president emeritus and an EmpireState College alumnus. It helps union members and other workers achievetheir education and life goals by providing access to higher education throughdistance learning.

Students who receive the scholarship will study online through Empire StateCollege's Center for Distance Learning.

Since its inception in 2001, the Bahr scholarship has helped 61 studentscontinue their education through distance learning.

The deadline for applications is May 15.

Union workers, family members and domestic partners interested in workingtoward a degree at Empire State College are eligible. To submit anapplication online or to download the form, visit www.esc.edu/bahr.

Movement Building

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Members of CWA Local 3181 in Palm Beach County, Fla., at a volunteerproject last year.

Below: Local 3181 members and leaders are honored by the United Way foroutstanding volunteerism. From left, CWA Palm Beach County stewardMichelle Balcom, Palm Beach County Vice President Mark Warme who wasnamed outstanding union member, and Local President Rick Poulette.

CWA Local 3181 members were recognized by the United Way of PalmBeach County, Fla., for their volunteer efforts in 2013. Also honored by theUnited Way was Local 3181 Palm Beach County Vice President Mark Warmewho received the "outstanding union member" award.

Local President Rick Poulette praised CWAers for their work that is a greathelp to local communities. "Let's keep it going," he said. CWAers paintedhouses, worked at the local food bank, provided assistance and services toelderly residents, and more.

Local 3181 represents public workers in Palm Beach, County; St. LucieCounty School District and the Village of Tequesta.

People To Follow

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Stay up to date on what our Democracy Initiative partners are doing aroundthe country by following...

@sierraclub@Greenpeace@NAACP@Unite4Democracy@NLRBchairman

AFA-CWA Advances Interests of All Work Groups at New American

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Piedmont Flight Attendants Ratify New Agreement

On multiple fronts, and joining together with other unions involved in the USAirways-American Airlines merger, AFA and CWA are working to ensureeconomic and job security for all airline workers. This week, while AFA-CWAAmerican Eagle leaders held American Airlines senior managementaccountable for the future of their regional carrier, Piedmont Flight Attendantsat US Airways Express secured their future employment at the merged airlineby ratifying a new agreement. Piedmont Flight Attendants gained payincreases and work rule improvements – the latest in a series of significantsteps that hold management accountable for the promises made duringmerger discussions.

"Through unity and determination, Piedmont Flight Attendants have a newcontract that reflects some of our top priorities. Our professional contributionshave been crucial in creating opportunities within the new American Airlinesnetwork. We look forward to our future at the world's largest airline," saidAFA-CWA Piedmont MEC President Anita Jwanouskos.

The American Airlines and US Airways merger also has directly impactedworkers at US Airways' wholly owned subsidiaries American Eagle, Piedmontand PSA, as well as at airlines that do contract flying, Mesa Airlines and AirWisconsin.

"Our pilots rejected a tentative agreement asserting that there are limits to thesacrifices American Eagle workers are willing to make, especially given theprofitability of our airline," said AFA American Eagle MEC President RobertBarrow. "Management continues to miss the mark in meeting us halfway. Thehard working employees of American Eagle are important partners inensuring the successful future of our airline and this merger."

The solidarity of Piedmont Airlines ramp and passenger service agents, FlightAttendants and pilots who do regional, contract and mainline flying ultimatelywill compel management to deliver on promises made and create asuccessful merger.

"With AFA and CWA taking the lead in coordination with other unions to closethe remaining loopholes, we are holding management accountable andbuilding unity among workers at the new American," said AFA-CWAInternational President Veda Shook. "This ultimately strengthens thebargaining position of all workgroups involved in the merger."

On February 28, 2014, the US Airways and American Flight Attendantsapproved the Agreement on Bargaining and Representation (ABR), whichincludes a Negotiations Protocol Agreement with management and aconsensual agreement to join the Association of Professional FlightAttendants. The ABR combines the strength and resources of both unions,guaranteeing that the best provisions of the existing contracts will form thebasis for negotiating a joint collective bargaining agreement.

"This agreement paves the way for our combined membership to negotiatethe industry-leading contract we deserve," said Roger Holmin, AFA Presidentat US Airways. "Working together, and with the support of all 24,000 FlightAttendants, we will achieve the very best at the world's biggest airline."

The Piedmont Flight Attendants' new agreement builds unity, strengthens thebargaining position of all workers and moves the merger forward for airlineworkers.

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