CWA Local 9408 Members,
CWA’s Next Generation Committee, with members representing each district and sector, met on efforts to expand involvement of young workers and young leaders within CWA.
A recommendation put forth by the Next Generation Committee was for the Locals to create a Facebook page for their Locals.
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This page was created to provide another avenue to communicate with our members as we prepare for the expiration of the contract on April 7, 2012.
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Labor cannot vote the CEO out of his job if we don't get a fair contract. All labor must fight collectively as a bargaining unit to get the best deal possible. The relationship between Public Labor and Government is far more complicated. Public Unions usually have a more active political membership. Their members can "vote" out of the office, those elected officials responsible for doing the bargaining, thereby giving them an artificial leverage that no other workers have. Currently the public unions have agreed to concession and still the governing body wants to remove their right to negotiate. The attack on public unions could deal a virtual knockout to the Labor movement. |
Approximately one year from now, our union contract will have expired. The current union contract between CWA and AT&T will expire on April 7, 2012
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How will Wisconsin impact private unions?
Most Americans don't know what America was like
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 time for us to think about what we want in a new contract and how we’re going to get it.
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before the union movement. It was violent. Corporations could use physically aggressive tactics to fight Union organizing. |
| time to prepare ourselves for a fight - if that’s what it takes. |
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The Koch brothers, along with other major corporations and their friends, are waging total war against working people. |
| time to join together in solidarity with your union brothers & sisters across the Nation.
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If they win, our children and grandchildren can look forward to being at the mercy of billionaires, CEO's, strikebreakers, and lifetimes of poverty and abuse. |
| time to STAND UP, speak up, speak out and demand a living wage, benefits, working conditions, and bargaining rights for all. |
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We are in a war and we are under attack. The sooner we all realize that, the better. We should not fall victim to the divide and conquer game. |
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We should not allow anyone to turn us against other working people. This is a class war! Democracy vs. Plutocracy (Google it). |
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How important are our collective bargaining rights?
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Will at&t exploit the anti-labor movement? |
| Unions were formed to protect hourly workers from deplorable working conditions, safety conditions, wages, & benefits. Our Unions have helped many families obtain a better life, and have created the middle class of America. The middle class is the backbone of our economy. If collective bargaining is removed from our society, it will destroy the middle class and violate our First Amendment rights. Taking away these rights from any group is a catastrophic step backwards. We must protect our rights!!! |
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If the government can dissolve a union's right to bargain a contract, corporate America will take this opportunity to eradicate the labor movement. That would be a blow to all workers. Yes, at&t will be riding the anti-labor tsunami wave when our contract expires on April 7, 2012. |
| What is the difference between public and private Unions? |
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| There is a difference in the relationship between the two types of employers. Private Labor and Industry are in a completely adversarial relationship as opponents. Industry wants to keep its money. Private Labor wants to get as much of that money, in the form of pay and benefits, distributed to the employees. Private Labor has the threat of a strike in an effort to influence industry's decisions. |
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CWA:
AT&T Should Work with Us to Find Real Health Care Solutions
April 6, 2009
Washington, D.C. -- The Communications Workers of America rejects AT&T's characterization of current contract negotiations. CWA is focused on helping middle class families, including nearly 100,000 workers and their families involved in this bargaining, hold the line against massive health care cost increases and AT&T's actions that threaten quality jobs.
Incredibly, AT&T management is trying to draw a parallel between a successful and expanding telecommunications company and the U.S. auto industry, which for many reasons is not profitable. AT&T posted profits of $12.9 billion for 2008 and is on track for solid growth this year, top executives say.
AT&T can and should be a leader in supporting quality middle class jobs and benefits. That makes communities and our economy stronger. Instead, AT&T's demands at a critical time in our country would only weaken the economy.
"AT&T must step up its leadership and continue to work with CWA and others who recognize that real health care reform is critical for our economy. Our nation is on the edge of critical changes in health care. To accomplish this, we need continued leadership from companies like AT&T, not efforts to obscure the issue," said CWA President Larry Cohen.
"If AT&T wants to follow through with its auto industry comparison, let's see a comparison of imported auto costs – where in every other country of origin there is universal health care, paid for with broad based public funding, not through production costs. That will give everyone a much clearer picture of the impact of our nation's failure – until now – to move toward a health care system for all.
"We need national health care reform not only for the auto industry, but for our nation. We call on AT&T to continue its leadership and work with us on this effort," Cohen said.
CWA members are working, for now, under the terms of the contracts that expired Apr. 4. Locations are:
AT&T East, Connecticut, and AT&T East Yellow Pages.
AT&T Midwest, in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, and AT&T DataCom.
AT&T Southwest, in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
AT&T West, in California, Hawaii and Nevada.
AT&T Legacy, nationwide.
