CWA Local 1103

What's New at CWA 1103

Updated On: Jul 22, 2010 (23:38:00)

CWA's Local 1103 Executive Board's responsibility, first and foremost, is to work everyday toward keeping every Member we represent gainfully employed.

In addition to the CWA triangle of core principles: representation, organizing/community, and legislative/political action, which we utilize daily as part of our effort to secure our jobs, we have a responsibility to educate our Membership about specific concerns that threaten our job security

Our customers are what keeps us working and secure. Everyday we work we must work toward caring for these customers. Our jobs depend on it! When one customer leaves to go to cablevision or some other competitor, we lose our own job security. By properly servicing and retaining customers, the Union and Company have a mutual interest, because it means jobs. This is not an exaggeration, but a stark reality.

One specific way we can help retain customers is by controlling what we can control; our craftsmanship.

Union craftsmanship is the discernible difference. Our professionalism, personal presentation and skill-sets are what separates us from the cable companies and their out of town carpet-baggers working in peoples homes and businesses. Union pride and precision enables us to meet the ever-changing industry standards.

For CWA Local 1103 to continue protecting quality union jobs, we must exceed our customer expectations. We must provide customers with a high quality experience. We must treat our customers as if we were the customers.

When we do that we secure our own jobs.

In solidarity,

CWA Local 1103 Executive Board

National Union Response to Vz Misleading Message: Landline Merger Bill

Updated On: Jul 14, 2010 (21:53:00)

Don’t help the company kill our bill that will protect workers and consumers if Verizon sells its network or merges with another company.

Instead, call to support the bill!

Verizon just sent out an e-mail to every employee warning that CWA’s bill in Albany to strengthen consumer and worker protections in the event of a telecom merger or line sale will “kill jobs” and “stop the FiOS build.”

Surprise, surprise. They’re lying. Creager’s message can mean only one thing: they want to sell in New York. Our bill would prevent New York workers and consumers from suffering what New England went through after Verizon sold its network in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to tiny FairPoint in 2008. Fifteen months after the sale, Fairpoint went bankrupt, thousands of customers experienced major service quality problems, and workers face severe cuts in future bargaining because Fairpoint is a small company loaded up with debt.

Verizon tried to sell Upstate in 2005 – and they are selling 14 states to Frontier right now. A sale of telephone access lines endangers our jobs and undermines good service, including through a bankruptcy that prevents new infrastructure investment.

S.7263/A.2208, the “merger and line sale bill” (“S” is the Senate bill # and “A” is the Assembly), passed the Assembly on July 1^st 103-34, and could come to the Senate floor for a vote any day. Day after day, Verizon has had over a dozen high-priced lobbyists in Albany working furiously against it. If they’re working so hard against it, you know it must be a good thing!

The bill requires the PSC to meet strengthened standards for worker and consumer protection if Verizon or Rochester Tel sell their lines or merge. Contrary to Verizon’s claims, if a sale occurs, this bill would help ensure infrastructure investment such as the fiber build. Instead of padding corporate profits, this bill helps protect our jobs and our customers.

PROTECT OUR JOBS! Call 518-455-2800 Right Now. Urge Your State Senator to Vote for S.7263 to protect workers and consumers.

Extreme Temperature Survey

Updated On: Jul 07, 2010 (13:43:00)

CWA wants your opinions about work and your health during extreme temperatures. Please click the link and take the CWA Extreme Temperature Survey and answer the following questions completely and truthfully. CWA greatly appreciates your help in our collective efforts to identify work problems and recommend improvements in working conditions.

Survey information will be used by CWA for representation purposes only. Worker specific data will not be provided to employers.

http://www.cwa-union.org/pages/cwa_heat_stress_survey

Senate Republicans Vote as Bloc to Kill Tax Loophole Repeal

Posted On: Jun 27, 2010 (20:40:15)

Once again corporate interests win over American jobs! With all U.S Senate Republicans voting to block cloture, CWA’s efforts to stop the sales of landlines that have resulted in bankruptcy, jeopardizing CWA & IBEW jobs have been made that much harder. On June 24, 2010 the repeal of the Reverse Morris Trust, the vehicle that Verizon has been using to sell off entire states died at the hands of Republicans. All Republicans by voting “NO” denied workers the needed 2/3 vote to get our bill on to the Senate floor for a full vote. With 200 voters present the cloture vote was 57 Yes, 41 No and two votes absent (60 yes votes are needed to meet cloture, in this case, 40 Republicans and 1 Democrat voted No). Clearly if this vote would have made it to the floor we would have won and received the added protection for our jobs.

The repeal of the Reverse Morris Trust initially won in the House of Representatives with help from Congressmen John Hall in the NY 19^th district as part of H.R 4213 The American Job and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010. This legislation was an important part of CWA’s LPAT (Legislative Political Action Team) fight and 1103’s tactic to get the 10 –20 more years many of our members need to reach retirement with dignity. This bill was also vital for our Brothers and Sisters who were laid off by Verizon in that it would have provided them with additional unemployment benefits.

At the direction of the Executive Board, our LPAT successfully worked to get all Senators that live in CWA 1103 jurisdictional areas on board and voting YES for H.R 4213. CWA 1103’s LPAT has also been laboring tirelessly on a NY state bill to protect Members from sales or mergers that hurt jobs. S7263 The Landline & Merger bill in the NY Senate is also subject to a Republican blockade in an attempt to kill that bill.

To beat these Republican Blockades we need Members participation. CWA Local 1103 Members have been hammering Republican Senator Vinny Leibell with phone calls demanding he co-sponsor and vote for S7263 the landline & Merger bill over the last month (to date Leibell nor his senior leadership will confirm his vote). We need an all out effort this Monday June 28^thto get Leibell to commit to CWA jobs. Please call Senator Leibell at 518-455-3111 and tell him you are a CWA 1103 member and need him to co-sponsor and vote for S7263. It’s our jobs, we have to fight each year for every year we want to be on them.

Verizon EIPP Final Numbers

Updated On: Jun 16, 2010 (10:28:00)

Verizon has completed the NY EIPP process and has made the following numbers available:

Total volunteers: 2,988

Accepted volunteers: 2315

Oversubscribed: 513

Non-Surplus: 160

In FAA 3 (1103, 1107, 1120) , there were no over subscriptions of Field Techs or COTs.

Congressmen Hall fights the Reverse Morris Trust

Updated On: May 27, 2010 (21:41:00)

Congressmen John Hall of the 19th district has taken the first step to repeal the Reverse Morris Trust and stop sales of Telcom landlines using a no-money down scheme. Below is an email from the Congressmen in response the National Union E-mail campaign. After reading Hall's letter you can send him a message asking him to continue the fight against this tax loophole that negatively affects CWA telcom workers by clicking the link below:

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/hr4213cwa

Thank you for contacting me about Reverse Morris Trusts. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue.

A Reverse Morris Trust (RMT) is a loophole in federal tax law that essentially allows a tax-free merger of two companies. The loophole was infamously exploited by Verizon a few years ago in New England. By selling off their $1.7 billion of landline communications to another company, Fairpoint, while retaining a majority of shares, Verizon essentially rid themselves of unprofitable assets, and left a local company and workers in the lurch, all without paying taxes on the transaction.

I believe the RMT loophole gives corporations a blank check to behave irresponsibly, hurting workers while avoiding paying their fair share of taxes. With the unemployment rate still too high and our economic recovery still fragile, we simply cannot afford to allow such reckless behavior. For these reasons, I recently voted for H.R. 4849, the Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act. In addition to providing tax relief to small businesses and extending effective financing measures to create jobs and improve America's cities and towns, this legislation closes the RMT loophole.

H.R. 4849 passed the House on March 24, 2010 with my support. The bill is currently under consideration in the Senate. Please be assured I will keep you thoughts in mind as Congress considers legislation to protect American jobs.

Again, thank you for sharing your concerns. If I can assist in any other way, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

John Hall
Member of Congress

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Updated On: May 23, 2010 (10:25:00)

Click the link below and find out how the American Recovery And Reinvestment Act that was signed into law in February 2009 has provided funds for work, jobs and improving our quality of life in the 18^th district (CWA Local 1103 working jurisdiction). This map has been provided by Congressmember Nita Lowey’s office and illustrates how her office has been fighting to keep New Yorkers working in Westchester and Rockland counties.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act works in Westchester and Rockland

Workers Memorial Day

Posted On: May 31, 2010 (22:24:52)

Click the link to hear speakers at the Kenisco Dam speak on behalf of workers who have lost their lives on the job.

CWA Local 1103 Attends Workers Memorial where NYS DOL Comissioner Gardner Speaks

COPE Drive 2010

Updated On: Feb 27, 2010 (08:59:00)
CWA-COPE is the political action committee for the working men and women of CWA, their families and retirees. CWA-COPE informs and mobilizes union families to encourage their participation in the political process. Through their political action committee, CWA men and women express their voice in politics and policy issues that affect their lives Read More...
Download:

COPE FORM.pdf

Another Telcom Sale for "No Money Down"

Updated On: May 12, 2010 (05:40:00)

CWA: Qwest-CenturyLink Deal Must Focus on Jobs, Investment in High Speed Broadband

CenturyLink has announced plans to buy Qwest Communications in an all-stock deal.

CWA has stressed that in its discussions with management of both companies, we will focus on the employment security and rights of our members and continued critical investment in high speed broadband.

CWA represents about 15,000 workers at Qwest in District 7 and about 3,700 at CenturyLink, formed by the merger of Century Tel and Embarq.

CWA pointed out to reporters and analysts that Wall Street terms like "merger synergies" used in these deals are often just shorthand for job cuts or pay cuts. President Obama's job summit and recent legislation put jobs front and center, not just at a conference but in all governmental decision-making.

The Federal Communications Commission's broadband plan calls for a one gigabit build-out to anchor institutions in every community and by 2015, a build-out of 50 megabits down and 20 megabits up to 80 percent of households.

CWA will work with management, and with the FCC and state regulators, to make sure that this merger offers specific commitments to meet these goals.