Joe Halk CWA Life Member and former Business Agent for Local 1103 Northern Construction will be memorialized on Saturday August 3, 2013 10am, at Saint Joseph Church, 10 Croton Falls Road, Croton Falls NY 10519.  Joe was a great Union member and always had a smile for all.  We celebrate his life and friendship and encourage all to attend.

It’s taken a decade, but today more than 80 million workers finally have the 5-person, fully-functioning, Senate-confirmed National Labor Relations Board they deserve.  Just a few moments ago, the Senate confirmed President Obama’s 5 NLRB nominees, including Democrats Mark Pearce, Nancy Schiffer, and Kent Hirozawa is a victory worth celebrating.

CWA led this fight. Your phone calls and e-mails persuaded Democrats and moderate Republicans in the Senate to stand up to Mitch McConnell and to reach an agreement to allow votes on executive branch nominees.

Thanks to you, we will have labor law on Labor Day, and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, Consumer Financial Protection Agency Director Richard Cordray, and Labor Secretary Tom Perez are now at work protecting workers, consumers and the environment.

A special thank you to our LPAT Members and to all of you who made the phone calls or spread the word. There is no doubt that Local 1103 was a leader when it came to calling our Senators and writing letters or signing petitions to push this across the goal line.  Thank you again for understanding our priorities and for getting this done….

The State Public Service Commission is extending a  public comment period on whether it’s a good idea for  Verizon to stop providing land line service  to some customers and supply a wireless telephone connection instead, reports WXXI in Albany NY.  Read the whole story here: 

http://wxxinews.org/post/public-has-longer-comment-proposed-changes-verizon-landlines

Thankfully Republicans attempt to end funding for public radio failed otherwise we may never have seen the report  NPR did on VoiceLink:

http://www.npr.org/2013/07/22/204501411/residents-forced-to-live-without-landlines

"It has all the problems of a cellphone system, but none of the advantages," says Pat Briody, who has had a house on Fire Island for 40 years, reported on WNYC July 22, 2013.  It looks like not all customers are happy with Voicelink on Fire Island according to WNYC radio report (click here to hear the report “Residents Forced to Live Without Landlines”). 

The CWA National Union sounded the warning early this year that VoiceLink will cost NYers and CWA Members thousands of good middle-class jobs, if the company is allowed to force consumers off traditional copper landlines and on to VoiceLink.   CWA Members have written thousands of letters to the PSC demanding the watchdog to stand up for workers and customers and refuse to give Verizon tariff relief for VoiceLink.   During this pass legislative session the NYS Assembly overwhelmingly passed a bill to stop Verizon from pushing customer on to VoiceLink.  Yet, the NYS Senate under a Republican majority  killed the bill in committee refusing to allow it to come out for a vote.  In CWA Local 1103’s jurisdiction, Republican Gregg Ball in spite of receiving hundreds of calls from CWA Members refused to fight the bill and our jobs.

The results of the Business Agent – Construction Northern Election are as follows –

Gerry Guarino – 155 votes

Jeff McKay – 154 votes

Pete McArdle – 57 votes

Other – 1 vote

Totally void ballots – 1

No candidate received a majority of the ballots cast and in accordance with Local 1103 By-laws; If no one nominee has a majority on the first ballot, the vote shall be taken again and the two nominees having the greatest number of votes on the first ballot shall be nominees on the second ballot.

Therefore a run-off election will take place.

Ballots for the CWA Local 1103 Business Agent – Construction Northern run-off election will be mailed to the Membership on Tuesday July 23^rd. In order to be counted ballots must be returned to the designated location no later than Wednesday August 7^th, 2013 at 10am.

Late today an agreement was reached for several presidential nominations in the Senate that would avoid Senator Reid changing the Senate rules.  In turn, Republicans will not block the nominees. 

While the Senate rules once again avoided a meaningful and permanent change, we will not have to worry about not having labor laws this Labor Day.

The full slate of NLRB nominees will receive a vote on the Senate floor next week.

Across the Nation CWA LPATers, Chief & Shop Stewards asked our Membership to make calls and win the day for us all.  Once again CWA lead the entire Labor movement in this fight and showed everyone what can be done!  Thank you to each and every one of you for all the work you did to make this a reality.

If we had not launched this effort, it is clear that the interests  in Washington would have been successful in preventing the appointment of a fully functioning NLRB and set Labor back on our heels. 

In Solidarity

Next time your Steward, LPAT Workplace Member or E-Board asks you to join COPE or you’re ask what do your dollars pay for, know this:

Our jobs are under the threat of technology, and no contract no matter how strong can get an employer in a business they no longer want to be in. 

That’s why we need each Member to contribute to COPE especially in the telecom units.  COPE is our entry into the door, to convince legislators of our need for their support and help to protect our jobs.  Today almost 60% of CWA 1103 telecom workers are in COPE, and it is protecting our jobs. However, it’s a job that is only half done; we need 100% of the Membership to contribute at least $2 a week so that we can keep that door wide open, by electing the right leaders and continually educating them on the right thing to do.

Any questions, just click the links below, and understand COPE helped get Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther elected and educated on the threats to our jobs.  Then if you are not in COPE call your Chief Steward or LPAT Member and ask for a COPE card and join over half of your local fighting for your job.   

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130710/BIZ/307100324&cid=sitesearch

http://hudsonvalley.ynn.com/content/top_stories/672595/local-officials-denounce-voice-link-service/

CWA supported by coalition partners ( Working Families Party, Sierra Club, NAACP, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force) are fighting the destruction of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the agency charged with protecting the rights of workers organizing for better conditions on the job.  

CWA Local 1103 members have been taking pictures (holding Give US 5 signs) while making calls to Senator Schumer to promote our vote for all 5 NLRB members .  Yet, today because of Senate Republicans under the pressure of ultra-conservative Tea Party members we are under the threat of a filibuster and cannot get our nominees to a floor vote.

However, we can beat the filibuster and ensure the NLRB is still there to support workers.  Keep the calls going Senator Chuck Schumer at 1-888-966-9824 and click the link below and join our WFP coalition partners in fighting for workers rights: 

For five years, Senate Republicans have blocked President Obama's nominees to the labor board. Next month, the term of a current board member will expire -- leaving the NLRB without a quorum and unable to act. Time is running out. 

Tell Senator Chuck Schumer: Fix the filibuster to save the National Labor Relations Board before it's rendered unable to function. 

By a simple majority vote, 51 Democrats can fix the filibuster so it can't be used to stop nominations. But Senator Schumer will only do it if he hears from you. Unless he takes action, the NLRB could effectively go extinct, leaving workers with no protections whatsoever from employer intimidation or illegal union-busting tactics.

The filibuster wasn't created to give the minority party complete control of government, and it certainly wasn't created to stop government from functioning altogether.

But South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham has even admitted that he wants to make the NLRB "inoperable."

Senator Schumer has two choices: fix the filibuster or allow the wholesale destruction of the NLRB. It shouldn't be a hard choice.

Tell Senator Schumer: It's time to step up and lead. Fix the filibuster.