Stewards’ Meeting
Thursday, February 21 @ 5:30 PM
Location: FIT, 27th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenue.

General Membership Meeting
Thursday, February 28 @ 5:30 PM
Location: High School of Fashion Industries
225 W.24th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenue.

This notice applies only to Medicare-eligible Verizon retirees:

Recently, Verizon sent a letter to retirees detailing some changes to the Verizon-sponsored Prescription Drug Program, Express Scripts, for the 2013 plan year.

We would like to draw your attention to one major change you should consider when making your benefits elections. Starting in 2013, if you decide to not participate in the Verizon Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program, you will lose ALL of your Verizon-paid medical coverage. Again, please be aware of this change before you cancel your prescription drug coverage.

If you have any questions about this, please contact Verizon Benefits at 1-855-489-2367 and/or Medicare.

Click on the letter to view the PDF.

Download Letter, Job Title, CWA local and the number of Employees here.

CWA’s contract with AT&T Mobility expires this Saturday, February 9, at midnight. When this happens, you should be prepared for these possible situations

We come to a tentative agreement on a new contract.
This means that our Bargaining Team believes they have the best agreement available to us at this time, and it will be put out for a membership vote. All Local Leaders will receive a detailed explanation of the new contract that they will share with all members. Once our questions are answered, our Union will conduct ratification votes that will be compiled and counted. If the majority votes in favor of the new contract, it will go into effect immediately. If the contract is voted down, we are essentially telling the bargaining team: We are ready to strike for a better deal.

We extend the existing contract.
The means our Union and the company have agreed to extend the current contract and continue negotiations past the expiration date. Everything continues as it is today, with one difference: we will need to significantly ramp up our mobilization activity on the job and in the streets. Your action and support will be key to the success of our mobilization efforts and a contract!

Our contract expires and we continue to work.
This means that we have no new agreement and we believe we can pressure the company on the job and on the streets well enough to get a new contract without going on strike. Of course, a strike is still an option if we aren’t seeing real effort to achieve a contract.

In this scenario, you will:

• Continue to work.
• Earn a paycheck. The company cannot change your wages or working conditions.
• Receive all benefits, including health care.
• Maintain the grievance procedure, but probably not arbitration.

We go on strike.
This means we are far from an agreement and that our Bargaining Team feels that the only option is to strike. It means the company is refusing our priorities and proposing conditions that we just cannot accept. If we go on strike, we leave the workplace and take all of our personal belongings with us. We will not be paid by the company during a strike, and at the end of the current month, our healthcare benefits will stop. Once this decision is made, your Local Union will be in contact with you to give you your strike duty.

All members need to help win a strike. We must have a strong picket line and have members working on other efforts to pressure the company to settle the strike. If a strike lasts longer than two weeks, members will be paid from the CWA Membership Relief Fund. Your Local Union will have details on how to collect from the fund.

As a Union member, you have the legal right to participate in “concerted activity.” You can mobilize on the job: wear buttons and stickers, leaflet and do informational picketing. When we are at work, it will not be business as usual.

Our AT&T Mobility contract is important: Mobilize!

STRIKE VOTE UPDATE

Members of the Communications Workers of America under the AT&T Mobility “Orange” contract have voted overwhelmingly to authorize CWA leaders to call strikes if fair contracts cannot be reached. Read More