By Jim Trainor, Secretary

Our Local is going through a transition which began some years ago. Recently over six hundred members of Verizon took retirement incentives. This most recent loss in membership resulted in the necessity to look at our Local financial structure. Our Local has gone through significant changes in the past and with the support of the membership and the leadership of our Local Executive Board we have emerged stronger.

The current proposed By-Laws reflect the needs of our diversified membership and the desire of the Executive Board to be responsive to those needs.  The purpose of these proposals is to address our declining membership in Verizon and to look at how our Local is structured. It is important for the entire membership to understand the facts and the history of our Local. Changing the By-Laws is significant and important to every member. The Executive Board believes if you understand our history and our reason for this change we will earn your support.

The last time the By-Laws were changed was in 1985. At this time the Local represented 12,000 members in the telephone industry.  ATTIS and NYNEX were the two major corporations we represented and it appeared both were positioned for growth.

The Local began organizing workers in dozens of telecommunications companies. We were also looking for organizing opportunities outside of our traditional base. The task of organizing workers is a difficult, time consuming process and a costly endeavor.  Over the next two decades Local 1101 would be involved in many organizing drives.  Thanks to the many members who participated, the support of the Executive Board and the membership we were successful in many of them.

Since 1986 Local 1101 has been honored at the CWA National Convention 10 times for their organizing achievements. Local 1101 stands with only a handful of locals around the country to achieve the award this many times. The following is a list of some of our accomplishments.

• In 1986, five hundred Adjunct Faculty at Long Island University voted to affiliate with Local 1101 and became the first Higher Education Faculty of a Private University to join CWA.
• In 1989 the members of NYNEX Mobil voted to join Local 1101. Now Verizon Wireless, they remain the only unionized workforce at Verizon Wireless.
• In 1990 Sprint workers in Clinton, NJ voted to affiliate with Local 1101.
• Beginning in 1993 and concluding in 1996 over 600 Heath Care Workers at Arms Acres and Conifer Park overwhelmingly voted to join Local 1101. They remain the only Wall to Wall unionized behavioral health facility in CWA.
• In 2001 an organizing campaign began at Cingular Wireless. What started as small unit of retail employees scattered over the New York Metro Market in over a dozen stores would evolve into the longest organizing campaign for Local 1101. This campaign would last over five years and culminated in 2008 when the final unit of technicians would vote to join local 1101. Cingular would eventually buy and become ATT Wireless; in the end Local 1101 would successfully organize over 1,800 new members.

For the last ten years we have fought Verizon at every step for our fair share of jobs. In 2000 with our campaign for “Neutrality” at Verizon Wireless and again in 2008 with our campaign to “Tear Down the Wall” at Verizon Business. While the union persevered in both campaigns, Verizon has successfully shunted our ability to grow the union. This battle continues and we must prepare to fight again in 2011. FIOS is a growing and profitable business and all of this work needs to be performed by our members.

Reviewing our past and looking into the future it is necessary to understand our need to change the By Laws. They were written to represent members in the telephone industry. As you can see, we now represent diversified industries.

Currently there are 13 members of the Executive Board. The structure of the Executive Board was created to reflect our membership base in the telephone industry. As we organized additional units we assigned these units to be represented by current Executive Board members based on geography and equalizing the overall membership representation.  We assigned various members the role of coordinators in these units. They were responsible for day to day operations, grievance handling and representation responsibilities.  We believe this current structure has adequately represented all our members in every unit within the Local. However, it is no longer financially feasible. We no longer have the finances to maintain our current structure.

With this knowledge, the Local mandated a By-Laws Committee be formed in May, 2010. Financial problems were addressed. Recommendations were made to sustain the Local for the future. There are many housekeeping changes, which will be explained with your voting instructions. The important changes to the structure of the Executive Board deserve a complete understanding of all the facts.

Generally, changes in By-Laws occur when a union attempts to increase their rates of dues. No dues increase has been proposed. The following By-Law changes will insure for the foreseeable future a financial secure Local. 

• Eliminate the title and position of Executive Vice President. The committee feels those duties can be effectively performed by the President and remaining three Vice Presidents.
• Secretary and the Treasurer jobs would be combined into one title and function of Secretary/Treasurer. These functions are highly automated and can be effectively combined at this time.
• The Business Agent for Central Division would be eliminated. This Division was created after divestiture to serve the needs of our concentrated membership in Manhattan’s telephone industry.  The membership in this Division has decreased and can be absorbed by the other Divisions.
• Create two new Divisions, one for ATT Wireless and Avaya and another Division for Arms Acres, Conifer Park and Long Island University. These new divisions follow our traditional structure and our principle belief that the membership deserves to have representation from their peers.

These proposed By-Laws, if approved by the membership, would improve the structure and function of our Executive Board and increase our representation of all of our members. The By-Laws Committee feels the changes are a necessary step in the transition of our diversified Local.

These are important changes for you and your union. We urge everyone to vote to approve the proposed By-Law change. Many local unions have had to change to survive. Local 1101 is your union; every member deserves to have their voice heard and their vote counted.  Local 1101 now represent technicians, case managers, nurses, customer care professionals, professors and retail sales consultants. Each group has been represented and represented well for many years. The time has come for us to make room at the table for them. In another era we could afford to add a chair and put another leaf in the table. Unfortunately today our resources do not allow for additional chairs but they do demand we give up a seat.

We urge you to vote for the proposed By-Law Amendments. If you have any questions do not hesitate to call your union. You can also send us an email at: SEND US MAIL