To: Our Fellow CWA 1101 Members |
From: Executive Vice President Angel Feliciano |
Date: Wed., June 23, 2010 |
TRANSCRIPT:
“Discussions continue with the Company on over-subscriptions in releasing the non-surplus employees. As information becomes available we will update these tapes. Thank you for calling and please stay in touch with these tapes.” |
Author Archives: webmaster
VZ Tape Update!
To: Our Fellow CWA 1101 Members |
From: Executive Vice President Angel Feliciano |
Date: Friday, June 11, 2010 |
TRANSCRIPT:”All Members who applied for the IPP will be verbally notified today of their status. There will only be one more payroll date of June 20th.
There will be a meeting with the Company on Monday June 14th and Wednesday, June 16th to discuss the over-subscription and non-surplus issues. We will keep you advised as information becomes available. Thank you for calling and please stay in touch with these tapes.” |
CWAers Step Up Campaign to Ban Corporate Tax Loophole
Legislation to close the Reverse Morris Trust tax loophole is before the Senate this week, and CWA members are working hard to get their senators on board.
The House of Representatives closed the Reverse Morris Trust tax loophole last week as part of H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act.
CWA’s Legislative Political Action Team has been coordinating contacts to key senators, looking for support for H.R. 4213, including phone calls and letters. District vice presidents and local union presidents are writing to their senators, pointing out that the Reverse Morris Trust “is a Wall Street scheme that allows big businesses to avoid paying taxes on the sale of company assets” and that closing the loophole would have meant hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue.
Because of the Senate rule requiring 60 votes for legislation to be considered, CWAers are urging their senators to reject a filibuster and get the bill to the senate floor for debate.
District 2 activists played a huge role in winning support from Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), a key member of the Senate Finance Committee.
To send a message to your senator, click here.
The RMT tax loophole has enabled companies like Verizon to save millions of dollars in taxes from the sale of assets. H.R. 4213 also includes tax cuts and an extension of unemployment benefits.
Lessons from Arkansas for Elected Officials
Working families in Arkansas came very close to making Lt. Gov. Bill Halter the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate. It’s disappointing to fall short, but CWA locals and members in Arkansas and District 6 did a tremendous amount of work and sent this powerful message to elected officials:
“We will hold you accountable for your votes and for the choices you make on the issues that matter most to working families.”
Blanche Lincoln learned that by abandoning workers and doing the bidding of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Big Business interests, she was in for the fight of her political life. That’s exactly what happened in Arkansas.
Here’s a reminder of how Blanche Lincoln abandoned workers:
- Lincoln voted to tax workers’ health care benefits when she voted against the health care and education reconciliation bill.
- Lincoln refused to support even a compromise on the Employee Free Choice Act and would not allow the measure to come to the Senate floor for debate.
- Lincoln voted against allowing the nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board to come to the Senate floor for debate.
- Lincoln voted against the auto bailout.
- Lincoln sided with bankers and against reform of the student loan program.
- Lincoln voted to send millions of jobs overseas by supporting NAFTA and CAFTA.
Our campaign in Arkansas put Lincoln and every other elected official on notice. CWA members won’t support candidates who are Democrats in name only. We will support candidates who support us. We came within just a few thousand votes of winning in Arkansas. So imagine how effective our program can be as we take it across the country to hold elected officials accountable.
CWA is building an independent political and legislative movement that supports working families in tough times, today’s times. The work our locals and coalition partners – the civil rights community, environmental activists and others — did in Arkansas shows that this kind of political change will happen. That’s the lesson of Arkansas.
Retiring? Appying for Benefits
In general, your pension benefits will not be paid automaticlly after you seperate from active service. Exceptions are if you are age 70-1/2 or older, if you elected to defer payment of your benefit and you reach age 65 or if your benefit is subject to the small benefit amount cashout rule. […]
CWAers Ratify AT&T Mobility Contract in D3
CWAers from Local 3403 in Baton Rouge, LA, above, and Local 3122 in Miami, below, wear red and mobilize for a quality contract. |
CWA members at AT&T Mobility in District 3 ratified a new four-year agreement by a 68 percent “yes” vote. The agreement covers about 11,200 workers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The settlement provides for a 10 percent wage increase over the contract term plus a $500 bonus on ratification. Three new job titles will provide upgrades for some 800 call center workers, and the wireless technician I title has been upgraded to wireless technician II.
Improvements for selection of vacation and other days off were negotiated for retail and call center workers; severance pay was increased, and the grievance procedure was expanded.
From Lafayette and Baton Rouge, La., to Ashland, Ky., and throughout the state of Florida, CWAers leafleted outside call centers and retail stores, held solidarity “stand-ups” at their desks, and made lots of mobilization videos that revved up members.
Long Fight for Medical Monitoring of 9/11 Workers Finally Moves to House
After a nine-year battle that CWA helped lead, a bill to ensure medical monitoring and treatment of workers exposed to toxins at Ground Zero has passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
In a bipartisan 33-12 vote, the committee voted to send the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 to the full House. It would provide mandatory funding for medical monitoring and treatment programs for emergency responders, recovery crews and others working at Ground Zero, including about 1,500 CWA members in telecom, the public sector, newspapers and broadcasting.
The bill is named for a NYPD detective who died in 2006 of respiratory disease believed to be linked to his work at Ground Zero.
The Enhanced EIPP Offer – Volunteers For NY
This is the breakdown of the Enhanced EIPP Offer volunteers for NY as of 8:30 AM today.
- Total Volunteers: 2,866
- Accepted Surplus Volunteers: 2,252
- Oversubscribed: 465
- Non-Surplus Volunteers: 149
IPP Papers In By 11:59PM Tonight
TRANSCRIPT: Executive Vice President Angel Feliciano speaking;
“We want to remind all Members that their IPP papers must be in by 11:59PM tonight.
We also want Members to know, that the Company at this time has taken the position that they do not yet know if they’ll need a second date. This means that anyone who is not yet pension eligible could be retiring without a pension if they leave on June 20th.
If you are not pension eligible as of June 20th, you must decide whether you are excepting this package without a pension.
Thank you for calling and please keep in touch with these tapes.”
E-Newsletter
New York Generator – Receive the CWA 1101 E-Newsletter
Email Updates: Sent when we have important news and/or Mobilization activities.