Local 1101
275 Seventh Avenue (17th Floor)
New York, NY 10001
(212) 633-2666 FAX: (212) 633-8337
Email: feliciano@cwa1101.org
A FEW SHORT MONTHS AGO THE MEMBERSHIP OF THIS LOCAL VOTED OVERWHELMINGLY TO ADOPT A REASONABLE, BALANCED SET OF BY-LAWS PROPOSALS.
Your vote was invalidated because of two boxes that gave you the convenience of saying “yes” or “no” to all proposals even though the ballot gave YOU the choice of voting in a block or by line item. Slightly under 2,000 members made their voices heard and voted, their vote was wiped out due to block voting. The National Union has no objection to us sending this important proposal back out for a vote. The only change is the block voting option. Now it is up to you to vote!
This proposal is more important than ever:
- Our Local has continued to shrink, like every other Local in CWA. The Central Division has shrunk to approximately 85 members, less than is needed to get on a ballot!
- Our Brothers and Sisters in the Healthcare field are locked in a battle for a new contract, with an employer who has hired the notorious Jackson and Lewis union busting law firm to negotiate their contract, yet they still have no elected representative on the Executive Board.
- Our Brothers and Sisters in AT&T will be negotiating their contract next year, and will be facing the same challenges we are facing with Verizon, and without an elected representative on the Executive Board.
- In Verizon, we are currently negotiating with an employer determined to break this Union and re-write our contract, yet our Local is bleeding because of lost Membership. The proposals to eliminate one position (Central) and combine two (Secretary and Treasurer) will more then pay for the two positions and stop the bleeding in our treasury.
- It is important to note that many of our Sister Locals, including the National Union, are in the process of making the exact same changes, for the exact same reason: loss of Membership.
- Our Retirement Trust Fund, which we are the only Local in the country to have, is overfunded. Suspending the contributions will allow our Local to continue to operate in the black. It is important to note that the trust can only be used for that benefit, and can never be done away with or disbursed without a specific by-laws change.
It is time to step forward and put our Local on sound financial footing.
I urge you, PLEASE take the time to vote, and PLEASE support these proposals.
Angel Feliciano
Executive Vice-President
Chairperson – By-Laws Committee
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