cwa newsletter, thursday, december 5, 2013

8/13/2019 CWA Newsletter, Thursday, December 5, 2013

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December 5, 2013

Want to be in next week's CWANewsletter? Send your stories and photos [email protected]@CWANews. Follow the latest developments atwww.resistancegrowing.org.

Top Issues All Consumers Should Know

CWA NextGen Leader Joins White House Youth Summit

White House Summit: Federal Mediation Takes Bargaining from Crisis

to Resolution Building Our Movement

Bargaining Update

D9's Jim Weitkamp Steps Down, Laura Reynolds Sworn as VicePresident

TU Activists Visit CWA Exec Board Meeting

Political Update

Organizing Update

Flight AttendantsSayNo toIn-Flight Cell Phone Calls Say No to Fast Track

Verizon New York Guilty of Repeat Safety Violations

Mark Your Calendar: CWA Customer Service ProfessionalsConference

Help the Victims of Typhoon Haiyan

Top Issues All Consumers Should Know

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Richard Cordray, the first-ever director of the Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau an agency that's on the side of consumers when it comes topredatory lending and other bad practices by the big banks and otherfinancial institutions will join CWA President Larry Cohen on CWA's next
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Town Hall Call, Thursday, Dec. 19.

Cordray's nomination, like too many other executive nominations made byPresident Obama, had been blocked by the Republican minority, which triedto block creation of the consumer agency, but failed. Their next step was to

try and stop Cordray's confirmation.

Cordray broke through the logjam last summer, when CWA and allies led afight for confirmation of a fully functioning five-member NLRB, Cordray asCFPB director, Gina McCarthy as EPA administrator and other nominations.

Register for the call athttp://cwa-union.org/cwacall.

CWA NextGen Leader Joins White House Youth Summit

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CWA's Jake Lake (second from the left) participates in the White HouseYouth Summit.

Jake Lake, a member of CWA Local 1111 and CWA Next Generation leader,joined activists from across the country at the White House Youth Summit onWednesday.

The summit brought together 160 of the country's national and local leaders,ages 18-35, to discuss the issues important to their generation.
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"It was motivating to be surrounded with young leaders from around theU.S.," said Lake. "The mentality of the millennial generation is one of beingpart of something bigger then themselves. This is encouraging for our work inchanging the course of our country with 50 million people."

In breakout workshops and panels, Lake talked about how the Trans-PacificPartnership would destroy workers' rights, jobs and wages.

President Obama also dropped by the summit to tell the young leaders whyhe needs their help, particularly with spreading the word about the AffordableCare Act and helping enroll people in their communities.

"I hope you haven't been discouraged by how hard it's been, because stuffthat's worth it is always hard," he said. "The Civil Rights Movement was hard.Getting women the right to vote that was hard. Making sure that workershad the right to organize that was hard. It's never been easy for us to

change how we do business in this country."

CWA Chief of Staff Ron Collins, who heads CWA's Next Generation program,said, "CWA's Next Generation work is critical to the future of CWA and ourmovement building work. We all have an obligation to make sure we identifyand mentor the future leaders of CWA. The program is for all members, if youdon't meet the requirements to be a next generation activist, you can help bybecoming a mentor to a younger member."

White House Summit: Federal Mediation Takes Bargaining from Crisis toResolution

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NABET-CWA President Jim Joyce, CWA President Larry Cohen, and KABC-
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TV President and General Manager Arnie Kleiner and ABC, Inc. senior vicepresident Marc Sandman discuss how federal mediation moved negotiationsfrom a near crisis stage to innovation and resolution. Left is George Cohen,FMCS Director.

NABET-CWA President Jim Joyce and CWA President Larry Cohen joinedthe White House Summit on Labor and Management Partnerships to talkabout the value of federal mediation in recent negotiations with ABC, Inc.

The summit was moderated by George H. Cohen, director of the FederalMediation and Conciliation Service, with remarks by Labor Secretary TomPerez and Commerce Secretary Penny S. Pritzker.

Joyce summarized the "near crisis situation" that bargaining had become inrecent years, along with the challenges facing NABET-CWA and ABCmanagement, including economic stress, changing technology, job

convergence and retirement security. Workers at ABC were trying to build jobsecurity, but also wanted to be a part of where the industry was growing the

jobs of the future.

"These were persistent themes of our bargaining from 2011 until March 2013.Then, with the help of FMCS Director Cohen and a marathon bargainingsession, we were able to find innovative and creative solutions to our issues,work out a groundbreaking agreement, actually, on gathering content, andsuccessfully keep workers on track for job security, retirement security andthe jobs of the future," he said.

Arnie Kleiner, president and general manager of KABC-TV, and MarcSandman, senior vice president for labor relations at ABC, noted that inbargaining, having operations managers at the table, as opposed to laborrelations staff, was critical to helping make the negotiations work because"they could tell the real story." Joyce added that the union bargaining teamconsisted of longtime ABC workers who had a deep understanding of theindustry.

CWA's Cohen praised FMCS's Cohen, stressing that "the bargaining was asbad as it gets, but we had a path forward" because of him. "We had anadversarial relationship that has become, we hope, transformative."

CWA's Cohen stressed that it's in our national economic interest to keepcollective bargaining going: "Today's examples of how bargaining andpartnership work, whether in the private sector or public sector, are important.The process is messy, but it's democracy at work."

"Without collective bargaining, there will be no economic growth. Wages havebeen falling for 40 years. There aren't enough tax tricks to overcome that. We


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need to honor, work for and fight for collective bargaining," he said.

Building Our Movement

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CWA Rallies with New Day New York

Today, Cablevision employees, fast food workers, unions, communityactivists, faith leaders and everyday New Yorkers who want to fight inequalityrallied and marched for New Day New York.

NYC activists rally outside the home of Cablevision director Vincent Tese.

The message: "In 2014, we'll have a new mayor, a new City Council and newcitywide officials. Our city and state governments can and should begin a newera by stopping the special deals for Wall Street and the people who haverigged the system, and building a city that works for all of us. To makeprogress, we'll fight to stop the unchecked power of the 1%, break the linksbetween big-money interests and the politicians that serve them, demanddevelopment policies that build broad prosperity not wealth for a tiny few, andsupport organizing to boost paychecks for low-wage workers."

Thursday's rally was the culmination of a week of action that focused publicattention on economic inequality. On Wednesday a group of activists ralliedoutside the home of Cablevision director Vincent Tese to send him amessage that workers deserve a fair contract.
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The protests started at Foley Square, the staging ground for the 2011 massrallies and marches in support of Occupy Wall Street. And they continuedmarching downtown to the Financial District.

Find out more athttp://www.newdaynewyork.org/.

Walmart Workers Stand Up on Black Friday

In a series of some 1,500 Black Friday protests across the country, Walmartworkers and supporters called for an end to poverty level wages and forrespect on the job.

CWA Local 1103 Secretary-Treasurer Joe Mayhew plays Scrooge outsideWalmart.

Walmart workers, faith leaders and community supporters are calling for anend to Walmart's illegal retaliation against workers who are standing up forfairness, for Walmart to publicly commit to paying wages of $25,000 a yearand for more full-time work. While posting $17 billion in profits last year,Walmart continues to pay workers poverty wages.

In New York, members of CWA Local 1103 joined members of theWestchester- Putnam AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, IBEW,

SEIU, Young Democrats and others at a protest outside the White PlainsWalmart. Walmart workers earn way too little to survive in one of the state'swealthiest counties, said Local 1103 Secretary-Treasurer Joe Mayhew, whoalso played Scrooge for the day. Across the state, union members andcommunity activists joined similar protests to focus attention on Walmart'snegative affect on NY communities.
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Learn more athttp://forrespect.org/.

CWA Supports Fast4Families

On the National Mall, just across from the U.S. Capitol, activists are

continuing their fast as an act of support for the families who are torn apartdaily by deportations and our broken immigration system. CWA's ExecutiveBoard visited the activists on Monday night.

SEIU's Eliseo Medina began his fast on Nov. 12 with Dae Joon Yoon,executive director of the National Korean American Service and EducationConsortium, and Mi Familia Vota's Cristian Avila. Since then they've been

joined by thousands of supporters who are all urging House Speaker JohnBoehner and House Republican leadership to fix our country's brokenimmigration system and bring a vote to the House floor.

CWA President Larry Cohen begins his fast with SEIU's Eliseo Medina.

The day after CWA's visit following 21 days of fasting Medina, Yoon andAvila ended their fast and passed the torch to a new group of activists thatwill continue fasting in the same tent on the National Mall. The group includesRep. Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-Mass.), a grandson of the late Sen. Robert F.Kennedy, and several religious leaders.

Last month, CWA President Larry Cohen fasted for 24 hours with the

activists. "This is a human rights story. It's a question of what America isabout," he told them.

Here's Cohen's message on why he joined Fast4Families:

I am fasting for 24 hours to unite, in my own small way, with the familiesthat are seeking a basic American right a path to citizenship and tokeep their own family together. In my own case, I never had to question
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those rights.

More than 100 years ago, my ancestors came to this country withnothing but the promise of making a life here. They were not educatedor very skilled as workers. But they knew that in five years they could be

citizens. There was always a path to citizenship.

At that time, all immigrants were "legal" regardless of theirbackgrounds. With few exceptions, restrictions on legal immigrationbegan about 90 years ago.

Now we must stand with the families and the children. We cannotignore their goal of citizenship as immigrants do the toughest jobsamong us. We must open our hearts and our arms and embrace all whowork by our side.

We must also realize that nearly all immigrants are working classpeople who share our values and our dreams. As we struggle to build amovement for economic justice and democracy they will be among ourbest allies. We cannot afford to be divided; when united, our dreamscan become a reality, if not today, one day.

In recent days President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice PresidentJoe Biden, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, plus a number of otherelected officials and celebrities have all visited the fasters.

Bargaining Update

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CWA Wins Settlement for Mobility Retail Store Workers

CWA has won a settlement covering AT&T Mobility retail store workers thatincludes individual financial payments and allows retail workers to sit down if

customers also choose to be seated. Until now, retail store workers wererequired to stand for their entire shift.

"This is a major victory for our Mobility members who for the first time will beable to enjoy some relief from standing the entire work day," said Bill Bates,CWA vice president for Telecommunications and Technologies. As part of thesettlement, AT&T will redesign the stores with learning tables; each table willbe equipped with stools that can be utilized by sales associates and the
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customer during the sales and service interaction. By the end of 2014 about1,400 stores will have been redesigned, Bates said.

The settlement resolves a grievance and arbitration claim filed by CWA inCalifornia. It covers nearly 24,000 retail sales AT&T Mobility workers

nationwide. Payments will be made within 60 days after the settlement isfinalized.

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SuperShuttle

Faith leaders and union supporters stand with SuperShuttle drivers in

Denver.

Below: SuperShuttle drivers demand a fair contract.

SuperShuttle drivers in Denver, members of CWA Local 7777, arespotlighting the company's most recent contract demand that would cut their


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pay by 30 percent and cut the hours drivers could work each week.

The drivers were joined by faith leaders and union supporters at a newsconference outside the Denver City and County Building.

"We're not looking for a handout we just want to be able to work hard andprovide for our families," said Mr. Fekadu Ejigdegsew, who came to Americafrom Ethiopia after his family gained visas through a government lottery in2001. In Ethiopia, Ejigdegsew was a government official in charge of thecountry's national parks.

Following the news conference, a caravan of 25 drivers drove throughdowntown to Denver International Airport.

Negotiations resume this week.

Like them on Facebook.

On Facebook, you can sign the petition that calls on the Colorado legislatureand Governor John Hickenlooper (D) to support the drivers' fight for fairness.Or click here.

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C h i c a g o S u n - Ti m e s and G a r y P o s t -T r i b u n e

After 15 months of bargaining, Chicago Newspaper Guild bargaining units at

theChicago Sun-Timesand Gary Post-Tribunevoted to ratify a new contract.The contract eliminates two weeks of furlough days, provides a 2 percentraise in 2016 and improves severance and job security. And in a big victory, itwill restore jobs for four of the Sun-Timesphotojournalists, who were firedlast May when the newspaper said it wanted to "restructure" its multimedia.

D9's Jim Weitkamp Steps Down, Laura Reynolds Sworn as Vice President

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CWA President Larry Cohen swears in Laura Reynolds as District 9 vicepresident.

Jim Weitkamp, who has led District 9 since January 2009, has stepped downas vice president and will retire Jan. 1, 2014.

At the CWA Executive Board this week, Laura Reynolds, assistant toWeitkamp since 2009, was sworn in as vice president.

Reynolds joined CWA Local 9400 (then Local 11500) on her first day on the

job. She served the local as steward, area steward, assistant director,director of the AT&T Unit and vice president before being named a CWA staffrepresentative in 1998. In January 2009, she was named assistant to VicePresident Weitkamp. Reynolds supports building CWA through education andaction; Weitkamp has praised the leadership and energy that Reynolds hasshown on behalf of CWA members and working families.

CWA President Larry Cohen commended Weitkamp's lifetime of commitmentto CWA members and our movement, adding, "The work you have done fornearly 40 years speaks for itself." Weitkamp first joined CWA Local 9505 aftergoing to work for Pacific Bell in 1977, and served as first vice president and

executive vice president. He was named to the CWA staff in 1988 and alsoserved as Southern California Director. In 2004, he was named assistant tothe former District 9 vice president, then became vice president in 2009.

TU Activists Visit CWA Exec Board Meeting


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TU activists Adrian Dominguez and Josh Coleman meet with CWA PresidentLarry Cohen.

TU activists Josh Coleman and Adrian Dominguez met with the CWAexecutive board this week.

They both talked about CWA's partnership with ver.di and the fight to getworkers a voice on the job at T-Mobile US and MetroPCS.

Coleman used to work at a T-Mobile call center in Wichita, Kan. He wasillegally fired because of his union activity, and the NLRB is now prosecutingT-Mobile for violating U.S. labor law.

Dominguez helped organize the first MetroPCS retail store since T-Mobilepurchased the wireless carrier. In September, workers at the Harlem storevoted 7-1 for CWA representation. Even though the store had just nineemployees, T-Mobile US executives kept up an intense anti-union campaign.

"Management used every trick in the book to break our unity. They lied about

dues. They asked for a second chance," he told the board. "They said CWAwas a 'third party.' They brought in a technician from Connecticut to bash theunion. They flew in the VP for HR from Washington to brow beat us. Theyheld dozens of forced meetings in the basement with us, literally reading froman anti-union script. A few days before the election, the CEO of the companyeven showed up at our little store in Harlem! Of course, this companyunderestimated our courage, our solidarity and our knowledge."
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Thousands of union members at T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom inGermany who have a significant voice on the job, collective bargaining andmany seats on the company supervisory board have taken on U.S. workers'cause and are protesting their company's treatment of T-Mobile USemployees. Recently, their union, ver.di, sent a letter to Deutsche Telekom,

the parent company of T-Mobile US, telling the company it should cease thecaptive audience meetings that workers have been forced to attend. AndColeman was able to travel to Germany, where he visited five cities andspoke to more than 5,000 Deutsche Telekom workers.

"The standing ovations, the many hugs and the countless words ofencouragement from Ver.di members were unexpected and beyond myimagination. I don't consider myself a fired worker, but an activist andorganizer that's part of a bigger cause," Coleman said.

Political Update

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Kentucky

IUE-CWA Local 83761 President Jerry Carney, Legislative/Political directorSteve Wimsatt, Grimes and CWA Staff Representative Isa Shabazz.

Below: South Ward Councilman Ras Baraka accepts CWA's endorsement inhis run for mayor of Newark.
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IUE-CWA and CWA are big supporters of Kentucky Secretary of State AlisonLundergan Grimes, who is running for election to the Senate next year. Sheis challenging Mitch McConnell, who as Senate minority leader, has mounteda campaign of "no" over the past five years. Grimes put McConnell's record incontext: "If Mitch McConnell had a kidney stone, he'd refuse to pass it."

IUE-CWA Local 83761 recently hosted an event for Grimes in Louisville,where she met with union activists and leaders and talked about how shewould help move Kentucky in the right direction to help working families.

At a later State AFL-CIO meeting, delegates overwhelmingly endorsedGrimes in her bid to become senator. She said, "Labor has lifted millions outof poverty. It is labor that is going to be the way we continue to grow themiddle class in this state and make sure that everyone has an equal voice,especially at the bargaining table."

New Jersey

CWA New Jersey has endorsed Ras Baraka for mayor of Newark.

"Ras Baraka is building a movement in Newark for everyone who loves, livesand works in this city," said Hetty Rosenstein, CWA's New Jersey statedirector. "He isn't just running a political campaign for himself. CWA endorsesthat movement. Our members endorse that movement. That movement iswho we are and what we are as a union."

Watch the endorsement here.

Organizing Update
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Speedwire

Technicians at Speedwire, an AT&T contractor, have voted to join CWA Local1101. The vote was 19-11.

Speedwire technicians wire "smart homes" for AT&T Digital Life, a homeautomation service that allows you to control your home from yoursmartphone, tablet or PC. It can help you do everything from turning off thelights to monitoring carbon monoxide leaks to opening the door remotely for atrusted neighbor.

The number of Speedwire techs on the job will likely increase in the nextseveral months.

CWA organizer Ken Spatta led this effort with assistance from AnthonyBarresi and Heather Trainor.

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FOX Hub in Las Vegas

NABET-CWA won its third election in 13 months in District 9, organizing

workers at a FOX broadcast hub in Las Vegas. The vote was 21-13.

In the past this master control work had been done at each individual station.Now, the Las Vegas hub supports 28 other FOX stations nationwide,including NABET-CWA represented stations in Los Angeles, Detroit andChicago. The Las Vegas members will be represented by NABET-CWA Local59053.

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United Transportation Alliance of New Jersey
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Newark taxi cab drivers come together to launch the United TransportationAlliance with CWA Local 1039.

Newark taxi cab drivers and CWA have teamed up to launch the UnitedTransportation Alliance of New Jersey.

UTANJ will fight for basic workplace, civil and privacy rights, as well aseconomic justice and access to healthcare. The new alliance will also benefitconsumers and the public by making sure the ride is safe and reliable withrates that are transparent, consistent and fair.

"Newark's taxi drivers work long, hard hours with little pay and even lessprotection," said Chris Shelton, CWA District 1 Vice-President. "Right now,

these hard-working men and women are forced to deal with all the negativesof being an independent contractor, yet they enjoy none of the benefits orprotections. The UTANJ will change all that. The days of ripping these driversoff is over."

CWA organizers have already met or spoken with over 300 of Newark'sroughly 2,000 taxi cab drivers. They work 12-14 hour days, barely makingminimum wage with fares coming in at a mere $6 to $10 per trip. If they'relucky or put in extremely long shifts, they'll make 10 rides a day.

UTANJ will be an affiliate of CWA, and its members will be CWA Local 1039.

CWA already represents taxi drivers in Denver. The other six major Americancities which currently have taxi cab alliances are Austin, Eugene, New YorkCity, Philadelphia, Portland, and Washington, D.C.

Flight Attendants Say No to In-Flight Cell Phone Calls


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AFA-CWA is fighting a new FCC proposal that would allow passengers tomake in-flight cell phone calls.

Flight Attendants, as first responders and the last line of defense in ournation's aviation system, understand the importance of maintaining a calmcabin environment. Any situation that is loud, divisive, and possibly disruptiveis not only unwelcome, but also unsafe. In far too many operationalscenarios, passengers making phone calls could extend beyond a merenuisance, creating negative effects on aviation safety and security that aregreat and far too risky. Flight Attendants also are concerned that inemergencies, cell phone use would drown out announcements and distract

from life-saving instructions from the crew.

"We're trained to de-escalate. Why would you put something in theenvironment that can escalate?" said AFA-CWA President Veda Shook. "Onan airplane, there's no such thing as a quiet car. It's a confined metal tubethousands of feet in the air. It would be no different from having a smokingsection on a small plane."

Over the years, a number of surveys have said that the traveling public alsowants to maintain the ban on in-flight phone calls. After the FCC announced itwould consider revising the rules on in-flight phone calls,a HuffPost/YouGov

pollfound that 49 percent of Americans would not want cell phones allowedon planes if the FCC determines that it's safe.

Say No to Fast Track

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18/23

CWAers protest outside Rep. Gregory Meeks's New York office.

CWA and our allies continue to urge Congress to say no to "fast track"

authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would send the deal tolawmakers for an up-or-down vote without any amendments.

In New York, CWAers, along with a coalition of labor, environmental andprogressive organizations, protested outside Rep. Gregory Meeks's districtoffice. Meeks is one of two Democrats that have joined the bipartisan Pro-TPP Caucus, which aims to speed the trade deal to ratification.

In California, CWA activists joined hundreds of activists protesting the secrettrade deal, as President Obama, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi andSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid all came to town for Democraticfundraisers in Beverly Hills. CWA partnered with the Electronic FrontierFoundation, the Organic Consumers Association, Citizens Trade Coalitionand Health Care for All at the march and rally.

Ernie Pacheco rallies TPP protesters. Photo byLAProgressive.com.

Below: Missouri activists warn that TPP will ship away our jobs.
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"Passing the TPP will result in more American jobs being outsourced toforeign countries, more downward pressure on the wages of Americanworkers, the continued erosion of workers' rights in the U.S., and a significantweakening of Buy American provisions," said Ernie Pacheco, CWA District

9's environmental programs coordinator.Read more and see photos atLAProgressive.com.

In Missouri, CWA partnered with Missouri Progressive Vote, St Louis LaborCouncil, MIRA, AFL-CIO, PEP and the St Louis Inter-Faith Committee onLatin America to protest outside Rep. Ann Wagner's Ballwin district office.The police arrived, barring protesters from entering the building, but a smallgroup was allowed to go in to discuss the legislation with Wagner's staff, whoremained tight lipped on where the congresswoman stood on the bill.

The 20th major round of negotiations on the 12-nation Trans-PacificPartnership trade deal talks just concluded in Salt Lake City, Utah. The talksnow move to a ministerial meeting Dec. 7-10 in Singapore, with the goal ofwrapping up a deal by the end of the year. According to several news reports,South Korea is moving closer to joining the TPP talks.

The TPP is being secretly negotiated by 600 multinational corporations andindustry trade groups and will affect nearly every aspect of Americans' lives. Ifpassed, it will undermine state, local and federal laws, including thosegoverning food safety, environmental protection, internet freedom, workerrights, democratic sovereignty, healthcare and drug prices, and banking andfinance regulation. In short, it will be a disaster for workers, for public healthand safety, for the future sustainability of the world's food supply and forbasic democratic principles in other words, it's NAFTA on steroids.
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20/23

Verizon New York Guilty of Repeat Safety Violations

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After more than two years, justice has finally been served for DouglasLaLima, a lineman and member of CWA Local 1109, who was tragicallyelectrocuted while placing strand in Brooklyn.

Verizon has been found guilty of multiple violations of the OSHATelecommunications Standard and fined $147,000 for repeat violations of notensuring that linemen used insulating rubber gloves while placing strand on

joint use poles and not making certain that the strand is temporarily groundedwhile being placed. Verizon also faces one serious violation for not providing

adequate training.

The company now must provide enhanced electrical safety training and othersafeguards to its New York field technicians who install suspension strand onutility poles that carry power lines. This landmark stipulated settlementagreement covers Verizon New York and affects all line personnel and linegarages in the state.

"It is not the amount of the fines, which are limited by law, which is ultimatelyimportant. No amount of money can ever make up for the loss of a person'slife. What is important is that Verizon is being held accountable for their

negligence and they must now take specific actions to provide for a saferwork environment," CWA District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton told CWALocals. "While it is sad and unconscionable that this is what it took for thecompany to do what they should have been doing all along, this is a positiveand much needed step toward preventing another death of this kind in thefuture."

Verizon poured resources into fighting all of their OSHA citations, but couldnot make a case. Because of its two repeat violations based on the death ofJarrod Lyon, a lineman from CWA Local 1126, in 2002 Verizon is now onthe OSHA Severe Violator list and will be subject to additional oversight.

"While no settlement can bring this worker back to his family, co-workers andfriends, this agreement can help prevent similar and needless tragedies in thefuture," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York. "Itcommits Verizon New York to provide enhanced and specific training for itsfield technicians on the hazards involved with installing suspension strand onutility poles carrying power lines. Such training will also reinforce
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21/23

management's commitment to safe practices."

Mark Your Calendar: CWA Customer Service Professionals Conference

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CWA's Customer Service Professionals Conference will be held Feb. 12-14,2014, in Orlando, Fla.

This year's conference will be an exciting one. In addition to the first day,CWA-only session, CWAers will join with call center activists from UNI GlobalUnion, which is holding its meeting in conjunction with ours, for another two

full days of sessions.

That means lots of opportunities to talk with union customer service workersfrom different sectors and different countries, and to brainstorm what worksand what doesn't for improving the conditions and professionalism ofcustomer service.

Sign up now by clicking here. There is a $75 registration fee. Participants willbe responsible for making their own travel arrangements and hotelreservations at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Orlando, Fla.

In October, "Call Centre Action Month," UNI activists rallied for increased payand professional treatment of call center workers around the globe.

Help the Victims of Typhoon Haiyan

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Four weeks ago, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded storms toever make landfall, devastated the Philippines. Here are a couple oforganizations that are helping provide calamity assistance and long-termrehabilitation:
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22/23

Feed the Hungry, Inc.

Feed the Hungry aims to uplift the spirit and well-being of the poorest of thepoor, the abused and the desolate through feeding, community and economicdevelopment, gift giving, educational scholarships and classroom building,

and calamity relief and emergency medical assistance programs. Theorganization is raising money to provide lifesaving rations to typhoonsurvivors. Click here to donate. https://lesea.thankyou4caring.org/Typhoon

National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON)

NAFCON is a national multi-issue alliance of Filipino organizations andindividuals in the United States serving to protect the rights and welfare ofFilipinos by fighting for social, economic, and racial justice and equality. Todonate to relief efforts and join Taskforce Haiyan, a network of U.S.organizations that are coordinating emergency relief and rehabilitation efforts,

click here.

"More than 5,000 lives were lost, 4.4 million people have been displaced andleft homeless, and $547 million in agriculture and infrastructure wasdestroyed," said Darren Shiroma, executive assistant to AFA-CWA'spresident and CWA's representative on the APALA executive board. "BothNational Alliance for Filipino Concerns and Feed the Hungry have beenverified and endorsed as reputable organizations with representatives on theground and within the communities affected in the Philippines. Feed theHungry certifies 100 percent of each donation goes to relief efforts sincevolunteers spend their own monies to purchase airfare and supplies while on

travel."
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23/23

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cwa newsletter, thursday, december 5, 2013

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