cwa newsletter, thursday, november 14, 2013

8/14/2019 CWA Newsletter, Thursday, November 14, 2013

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members will also be joining the call. Don't miss it!

Register athttp://cwa-union.org/cwacall.

Reminder: When you sign up for the remaining CWA town hall calls this year,

you will be entered in a drawing for a personalized iPad Mini! The winner willbe announced in the CWA News and e-newsletter.

194 Members of Congress Go Public with Concerns about TPP Trade Deal

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At least 194 Democratic and Republican Members of Congress have publiclyraised concerns with President Obama about the Trans-Pacific Partnershiptrade deal.

The latest: a letter signed by 151 Democratic House members who laid outtheir concerns about the lack of consultation during the TPP negotiations andtheir opposition to "fast tracking" the deal without any meaningfulcongressional input.

Representatives Rosa DeLauro and George Miller lead the effort to spotlightthe serious shortcomings of the TPP negotiating process and to take a stand

against Trade Promotion Authority, also known as "fast track" consideration,which would bring the agreement before the Congress for an up-or-down votewith no opportunities for amendment.

This massive trade deal could have detrimental consequences formanufacturing and service sector jobs, workers' rights, wages, environmentalregulation, food safety, health care, consumer protections, governmentprocurement policies and more. Some 600 corporate advisors have access tothe secret draft texts, but the public, many members of Congress, journalists,unions, environmental and public health groups and others have beenexcluded.

"Our 20 years of experience in trade deals, going back to North AmericanFree Trade Agreement, has proven that we lose far more jobs than we gain,and that our pay and benefits are pushed down with global competition as theexcuse," said CWA President Larry Cohen. "That's not the future we want forourselves or our children. We must pursue economic and trade policies thatare best for American workers not multinational corporations."
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In their letter to the president, House Democrats vowed to oppose fast track.

"Twentieth Century 'Fast Track' is simply not appropriate for 21st Centuryagreements and must be replaced," the letter said. "The United States cannotafford another trade agreement that replicates the mistakes of the past. We

can and must do better."

Breaking: WikiLeaks Publishes TPP Draft on Intellectual Property Rights

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"If you read, write, publish, think, listen, dance, sing or invent; if you farm or

consume food; if you're ill now or might one day be ill, the TPP has you in itscrosshairs."

That's what WikiLeaks said when it published the leaked chapter of theproposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement dealing with intellectualproperty rights. The group said it wanted to put out the information in advanceof the next big TPP meeting of chief negotiators in Salt Lake City Nov. 19-23.

This 95-page chapter lays out provisions for instituting a far-reaching,transnational legal and enforcement regime, modifying or replacing existingU.S. laws and laws in TPP member states.Read the chapter here.

In the same way, "Buy American" measures, the proposed call center bill andother legislation could be challenged by TPP nations if this deal is approved.

This deal is being negotiated in secret. Members of the U.S. Congress havebeen able to view only selected portions of documents under very restrictiveconditions. Meanwhile, some 600 corporate lobbyists, or "trade advisors," area big part of the negotiations, and that's bad news for U.S. jobs, workers'rights, environmental protections, food safety and a whole host of criticalissues.

Lawmakers Unveil Bipartisan 'Press One For America' Bill

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CWA call center activists, Jamone Ross and Charlice Boston, and CWA

Senior Director George Kohl joined Sen. Bob Casey, Rep. Tim Bishop andRep. Dave McKinley at the press conference.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle on Wednesday joined together insupport of legislation that would end tax payer subsidies for corporations thatsend U.S. call center jobs offshore, as CWA released a report outliningmassive data security issues at overseas call centers that leave Americans'personal information at risk.

Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) joined House sponsors Rep. David McKinley(R-WV) and Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) to formally unveil the bipartisan "U.S.

Call Center and Worker Protection Act of 2013." (S. 1565/H.R. 2909)

The "Press One For America" section of the legislation requires call centeremployees to identify the country from which they are taking the call, and ifoutside the United States, offer the consumer the opportunity to betransferred back to a facility located in the U.S. Further, companies that sendU.S. call center jobs offshore would be barred from receiving federal loans,grants or subsidies for three years.

Finally, the bill requires that a list of companies that send call center jobsoffshore be made available to the public, and allows firms that bring jobs back

to America to be removed from that "bad actor" list.

"This bill would not stop a corporation from moving jobs overseas, but itmakes it clear that those that don't want to keep good jobs here in the U.S.won't be able to benefit from federal grants and guaranteed loans," said CWASenior Director George Kohl. "There should be no more handouts fromtaxpayers for those who choose not to invest in American workers."
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CWA also has pointed out that the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership tradeagreement, as currently structured, would enable other countries to challengeand potentially overturn U.S. legislation that seeks to promote quality U.S.

jobs, including call center legislation. CWA and allies are fighting to stop "fasttrack" authority, also called Trade Promotion Authority, which would prohibit

Congress from taking up any amendments to TPP.

The call center bill, cosponsored in the Senate by Banking Committee ChairTim Johnson (D-SD), is sponsored in the House of Representatives byDemocrats Tim Bishop (NY-1), Mike Michaud (ME-2) and Gene Green (TX-29), along with Republicans David McKinley (WVA-1), Michael Grimm (NY-11) and Chris Gibson (NY-19).

CWA member Charlice Boston, a Winston-Salem North Carolina-based USAirways reservations agent, is one of the 5,000 agents who filled jobs broughtback to the U.S. from overseas as part of a collectively bargained agreement

with the company.

"I want to say 'thank you' from my co-workers and customers to SenatorCasey, Rep. McKinley and Rep. Bishop for their leadership on this importantlegislation," Ms. Boston said. "I encourage all of our Senators andRepresentatives to think of the impact quality jobs have on their constituentsand to co-sponsor and pass this bill."

Offshoring Security

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CWA has released a report entitled "Offshoring Security How Overseas CallCenters Threaten U.S. Jobs, Consumer Privacy and Data Security."

The document outlines how U.S. corporations many of whom receivemillions in taxpayer subsidies hurt the economy here at home and putconsumer personal information at risk by sending call center jobs overseas in

the name of lowering labor and other business costs.

The report specifically calls out the "too big to fail" banks that receivedtaxpayer bailouts during the recent financial crises who have summarily senttens of thousands of call center jobs overseas. The worst offenders includeCapitol One, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citigroup.

The report also cites the example of T-Mobile US, which closed seven U.S.
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7777, are fighting for a first contract and fairness. About 100 drivers, mostlyAfrican immigrants, have been bargaining since January 2012. Driversoverwhelmingly rejected the company's latest demands for a wage cut ofabout 30 percent that would cut workers' pay to $11.50 an hour.

Help support the SuperShuttle drivers byliking their Facebook page.

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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A NABET-CWA Local 43 member rallies against Detroit's Fox 2.

Below: Activists hand out peanuts at Tiger Stadium.
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Detroit's Fox 2

NABET-CWA Local 43 is putting the spotlight on the refusal of Detroit's Fox 2to bargain in good faith.

Members have been hitting the streets to mobilize against the station. Duringthe recent World Series playoffs in Detroit, activists handed out bags ofpeanuts to fans going to the games with a label that read "Turn off FOX 2,"implying that the company wanted our members to now work for peanuts.When the company attended an event at a big advertiser's furniture store,workers were there outside with signs.

NABET-CWA Local 43 represents many of the technical workers at Detroit'sFox 2. Contract negotiations began in May, but the October talks ended whenthe union suspended negotiations because the company was not taking it

seriously. Fox is trying to eliminate breaks, expand jurisdictional rights soanybody working in the building can shoot video and stop providingphotographers gear for inclement weather, among other issues.

WVA Verizon Workers to Receive Jobless Benefits for 2011 Strike

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The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that said CWAVerizon members at the Clarksburg call center were entitled tounemployment benefits for the two weeks in August 2011 that Verizonmembers were on strike.

"Our members have been waiting for more than two years, but this decisionmeans they'll finally receive the benefits they're entitled to," said CWA District2-13 Vice President Ed Mooney.

While state law says that workers would be ineligible for unemployment

compensation "due to a stoppage of work which exists because of a labordispute," it also makes clear that "stoppage of work" refers to the employer'soperations, not workers' status.

Verizon had appealed the decision to the State Supreme Court, arguing thatoperations during the strike could not be considered "normal" operations. In a3-2 decision, the Supreme Court disagreed, noting that employees did handle
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calls at the Clarksburg call center during the strike.

Building Our Movement

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Immigration Reform Now

Immigration reform activists staged a mock funeral march from the CivilRights Memorial to Republican Party of Virginia headquarters, urging officialsto join the rest of the nation in moving forward on historic immigration reformlegislation.

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TSEU Stops Outsourcing Plan at University of Texas
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A 10-month community campaign by Texas State Employees Union-CWALocal 6186 and allies convinced the University of Texas at Austin to dropplans to cut jobs, outsource food service jobs and raise student fees.

The UT administration decided that its "Smarter Systems for a Greater UT"wasn't such a smart idea after all.

TSEU members have been organizing and mobilizing on campus to stop theadministration's plan that would cut jobs and raise student fees and workedwith the UT Save Our Community coalition representing studentorganizations, faith groups and local non-profit organizations to make surethe message was heard.

TSEU and the community coalition are keeping up the fight against anotheradministration proposal that would eliminate 500 jobs in Human Resources,Information Technologies, Procurement and Financial, at a cost of $160 to$180 million. Local elected officials joined a TSEU-Save Our CommunityCoalition forum that criticized the plan.

When university workers stand together and fight by organizing andmobilizing against privatization, we can win, TSEU says.

US Airways-American Merger Will Create a Stronger, More CompetitiveAirline

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CWA supports the Justice Department's settlement of its lawsuit blocking the
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merger of US Airways and American Airlines.

CWA will review the proposed settlement agreement in terms of the potentialimpact on CWA members at all affected airlines, but we believe the mergedcarrier will create a stronger, more competitive airline that will provide better

service and more options to passengers than either airline can do alone. Thatmeans quality jobs and opportunity for the airlines' 70,000 employees andexpanded service for passengers.

For employees at American Airlines who have lost jobs and seen theirbenefits slashed by the company's bankruptcy strategy and for US Airwaysemployees who have suffered through two bankruptcies and pay and benefitcuts, this merger will provide a new work environment that recognizes thevalue of front-line employees.

The settlement will avoid a trial that was scheduled to start on Nov. 25.

Equality for All in the Workplace

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After a nearly four-decade journey, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act(ENDA) has finally made it out of the Senate with bipartisan support and

creates what no other law currently does: Express protections for lesbian,gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the workplace.

CWA has worked to enshrine these protections in our union contracts, so thatworkers do not have to hide who they are out of fear of losing their jobs andlivelihoods. But not everyone has the protection of a strong union contract.Every year, discrimination occurs in many forms, as American workers aren'thired, are fired, do not receive job promotions, or deal with verbal andphysical abuse from co-workers and supervisors simply because of theirsexual orientation or gender identity.

ENDA is an important step in recognizing that employment decisions shouldbe made on the basis of an individual's ability to perform a job. People thatwork hard and perform well should not be discriminated against because oftheir sexual orientation or gender identity.

The bill has the overwhelming support of the American people, businessesand faith communities. It's time to remind our lawmakers of that fact, as thebill moves to the House, where Speaker John Boehner has vowed to kill this
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12/13

critical legislation.

Pete Seeger Surprises Guild Activists with Visit, Song at Buffalo Meeting

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Pete Seeger surprises TNG activists in Buffalo.

TNG-CWA members attending a Guild district council meeting in Buffalo lastweekend got a huge surprise when legendary folk singer Pete Seeger strolledinto their conference room.

"This very tall man walked in and astounded everybody by stepping up on achair," said Janet Ortegon Weyandt, president of the Sheboygan local andthe newest member of the Guild's Sector Executive Council. "He is 94! Hesang us a song, then he stepped down and talked about his life, when hethought he might go into the newspaper business back when he was veryyoung."

Speaking for just a couple of minutes, Seeger recalled how, "60 years ago,70 years ago, I wanted to be a newspaper man." He spoke of working on aprimary school and then prep school newspaper, which lead to a scholarshipwhere he continued to learn the craft of journalism.

Check out the video.
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cwa newsletter, thursday, november 14, 2013

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