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| September 2004 |
| Local 7717 Awarded 2nd Place in
National Newsletter Competition
August 31, 2004 Local 7717 of Boulder, CO. has been awarded second place in this years C.W.A. National Newsletter competition. The Local Advisor received the award in the general excellence category of the competition. Panel judges from C.W.A. selected the Local 7717 newsletter for it’s “Consistent format and then amount of useful information combine to make this a solid newsletter for the membership”. Local President Tom Costello has said that Boulder was the only District 7 Local to receive a newsletter award at this year’s convention. “The fact that the Local Advisor was in its first year and accomplished to publish several issues consistently over the last year has been great. However to be recognized by our National Union for an award is truly a credit to the local officers and members for their dedication and commitment to communicate the issues and ideas of the union to the membership.” Executive Board: Other actions and decisions of the E-Board include the:
General Membership
Meeting:
Presidents Corner: Throughout the last quarter our National Union has emphasized the importance of member education for this years election. Our Local has conducted voter registration mailings and has seen a 10% increase in our C.O.P.E. contributors over the last month. The Colorado State Council during last months meeting voted on donation amounts and recipients for COPE funds at the state and local levels. An informational flier on all recipients will be made available at the next general membership meeting. As election day nears additional information on National, and Local elections will be available from our Political/Legislation Committee. While in attendance at State, District, & National meetings over this last quarter your Local has received awards for our Newsletter and a Bronze award for COPE participation. Awards aside, each meeting has consistently relayed the same message over the last six months. Our fight for a fair and decent contract with Qwest begins on November 2, 2004! National laws against your overtime, your safety, and your job security have either been passed or are going to be voted on in this next session. Some of our top national labor leaders have taken our fight to protect working families in America to the media. Our own President Morton Bahr has made guest appearances on the West Wing television show denouncing the off shoring of American jobs. Others have made appearances at rallies & guest appearances on news programs. As an endangered species we the Union Laborers of America have seen dramatic declines in membership over the last four years. These declines effectively decrease our ability to bargain with our employers during contract negotiations. The ability for employers to systematically reduce costs at the expense of laborers and their families is a shameful practice and a reflection on corporate America today. We the laborers assisted in building these corporations, and we the laborers arebeing left on the unemployment and welfare lines. Over the last four years less has been done to protect, assist and create jobs in this country than ever before. We have seen corporations steal, lie and cheat to turn a profit. All while leaving the American laborer at the door wondering if their pensions are secure, will there be a paycheck next week, and what future they may hold with their employer? Not one of these feelings seem too secure at all. The current administration has failed to protect thousands of organized working people during their initial bargaining for a first contract. In many cases corporations will delay this process to sway swing voters and systematically remove strong union supporters from the ranks. Thus ensuring a de-certification vote of the union under the National Labor guidelines. My fellow members the message is clear the American union laborer is under attack. We ask for medical benefits, we ask to be compensated for our overtime, and we demand a safe work place. None of which appeal to this administration or it’s supporters. Please take the time to explore the issues, read handed out materials, & talk to family and friends about our position as laborers in America. Most of all get out and VOTE for your futures. Safety & Health: The recently appointed Local Safety Committee by consists of members of each work group in Boulder. Currently the members of the Committee are Co-Chairs Paul Rozinek & Gene Heuman, members Casey Goddard & David Janke. The identification of a representative to the committee from the Central Office’s is currently being pursued. Bush Anti-Worker Safety and Health Final Rules Repealed Your Weingarten Rights If you are called into a meeting by any Company Manager or Corporate Security, please tell them ... Legislative Report: September 2, 2004 Lots of issues were discussed at the convention, but one that stood out was the Electoral votes for President. Right now what happens for example if George Bush wins the popular vote in Colorado he would then get 9 votes for Colorado and Kerry would get none. We have 9 votes because we have 7 congressional districts and 2 Senate districts. Under this new Amendment 36 if Bush wins by 55 percent and Kerry gets 45 percent of the popular vote Bush would get 5 electoral votes and Kerry would get 4. This is only for the state of Colorado and would apply to this election. We would hope that other states follow in eliminating a situation where the President wins the electoral vote even though he didn’t win popular vote. About CWA-COPE Funded by Local 7717 Boulder, Colorado the voluntary contributions of CWA members, their family members and retirees CWA-COPE provides financial contributions to worker-friendly candidates. CWA can only use voluntary dollars to contribute to an endorsed candidate for federal office. No union dues money of any kind can be given to a political candidate for federal office or national political party. CWA-COPE also provides information to union families about the candidates and their positions on the issues affecting their lives. Decent health care, overtime pay, safe working conditions, family-friendly workplaces, retirement security, freedom to organize are among the concerns influenced by the political process. CWA-COPE endorses candidates regardless of political party who supports working families. Working families can never match the contributions of Corporate America or the wealthy. Together we can combine our financial and voluntary resources to make a real difference in hundreds of key elections at the federal, state and local level. CWA-COPE offers workers the power to gain the attention of lawmakers to their agenda. In a representative democracy, many voices speaking together are louder than a single voice talking alone. Just as union representation gives workers a voice on the job to improve their lives, CWA-COPE is the workers voice in politics to improve their communities and nation. CWA-COPE makes politics work for working families. PEP: For those techs in I&M, Cable and Design Services who attended the meeting today with Frank Simanson at the Flatirons Garage, I want to clear up any misunderstanding you may have about your Local's opinion of PEP. You were probably covered on the original PEP 3-4 weeks ago. It is my understanding that, after the meeting Tommy and I had with Barry Allen, Barry rewrote PEP. You should have received Barry's rewrite of PEP with already. Your Local leaders were extremely displeased with the original PEP and were ready to take whatever actions necessary to protect you. As a matter of fact, we had already begun defensive actions. We developed the first part of the Tech Self-Defense plan to do just that. The new PEP is drastically different from the original. It focuses more on Team, (crew) measurements than on the individual. The threats of discipline are gone. Is it perfect? NO! But if you look at the last paragraph on page 3 you will see that Barry has already opened the door for future changes. We see some things that concern us but overall Barry's version is a great improvement over the original. The meeting at the flatirons garage, and the plans that Tommy & Frank have put into motion are a major stride in the right direction for all techs. Through the new Action team, made up of your fellow workers, you will finally be allowed to have direct input into the design of your jobs. I would welcome every one of you to let me know about your concerns with the new PEP. The BIG question seems to be: Do the leaders of Local 7717 agree with, approve of or endorse the new PEP? The ANSWER: Fact # 1: PEP is here to stay Organizing Report: September 2, 2004 I am presently involved with the Longmont Police and Firefighters Union, assisting in their effort to attain recognized bargaining power. Because of Home Rule they had to get 3500 signatures to be placed on the ballot this November. They recieved 7000 signatures. What this will do is open up an opportunity for all city workers and contractors in Longmont to seek unionization. Now the Boulder Area Labor Council is preparing a letter to the Editor campaign. All of our members that live in Longmont are encouraged to vote in favor of the union for them Tony Ortega has also just returned from New Mexico. His work with District organizers on a campaign of newly organized State employees has received great praise from the other organizers. President Costello arranged for Tony to attend the weeklong introduction to working a live campaign with District 7 and the National Union. The national office also paid for a majority of the expense for the training.
"I intend to serve as president just as vigorously as ever, every single day for the next year, while also working with the other officers to insure a smooth leadership transition, which has been a tradition and source of strength for CWA throughout our history," Bahr stated. Larry Cohen, Bahr's recommended successor, was elected executive vice president in 1998,having formerly served as CWA organizing director and assistant to the president. In his
current post, Cohen is responsible for education and training, organizing, contract
mobilization, health and safety and international affairs. In 2001 he was elected president of the Telecom Sector of the Union Network International, which includes 900 unions representing millions of workers in 140
countries. Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling became CWA's highest ranking woman when she was elected to that post in 1992, Easterling is responsible for managing the finances and office facilities of CWA, as well as directing government relations programs and retiree programs. She is head of the Union Network International's World Women's Committee, an executive committee member of the Democratic National Committee and is an advocate for many community service efforts. Jeffrey Rechenbach has served since 1994 as Vice President for CWA District 4, headquartered in Cleveland and covering Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. His responsibilities include coordinating collective bargaining with SBC/Ameritech, Verizon, Sprint and other employers and directing union services and programs for 105,000 CWA members. Rechenbach started his career working for Ohio Bell in 1971, and two years later he became president of his local union in Cleveland at age 19. He joined the union staff in 1981 and was appointed assistant to the former district vice president in 1993. He is active in a wide range of community service and civic organizations and in Democratic politics, having served on the party's Platform Committee in 1996 and 2000. Hundreds Decry Bush Assault on Overtime As Bush administration rules rolling back overtime rights for millions of workers took effect Aug. 23, CWA members and hundreds of other unionists protested in front of the U.S. Department of Labor - a building one activist denounced as "the scene of the crime." Speakers blasting the new regulations included Republican Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a steady champion of workers' rights among the Capitol's dwindling number of GOP moderates. "The fight is not over," Specter told the cheering, sign-waving crowd. "The band of Senate moderates may be small, but it can be decisive and determinative. Your voice today will be heard." By giving employers the right to reclassify many workers as administrators, executives or "learned professionals," economists project the new rules could cost at least 6 million people their right to overtime pay. The rules are the most sweeping changes ever to the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, which established the 40-hour workweek and required employers to pay time and a half for extra hours. On average, workers who get overtime earn an extra $161 a week, money that workers who spoke at Monday's rally said helped them pay bills and put children through college. Now they could be forced to work the extra hours but wouldn't be paid for them. Specter and Democratic Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, who sponsored legislation to try to stop the rules before they became effective, pledged to pursue legislation now to overturn the rules. "Today is a national day of shame for the Bush administration," Harkin said. "This is their 'anti-Labor Day.' The stealth attack on the 40-hour workweek has begun in earnest." AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, with CWA President Morton Bahr at his side, said, "Today is a day that will make the history books. Today, American workers suffered the single biggest pay cut ever since the founding of our country." |
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