CWA Joins White House Jobs Summit, Calls for 'Workplace Summit' Strategy 

CWA Pres Cohen at White House Jobs Summit.

At today's White House Jobs Summit, CWA President Larry Cohen joined the nation's leading labor, corporate, small business and other leaders to focus on the critical connection between jobs and economic growth. President Obama, Vice President Biden and top government officials made remarks and listened as participants presented ideas about job creation and the economy.  

Cohen was part of the discussion on "creating jobs through rebuilding America's infrastructure," which looked at both traditional infrastructure investment like roads and schools, and the necessary buildout of high speed broadband that will help the United States regain its standing as a leader in the Internet age and create quality jobs.   

Cohen also joined an earlier tech panel led by the Administration's technology and science team that looked at job creation through innovation and new technology.

CWA is calling for a new policy initiative and new perspective on jobs that will help bring about real economic recovery. Right now, the nation is in a vicious cycle of corporate job cuts and contracting out that has frozen unemployment above 10 percent. Every employer that cuts jobs to preserve profits or improve its share value adds to the current recession. 

Workers and employers must hold their own job summits, and corporate leaders must change practices that cut jobs at the expense of workers and economic growth. CWA also is calling on the Obama administration to evaluate all programs and Federal decisions on the basis of their job creation or job destruction implications. Similar to the environmental impact review required of many projects, CWA believes that a jobs impact analysis should be undertaken as a critical component in decision-making and the approval process. For more information, go to www.jobsnotcuts.org

Proposed Comcast-NBC Universal Mega-Deal Raises Anti-Trust Concerns

CWA said the proposed merger of Comcast and NBC Universal "clearly spotlights the dangers of media consolidation in the Internet Age" and called on regulators to give the deal a thorough review.

If approved by regulators, this deal would create a mega-media company, one with the market power to determine what programs get aired and how much consumers must pay to view programming in every media outlet: cable, television and especially the Internet. This mega-company would control one out of every five viewing hours in the United States, CWA said.

The nation's largest cable company, with 24 million customers, Comcast also has 15 million Internet users and controls most must-have regional sports programming. If it takes on NBC Universal, it adds a major television network, 27 local televisions, cable channels including CNBC, MSNBC, Telemundo, Bravo, USA Network and more, plus Hulu, a growing stop especially for households under age 35.

CWA also pointed out that Comcast also has been cited for anti-democratic corporate governance processes by investor and public interest groups, and has a long history of violating workers' rights. If Comcast is permitted to take over NBC Universal, the corporation's undemocratic structure could be transferred to the new mega-media company, giving one person control over the dominant source of cable, television, Internet and media programming, CWA warned.

CWA represents about 2,000 Comcast workers and about 2,500 NBC-Universal broadcast technicians and other workers.

IUE-CWA Pact at Behr Dayton Thermal Saves 900 Jobs

In tough bargaining with Behr Dayton Thermal Products in Dayton, Ohio, members of IUE-CWA ratified a four-year contract that saves 900 jobs at the formerly Chrysler-owned auto parts supplier. The agreement was ratified 538 to 261.

The agreement prevented the plant from shutting down. "This was a very difficult set of negotiations," said IUE-CWA President Jim Clark. "I am proud of Local 84775 President Roy Turner and his entire team for stepping up and getting the best deal possible for their membership while preserving their jobs for the future," he said.

Behr was determined to close the plant and move work elsewhere if it couldn't change its cost structure and stop continuing financial losses, according to IUE-CWA. Members stood strong during negotiations and overwhelmingly rejected the company's proposed "last, best and final" offer.

When bargaining resumed, the union brought in an independent auditor who confirmed that the company's financial losses were real. To stem its losses, Behr sought to slash workers' health benefits by $12 million, but the union succeeded in reducing the size of the health cuts. IUE-CWA hired a health insurance expert to assist in developing a new health plan that would deliver the needed savings needed but give workers choices for their individual needs.

The contract provides a $1,250 signing bonus, contains small wage hikes for the lowest tier workers making up most of the workforce, and includes some pay reductions for senior-level employees who were eligible to receive their pensions or company buyouts.

CWAers in Puerto Rico Rally for Justice after Murder of Gay Student

CWA members joined thousands of demonstrators last week in San Juan calling on the government to treat the horrific murder of a 19-year college student killed because he was gay as a hate crime.

Puerto Rico has had a hate crime law since 2002 but it had never been applied to cases involving sexual orientation or gender identity. The Puerto Rico Department of Justice now has agreed to investigate this brutal murder as a hate crime; a suspect has been arrested.

CWA At-Large Executive Board Members Madelyn Elder and Nestor Soto condemned those whose harsh opposition to hate crimes laws based on sexual orientation has helped fuel hatred and intolerance.

"Many political and fundamentalist religious leaders have campaigned against members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community, promoting, in their expressions and actions, a climate of intolerance and violence that end in acts such as the heinous murder of this young man," said Soto, president of Local 33225 in Puerto Rico.

"These same political and religious leaders have maintained, in the words of human rights activist Pedro Julio Serrano, 'a deafening silence' by not expressing solidarity with the family of this young man, nor condemning this terrible murder," he added.

Madelyn Elder, president of CWA Local 7901, pointed out that 11 years after Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in Wyoming, and only one month after the U.S. Congress passed an expanded Hate Crimes law to include crimes based on sexual preference and gender orientation, another murder of a gay man occurred, because he is a gay man.

"Passing laws is not enough to deter such violence. Rigorous enforcement and, as a nation, meaningful support for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities is vital to turn around the hatred which leads to such crimes," she said. "To treat this crime as 'normal' is unjust, she added.

"We hope that events like this do not occur in our country, or any other country. We express our solidarity and sorrow with the victim's family, the LGBT community and with all who struggle daily for the equality of all human beings regardless of race, sex, nationality or sexual preference," Soto said.

For more information about issues affecting LGBT persons, go to http://prideatwork.org.

Flight Attendant Win FMLA Coverage, Law Goes to President's Desk

Legislation to extend the protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act to flight attendants and other flight crew members is headed to the White House for President Obama's signature following House action this week.

"We are very pleased with the passage of the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.), which finally closes loopholes in the current law that have denied coverage to many flight attendants," said Patricia Friend, International President, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.

Friend noted that the legislation passed the House with a strong, bipartisan vote and expressed the appreciation of every flight attendant for Rep. Bishop. The Senate passed a companion measure last month.

FMLA was enacted in 1993, but flight attendants and other flight crew members were denied the law's protections because of the way airlines computed their work hours.

There's Still Time to Support 'Sockville" and Pediatric AIDS Fight

Treat a youngster you love to the silliness of Sockville, an award-winning DVD. At the same time you can support CWA's charity of choice, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

From now through Dec. 15, the Sockville DVD is selling for $9.99 on a special website, www.sockshelpingkids.com. For every purchase there, the company will send $3 to the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which CWA has supported for nearly 20 years. CWA locals that raise the most money for Pediatric AIDS each year are recognized at CWA's annual convention.

Locals will get credit for every $3 donation from Sockville DVD sales, as long as buyers include their local number when they make their purchase. Locals are encouraged to publicize the DVD and website with flyers that can be downloaded from the site. Simply click the "Resource" link on the upper left side of the page.

The DVD was designed and produced by CWA Local 6300 member Patrick Voss, who has also help create a children's TV show about Sockville - - the place where socks lost in the laundry go to live. The imaginative show and DVD use humor to inspire children to embrace good values and manners, follow their dreams and respect others.