165 former AT&T Wireless Techs & Retail Sales Workers Organize at Cingular with CWA in Texas

Concerned over rising healthcare costs and secure benefits 165 former AT&T Wireless network technicians and retail sales associates from Texas, Michigan and Iowa gained CWA representation at Cingular Wireless on April 4-6 April.

The workers' latest campaigns raise to nearly 17,000 the number of former AT&T Wireless workers who have organized with CWA since the company's 2004 merger with Cingular. More than 75 percent of the former AT&T employees have signed up for CWA representation since the workers' began organizing in 2005. Overall, nearly 90 percent of Cingular's employees, or 38,500 workers, have gained union representation with CWA. Here is a brief rundown:

78 Network Technicians in Iowa & Texas. Working side by side, CWA organizers joined with CWA members at Cingular to help their co-workers gain union representation. In Texas, it was the coordinated efforts of 11 locals that helped 66 cell and switch techs get CWA representation. Scattered throughout the state in groups of 1 to 3 employees, the techs were visited by local union organizers and their CWA-represented co-workers. Cingular workers played key roles in the campaign. They are Cingular tech George Martinez, who helped organize workers in Corpus Christi and Dallas, and Cingular CSR Mary Mikan, who assisted workers in Austin, Dallas and Houston. Supporting them were organizers Sid Searcy and Ann Margaret of Local 6733, Angela Guillory and John Richie, Local 6200; Ann McQueary, Local 6001; Darrell Russell, Local 6150; Al Dolley, Local 6118; John Duncan, Local 6225; Randy Agee, Local 6206; Rick Castillo, Local 6143; Felicia Casper, Local 6143; Richard McCollough, Local 6132; Jerry Alonzo, Local 6110; Charlie Torres, Local 6137 and Deborah Alexander, Local 6222. CWA staff assisted the local organizers, knocking on doors and visiting with the techs: Sylvia Ramos, Sandy Rusher, Currie Hallford, Danny Fetonte, and John Marshall.

It was also a multi-local effort to organize Cingular's 13 former AT&T Wireless techs in Iowa. Steve Abbott from Local 7108, Scott Hogue from Local 7102, and Ken Mertes from Local 7103 made one-on-one contacts with these workers to answer their questions and help them join CWA. Nationally, 360 of Cingular's former AT&T Wireless network techs have sought and gained CWA as their union.

87 Retail Sales Associates in Michigan. With the AAA's certification of 87 Cingular's former AT&T Wireless retail sales associates in Iowa on April 5, all union eligible former AT&T Wireless workers in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin – CWA's District 4 region – have sought and gained CWA representation. Assisting the retail sales associates in Michigan were CWA local 4108 organizer Jan DeMasellis, IUE-CWA Local 768 organizer Cheryl Baker and Local 4100 Vice President Jelena Cribbis.

More than 6,000 former AT&T Wireless retail sales associates at 1,000 locations in 35 states have organized with CWA since August 2005.