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NABET-CWA Prepares to Meet ABC, Looks Toward NBC
While NABET-CWA mobilizers continue to chase Mickey Mouse from one end of the country to the other, NABET-CWA negotiators continue to press Disney/ ABC managers for a fair and decent contract to replace one that expired more than a year ago.
On May 7, the NABET-CWA negotiating committee characterized Disney/ ABC's latest set of proposals as "flawed and regressive in many instances," but said it would contact the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to offer available dates and locations for a resumption of talks.
The committee's decision came after a comprehensive review of Disney/ABC proposals submitted to the union on April 2, according to Network Coordinator John J. Krieger. The union represents about 2,700 workers at the network.
Management's April 2 proposals dealt with five of the most bitterly contested bargaining issues, including ABC demands for union concessions on daily hires, employer contributions to the NABET pension plan, staffing levels, particularly in the computer area, health benefits and wages, and work rules for NABET-CWA members in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, NABET-CWA mobilizers are keeping the pressures on the company as part of continuing efforts to get management to loosen the purse strings at one of the world's richest conglomerates.
On May 2, NABET-CWA members and their supporters staged a rally and distributed fans and balloons to persons entering the racetrack for the 1998 running of the Kentucky Derby.
NABET-CWA members working the third round of the Houston Open as part of the ABC Sports crew donated $5,000 to the Star of Hope Mission, which has served Houston's homeless families for more than 90 years. The funds will be used by Star of Hope to send 25 inner-city children to camp this summer.
The donation, organizers say, came from members who signed over their strike pay from a Nov. 1, 1997 job action that shut down third-round television coverage of last fall's PGA Tour Championship.
GE Shareholder Action
In anticipation of NABET-CWA entering into negotiations next year with NBC, members and supporters staged a rally on April 22 at the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, where General Electric shareholders were holding their annual meeting. GE owns NBC.
NABET-CWA members and their supporters attacked GE for its pension policies, which will provide GE Chairman Jack Welch with $4.5 million a year when he retires but only $417.64 a month to a carpenter who retires after 32.5 years with GE. To bolster the campaign, the union members distributed a "Hall of Shame" flyer at the meeting.
Carrie Biggs-Adams, representing NABET-CWA, and CWA Research Economist Patrick Hunt were joined by leaders from the International Union of Electrical Workers and the United Auto Workers at the GE meeting where they supported a motion that would require shareholder approval before retirement benefits could be passed along to outside members of the GE board of directors.
The unionists argued it is "morally wrong" for non-employee directors who sit on the board to receive a $50,000 a year pension after five years' service.
The motion got a surprisingly high 28.8 percent of the votes cast, in a situation where unions and other groups often struggle to get a 3-percent favorable vote on a shareholder proposal.
Biggs-Adams, a 22-year employee of NBC, said that the NABET-CWA contract with NBC will expire 20 days before the 1999 GE annual shareholders meeting.
On May 7, the NABET-CWA negotiating committee characterized Disney/ ABC's latest set of proposals as "flawed and regressive in many instances," but said it would contact the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to offer available dates and locations for a resumption of talks.
The committee's decision came after a comprehensive review of Disney/ABC proposals submitted to the union on April 2, according to Network Coordinator John J. Krieger. The union represents about 2,700 workers at the network.
Management's April 2 proposals dealt with five of the most bitterly contested bargaining issues, including ABC demands for union concessions on daily hires, employer contributions to the NABET pension plan, staffing levels, particularly in the computer area, health benefits and wages, and work rules for NABET-CWA members in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, NABET-CWA mobilizers are keeping the pressures on the company as part of continuing efforts to get management to loosen the purse strings at one of the world's richest conglomerates.
On May 2, NABET-CWA members and their supporters staged a rally and distributed fans and balloons to persons entering the racetrack for the 1998 running of the Kentucky Derby.
NABET-CWA members working the third round of the Houston Open as part of the ABC Sports crew donated $5,000 to the Star of Hope Mission, which has served Houston's homeless families for more than 90 years. The funds will be used by Star of Hope to send 25 inner-city children to camp this summer.
The donation, organizers say, came from members who signed over their strike pay from a Nov. 1, 1997 job action that shut down third-round television coverage of last fall's PGA Tour Championship.
GE Shareholder Action
In anticipation of NABET-CWA entering into negotiations next year with NBC, members and supporters staged a rally on April 22 at the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, where General Electric shareholders were holding their annual meeting. GE owns NBC.
NABET-CWA members and their supporters attacked GE for its pension policies, which will provide GE Chairman Jack Welch with $4.5 million a year when he retires but only $417.64 a month to a carpenter who retires after 32.5 years with GE. To bolster the campaign, the union members distributed a "Hall of Shame" flyer at the meeting.
Carrie Biggs-Adams, representing NABET-CWA, and CWA Research Economist Patrick Hunt were joined by leaders from the International Union of Electrical Workers and the United Auto Workers at the GE meeting where they supported a motion that would require shareholder approval before retirement benefits could be passed along to outside members of the GE board of directors.
The unionists argued it is "morally wrong" for non-employee directors who sit on the board to receive a $50,000 a year pension after five years' service.
The motion got a surprisingly high 28.8 percent of the votes cast, in a situation where unions and other groups often struggle to get a 3-percent favorable vote on a shareholder proposal.
Biggs-Adams, a 22-year employee of NBC, said that the NABET-CWA contract with NBC will expire 20 days before the 1999 GE annual shareholders meeting.