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No Progress Reported on Union Workers' Major Concerns: 5:00 p.m. Update on CWA Talks with Bell Atlan
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Communications Workers of America reported late this afternoon that there has been no progress made so far today in addressing the major issues of greatest concern for its members in negotiations with Bell Atlantic/Verizon Communications.
The union's current contract, covering 72,000 workers in 12 mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states and the District of Columbia, expires at midnight tonight, and CWA has called for a strike to begin at 12:01 a.m. Sunday if a settlement hasn't been reached.
Another 13,000 Bell Atlantic workers are represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which is bargaining in cooperation with CWA.
CWA said that among major issues in the area of job security still to be resolved are protection against the shifting of work as a result of the merger with GTE and creation of the new Verizon, similar to an agreement reached after Bell Atlantic merged with Nynex three years ago; reduction in excessive levels of subcontracting of members' work throughout the company; language to help unorganized workers at Verizon Wireless choose and receive union representation without anti-union intimidation by management. CWA already has such language with all the other major telecommunications companies, and also covering all other areas of Bell Atlantic/Verizon in the current contract.
Serious issues also include reduction of extreme job pressures for operators and service representatives. Among these are relentless mandatory overtime because of Bell Atlantic's failure to hire and train enough employees, and unreasonable work quotas, sales pressures, harsh work rules and intense monitoring that both interfere with the ability to provide quality service and threaten employees' health.
These concerns must be resolved, along with CWA proposals calling for a fair wage increase, improved pensions and other benefits and issues discussed between the parties since talks opened June 26, 2000, the union stressed.
The union warned that time is growing short and the probability of a strike is growing each hour.
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The union's current contract, covering 72,000 workers in 12 mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states and the District of Columbia, expires at midnight tonight, and CWA has called for a strike to begin at 12:01 a.m. Sunday if a settlement hasn't been reached.
Another 13,000 Bell Atlantic workers are represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which is bargaining in cooperation with CWA.
CWA said that among major issues in the area of job security still to be resolved are protection against the shifting of work as a result of the merger with GTE and creation of the new Verizon, similar to an agreement reached after Bell Atlantic merged with Nynex three years ago; reduction in excessive levels of subcontracting of members' work throughout the company; language to help unorganized workers at Verizon Wireless choose and receive union representation without anti-union intimidation by management. CWA already has such language with all the other major telecommunications companies, and also covering all other areas of Bell Atlantic/Verizon in the current contract.
Serious issues also include reduction of extreme job pressures for operators and service representatives. Among these are relentless mandatory overtime because of Bell Atlantic's failure to hire and train enough employees, and unreasonable work quotas, sales pressures, harsh work rules and intense monitoring that both interfere with the ability to provide quality service and threaten employees' health.
These concerns must be resolved, along with CWA proposals calling for a fair wage increase, improved pensions and other benefits and issues discussed between the parties since talks opened June 26, 2000, the union stressed.
The union warned that time is growing short and the probability of a strike is growing each hour.
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