CWA in Bargaining with QwestBargaining began June 22 in Denver. These rounds of bargaining with Qwest are extremely important to all our members and pre Medicare retirees. Health care is one of the most important issues on the table. We expect the company to take a hard line regarding these issues. We are not interested in higher co-pays or monthly out of pocket premiums. Similarly, our retirees deserve to maintain what they left the employer with and not suffer any harm to their health care. Wages, pensions and job security will also be the top bargaining demands put forth on our behalf. Please show your support for our bargaining committee by demonstrating solidarity in the workplace during this crucial time. Remember to wear you red tee shirts to the workplace on Thursdays during bargaining as well as strike duty should it come to that. Recent contract successes at Verizon East and SBC were built on a well informed and united membership-neither of which just happened. We can just as easily continue to work without a contract, as strike. Any variation is the key to our success. Divided we beg, United we Bargain! Working Beyond Contract ExpirationThe purpose of a newsletter is to provide specialized information to a targeted audience. YOU! If the union decides to continue to work beyond expiration without a contract to fight for our bargaining objectives, then:
What can you do to fight for a fair contract? You can fight for a fair contract by participating in solidarity activities and joining in mobilization activities. Because of the contract fight, tensions are high. Take no chances, you don't want to be disciplined by stressed out management. It's important that each of us remember to: |
Stories in this issue: |
Remember, "We are the front line, not the bottom line!" Annual Picnic slated for Sunday August 7thOur picnic committee has announced our annual summer picnic will combine with the members of Local 7810 in Olympia again this year. We hope to get better cooperation from the weather man and have a larger participation from our local. The picnic will be located at the Carpenters Park in Lacey. It is a very nice and relaxing drive from Tacoma and generally only takes about a half an hour. Water activities will be available for the young at heart and a lifeguard will be provided. Come join us for a day of fun, food, and games. Menu items will feature a variety of such things as baby back and country style BBQ ribs, butter clams, chicken kabobs, as well as the usual ham burgers, hot dogs and steaming corn on the cob. Here is a short list of directions: I-5 S toward OLYMPIA. Take the WA-510 E/MARVIN RD. exit. Take exit number 111- toward YELM. Turn LEFT onto MARVIN RD NE/WA-510. Continue to follow MARVIN RD NE .End at MARVIN RD SE & WALTHEW ST SE LACEY Watch for the CWA signs. Directions To The PicnicWebsite and E-Mail InformationFor all you members out there who are really living the technology age and actually use a computer, whether it is at home or at the workplace, get on the www and check out the Local's website. The address is www.cwalocal7804.org. I'll bet you didn't know it's been there since 1999. That's right, 1999. There are several things worth viewing: Sign up to receive notice of current newsletters. See the latest bargaining report in the Members' Area. Subscribe to the broadcast E-mail system: receive messages within moments of a few key strokes: Utilize useful links to labor oriented information: View archived Newsletter and Safety Articles: Use a search engine which will pull lists on many topics which are archived within the entire website. Click on links to the National and District websites. This service is there for all of you, FREE! Use it. The website is designed and maintained by our Webmaster Ben Brooks, stepson of member Ron Jones. You can contact the webmaster for any questions/suggestions. A special thank you to our outgoing EditorHave any of you noticed the credits for editor in the Communicator never mentioned who he or she was. We all recognize this person and understand that he likes to fly below the radar screen. I want to personally take this moment to thank Ron Jones for editing our newsletter so successfully for the last several years. Ron has taken personal time out of his life to make a huge contribution to our local and in the best interest of what we are about. Thanks Ron for helping out. Ron works out of the Trafton- B garage as a Construction Network Technician, a darn good one, and a UPS Grad as well. The secret is out now. Health Care Dependant Audit Coming SoonQwest has hired an outside firm, Budco to validate all employee and pre Medicare retiree's dependants. They claim to find a 9% drop in ineligible dependants on the first phase and a 6% drop on the second. The first audit will be July 13-August 26th, the 2nd audit will be September 21-Dec. 22nd. An ineligible dependent can self report and pay COBRA or drop out. If employees don't positively report they will be dropped and run the risk of being back billed to January of 2005 for their health care premium. This means we must show proof of birth certificates for children and student verification. We don't know with certainty what documents will be required for spouses whether it be marriage licenses or proof of tax filings. We will try to get more information as it becomes available. Local Rules Regarding Illness/Death/FlowersLocal rule 10 of our bylaws and rules reads: Members who are home ill for one or more weeks (5 working days) or hospitalized for three or more days shall receive an appropriate card from the local. In the case of the death of a spouse, a child or parent, the member shall receive flowers or a gift not to exceed $60.00. It is impossible for us to read the crystal ball; we need your help in this endeavor. You are the eyes and ears in the work place. If you know of a member who is ill or suffered a loss, please contact the local so we can respond accordingly. Additionally, we would also like to acknowledge other news of interest. If you know of a member who has had a new baby, child graduation, award, accommodation, is active in their community and the like, please let us know. We would like to post it in this newsletter. Let's try to keep the information as current as possible since this is a bi-monthly publication. Thank you CWA'S Member Relief FundQwest is a hugely profitable company thanks to your hard work. Although they have a remaining debt load and revenues are not flowing in like they used to. All we want is a fair and equitable contract that provides improvements in wages benefits and other conditions of employment. The National Union's Strike Fund requires every striker to perform strike duty in order to be eligible for strike benefits. You will be advised of your strike assignment. Picket Captains have been working on getting everyone scheduled for picket duty. If you haven't been contacted, see a job steward or call the Local. Your Strike Committee Chairperson is Jake Williams. If you are unable to walk a picket line because of a medical problem, we can assign you other duties and need you desperately. The CWA Members' Relief Fund provides a striker benefit of $200.00 per week beginning with the 15th day of a strike and $300.00 per week beginning with the 29th day. These monies are not retroactive; however you will get one additional check after the conclusion of the strike. The CWA members' Relief Fund is extremely healthy, it currently has more than $200 million dollars and contributions by over 700,000 members will continue during the time we are on strike, should a strike become necessary. In addition to the weekly striker benefit provided by the Members Relief Fund, CWA's Defense Fund insures that necessary medical and dental care will be provided to you and your dependents in cases where the employer stops medical during a strike. CAFTA Showdown Looms in CongressAbout 100 opponents of the Central American Free Trade Agreement, including CWA headquarters staff, rallied at the U.S. Capitol on June 15, as the House Ways and Means Committee approved the treaty in a "mock" mark-up. Earlier in the week, IUE-CWA President Jim Clark wrote to all members of the Ways and Means Committee, and CWA Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling wrote to all members of the Senate Finance Committee, urging them to reject or amend the agreement. "It alarms me that it must be the sentiment of some of our legislators that the answer to trade is to remove the rights and protections of our workers in America rather than raise the standards in the countries that trade with the United States," Clark said. Easterling said American workers "year after year have improved their productivity and rival the productivity of workers around the world. However, CAFTA undercuts these workers by making them compete with our less fortunate neighbors. On average, 50 percent of our neighbors in these countries live below the poverty line and over 30 percent of them are employed full time." The Senate committee completed its mark-up on June 14, with Senator John Kerry introducing an amendment to ensure that all the CAFTA countries meet international core workers' rights standards, a change to the agreement that has been a key demand of workers in both the United States and Central America. Congress must vote it either up or down. Service Anniversaries, March through AugustService Anniversaries: March: Toy Phean 5, John Appelt 5, Jeffrey Carter 5, Michael Williams 5. April: Jim Belcher 35, Tom Alsup 25, Jim Greiss 25, Yvonne Wiggins 25. May: Stephen Lampman 25, David Gonzales 5, Michael Eldred 5. June: Bob Arenburg 35, Phil Byers 30, Lynne Clevenger 30, Ron Jones 25, Thaddeus Parker 5, Roger Quist 5, John Strickler 5. July: Ann Smith 25, John Deibel 5. August; George Morrow Jr. 25, John Gerasimczyk 25, Mark Fox 25, Wesley Bryde 20, Timothy Harbison 5. Welcome to new members Shawn Breer and Christian Brennan. Retirement: Gay DeCamillo Congratulations to all! |
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