| Everything listed below is Bargaining Preparation Information. All of the Bargaining Reports will be listed above | |
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| CWA 6201 Bargaining and Mobilization Page |
2004 SBC-Southwest Bargaining UpdatesCWA/SBC – Southwest Bargaining Report #6 2/27/2004 No formal Committee meetings took place today. Both sides took this opportunity to review documentation in preparation for next week's presentations. Informal discussions did take place with the Company in an effort to update some current pension actuarial value reports. The Appendix A,B,D,I and the Employment Security Committees are scheduled to meet again on Monday. The Full Committee and Benefit Committees have been going over all of the statistics provided by the Company pursuant to our earlier data request. Specific figures on the number of employees in the various subsidiaries, and their Net Credit Service Dates, along with Pension Plan, Health Care and other benefit information, was dissected by the Committee. We are getting prepared for some very lengthy and detailed discussions with the Company. There is slightly more than one month to go before contract expiration. We must show the company that we are serious about getting a fair contract. Continue your mobilization activities. The next report will be on Monday, March 1st. |
| CWA 6201 Bargaining and Mobilization Page |
2004 SBC-Southwest Bargaining UpdatesCWA/SBC – Southwest Bargaining Report #5 2/27/2004 Thursday, February 26, 2004 The Employment Security Committee met today and had very lengthy discussions over subcontracting. Discussions also centered on future work and the Unions intent on performing any new work that is the result of new technology. Currently, SBC is partnering with various companies as SBC expands into new areas. The Union argued that bargaining unit employees could perform a large amount of this work. The Union talked about new technology such as WI-FI, Dish Networks, fiber to the house, and Voice over Internet Protocol. The Union maintains that our members could do all of this work. We also talked about PC work. We want to be able to have CWA members do all the software loading, cabling, fiber pulling, fiber hubs, and all moves of PC's. In many areas, this work is contracted out. The Union also discussed the new DSL technology and our intent to do the work. In addition, SBC's partnership with EchoStar was brought up and how Service Reps will be selling this product. SBC Internet Services was discussed at length including the contracting of thousands of jobs offshore. The Company's Bargaining Committee did not have a lot of details on much of this new technology. They committed to research the issue and respond back to the Union. The rest of the session went into more details about the other types of subcontracting that is going on, the locations that it is occurring, and the impact it has on employment levels. The Committee then recessed for the day to go back to research the voluminous information that the Company had provided as part of our data request concerning subcontracting. The next report will be on Friday, February 27th. |
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2004 SBC-Southwest Bargaining UpdatesCWA/SBC – Southwest Bargaining Report #4 2/26/2004 Wednesday, February 25, 2004 The Company-Union Relations Committee met this morning. The Company had questions regarding G-15 – Article VII – Work Schedules – Improve. The Union responded with clarification about the problem areas and what type of improvements we are looking for. The Union also added additional clarification regarding G-16 – Article IX – Vacation – Improve Scheduling. The membership feels a need for the Company to be more flexibility in the amount of employees they let off on vacation. There was also some general discussion on the following proposals: These two proposals involve training employees for future personal and workplace skills. The Company would provide the training necessary for employees to become CCNA and A+ certified. The Union also is preparing to show a video presentation on how the Training Academy would be designed and how it would function. That presentation is expected to take place at the next Committee meeting. The Full Committee met this afternoon. The following proposals were presented and discussed by the Union: Very lengthy discussions took place regarding the Job Vacancy Article. Some of those discussions involved lateral transfers, transferring from title to title, such as in the Service Representative environment, and how long tests are good for if employees have successfully passed. "Demonstrated abilities" was also discussed. There also have been considerable problems with departments not releasing employees that have received a transfer to another job. There was discussion involving time-in-title, and time-in-location requirements for certain job titles. This proposal is self-explanatory. Mandatory overtime affects the employees with their personal lives, their family, church and other religious worship time, educational opportunities, and other ways. The 2-hour notification requirement for overtime was also discussed. The Company will look into these issues. The Union discussed all the changes that have taken place within the last three years. We have lost over 13,000 jobs at SBC. However top executive jobs at SBC get richer and richer. According to Business Week, the average CEO of a major corporation made 282 times what the average hourly worker made in 2002. In 2002, SBC's Chairman & CEO Ed Whitacre received a whopping $19.2 million in total compensation, including stock-option grants. Assuming that the average employee made $45,000 per year, Ed Whitacre's compensation was 426 times that of the average SBC employee. Productivity has increased an average of 6.87% as measured by the revenue per wire line employee since 2001. It increased an incredible 9% in the first half of 2003 alone. Even with the economy the way it has been, SBC is one of the most profitable telecommunications companies in the world. Since 2001, SBC's profits have increased to over $8 billion. OUR MEMBERS DESERVE A FAIR SHARE OF THOSE PROFITS! The Union proposed to eliminate the changes that are scheduled to take affect next year that would change the definition of the hours for Night Differential and Night Tours. Our proposal would be to keep the language for Night Differential and Night Tours the same as it applies today. All Committees adjourned for the evening to prepare for their next round of meetings on Thursday. |
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2004 SBC-Southwest Bargaining UpdatesCWA/SBC – Southwest Bargaining Report #3 2/24/2004 Tuesday, February 24, 2004 The Employment Security Committee met this morning. Considerable discussion began on item G-1 – Improve Force Adjustment. As many are aware, due to the surpluses that have been occurring over the last two years, the Force Adjustment article has been utilized constantly. Attempts are being made to improve Article XVII in a way that will address current concerns. This proposal will involve numerous discussions if we are able to achieve any improvements. The Appendix A,B,D & I sub-committee met this afternoon. The Committee presented the following proposals. Details of the duties and functions of these groups along with discussing the increased responsibilities were brought up by the Union. They also fielded questions from the Company regarding the specific proposals. This job function has taken on more responsibilities and is more complex today, along with an increased workload with no increase in employees. They also now have responsibilities for all 13 states This group has been identified in St. Louis and Dallas as taking on much more customer contact than ever before. There is one group in St. Louis and two groups in Dallas. This job title has also seen a wide range of changes and a significant increase of new and more complex functions and responsibilities Detailed discussions centered on the increased technology that has caused them to become much more specialized. USOC and FID's were discussed along with the increased complexity involving the use of the codes was also discussed. The Appendix C sub-committee also met this afternoon. They spent considerable time addressing the following two proposals: Committee members brought up the new and different job functions that have occurred within the last three years. With the downsizing of managers, the duties and responsibilities of the Operations Clerks have increased dramatically. They are being required to do many things that managers had to do previously. In addition, with more responsibilities, the number of Operations Clerks has decreased causing a substantial increase in the workload for the remaining Operations Clerks. The Committee also went through all of the changes involved in the Customer Service Representatives job functions in the last three years. With new technology to learn, and an increased demand on the CSR's, the job has become much more demanding also. The CSR's are required to work with both residential and business customers, vendors, assist employees and coordinate with other departments to address the customer's needs. Considerable detail was provided to the Company regarding their increased responsibilities. Discussion also centered on the number of incumbents in each job title and cost factors used for upgrades including annual rates, annual loaded rates and three-year loaded rates by title within Appendix C. The Committees adjourned for the day to go over the documentation presented and to prepare for their next meetings. The Company-Union Relations Committee is scheduled to meet tomorrow morning and the Full Committee is scheduled to meet tomorrow afternoon. |
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2004 SBC-Southwest Bargaining UpdatesCWA/SBC – Southwest Bargaining Report #2 2/23/2004 The Appendix A,B,D & I sub-committee concluded their first meeting last Friday evening. The sub-committee discussed the following proposals at that time: The Employment Security Committee met this morning. Union Chair – Richard Kneupper and Company Chair – Rob Zurovec. Discussions took place involving the following proposals: The Company-Union Relations Committee also met this afternoon. Union Chair – Ed Pinkelman and Company Chair – Rob Zurovec. Discussions took place involving the following proposals: The sub-committees spent considerable time explaining in detail each proposal. The Appendix A,B,D & I sub-committee, the Appendix C sub-committee, and the Employment Security Committee are all scheduled to meet again on Tuesday, February 24, 2004. The next report will address those discussions. |
2004 SBC-Southwest Bargaining UpdatesSBC – Southwest Bargaining Report #1 2/20/2004 The Company and the Union's full committee met this morning for the opening of bargaining. CWA District 6 Vice-President Andy Milburn began the session with a statement concerning the protection of health care for active members and retirees. Employment Security, including the elimination of subcontracting and the ability for members to acquire jobs in new technology, was another area that the Union is seeking improvements. The elimination of job stress in Call Centers and Operator Services was also mentioned. Finally, wage increases and improvements in pensions were brought up. Mike Smith, Vice-President Labor Relations for SWBT, then read the Company statement in which he addressed the rising cost of health care and declining revenues for the Company. He also brought up the impact of increased competition and a poor regulatory environment. This was followed by a presentation by the Company that pointed out the skyrocketing cost of providing health care across the nation and also for SBC in general. Discussion then centered on the formation of specific sub-committees as well as scheduling for upcoming meetings. General items were divided up and assigned to the various sub-committees. The Appendix C sub-committee met this afternoon. Union Chair - Ed Pinkelman and Company Chairs - Lindsay Larson and Marla Whelan. The Union made presentations on the following items: Discussion centered on the above proposals. More meetings for the Appendix C sub-committee are scheduled for next week The Appendix A, B, D & I sub-committee also met this afternoon. Union Chair – Richard Kneupper and Company Chair –Becky Poe. The sub-committee was still meeting at the time of this report. Details from that meeting will be in Monday's bargaining report. The Company-Union Relations, and the Employment Security sub-committees are scheduled to meet Monday, February 23, 2004. Formal bargaining sessions will not take place this weekend. The Union will spend that time reviewing the voluminous documentation provided by the Company in preparation for next week's sub-committee meetings. |
| Everything listed below is Bargaining Preparation Information. All of the Bargaining Reports will be listed above | |
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 2004 SBC Bargaining Gets Underway for 100,000 Wednesday, February 11, 2004 Washington, D.C. -- Bargaining kicks off tomorrow for contracts covering approximately 102,000 members of the Communications Workers of America employed at SBC Communications in four geographic regions. * For 32,000 workers at SBC West, formerly Pacific Bell, bargaining begins Feb. 12 in Pleasanton, Calif.; the contract expires April 1. * For 27,000 workers at SBC Midwest, formerly Ameritech, bargaining begins Feb. 20 in Chicago; the contract expires. April 3. * For 37,000 workers at SBC Southwest, formerly Southwestern Bell, negotiations get underway Feb. 20 in Austin, Texas; the contract expires April 3. * For 6,000 workers at SBC East, formerly Southern New England Telephone in Connecticut, negotiations begin Feb. 23 in New Haven; that contract expires April 3. CWA President Morton Bahr said the union is going into contract talks at SBC with the goal of reaching a fair agreement, and on time. "The continued success of SBC is important to our members. CWA members have been a key part of SBC's growth and expect to be an important part of the company's future. Workers have invested their livelihoods in this company -- they want to share in SBC's success," Bahr said. Among the bargaining issues for workers is jobs and employment security. This means access for workers to new jobs in the growth areas of the company, which include Internet services, DSL, data networks, including wireless, VoIP and long distance service. Maintaining quality health care benefits for active and retired members and improving pension benefits also are key goals. For customer service representatives and operators, improving conditions so that workers can provide the quality and level of customer service that will enable SBC to succeed in a competitive industry is a critical concern. This means addressing and easing the pressures of abusive quotas, monitoring and forced overtime. Over the years, CWA and SBC have worked together, building a partnership that has brought success to the company and its workforce. In this round of bargaining, CWA members expect to share in the company's success. Industry and SBC Outlook SBC now provides 3.5 million DSL lines, adding 377,000 in the last quarter of 2003, an increase of 60 percent over the fourth quarter of 2002. Its long distance strategy is working well; SBC added 2.9 million long distance lines last quarter, bringing its total to 14.4 million. Cingular Wireless, jointly owned by SBC and BellSouth, has seen another 642,000 subscribers come on board, with 24 million at the end of 2003. SBC's bundled services will only increase in value with the launch later this month of SBC Dish Network. SBC's strategy of bundling services, products and technologies is proving to be very successful. For 2003, each SBC employee generated $50,300 in profits for the company, after wages and other operating costs were met. Overall, SBC's financial outlook is strong and positive, due in large part to the hard work, technical skill and productivity of CWA members. Since 2001, worker productivity at SBC has improved 6.8 percent as measured by revenue per wireline employee. [source: CWA Research and SBC company reports] Additional Information SBC East covers workers in Connecticut. CWA District 1 Vice President is Larry Mancino, New York, N.Y. Media coordinator: Dennis Trainor, 212-344-7332 and Pat Telesco, 203-288-3440 SBC Midwest covers workers in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin. CWA District 4 Vice President is Jeff Rechenbach, Cleveland, Ohio. Media coordinator: Seth Rosen, 440-333-6363 SBC Southwest covers workers in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. CWA District 6 Vice President is Andy Milburn, Austin, Tex. Media coordinator: Bill Davis and Mike Littleton, 512-330-0871 SBC West covers workers in California and Nevada. CWA District 9 Vice President is Tony Bixler, Sacramento, Calif. Media coordinator: Jim Gordon, 916-921-4500 Issues and information about SBC bargaining are available at www.cwa-union.org/sbc. Contact Jeff Miller, CWA communications director, or Candice Johnson, associate director, for more information at 202-434-1168 and by email at jmiller@cwa-union.org and cjohnson@cwa-union.org. |
A Message from CWA President Morton Bahr: CWA wants to reach a fair agreement with SBC by contract expiration, and SBC indicates that it’s on the same wavelength. We will be fighting hard for our bargaining goals – for jobs and job security, maintaining quality health care for active and retired members, pension gains, improvements in stressful working conditions, etc. We will do everything it takes to reach an agreement that achieves the goals our members have set. The statement below was issued jointly by CWA and SBC and reflects a commitment to bargain not in a hostile or acrimonious way, but to work to reach an agreement that’s fair all around. CWA and SBC to Begin Bargaining on Positive Note Washington, D.C. and San Antonio, Feb. 4, 2004 – Building on a historically good relationship, SBC Communications Inc. and the Communications Workers of America today announced an agreement intended to set a constructive tone for upcoming contract negotiations covering 100,000 workers. CWA agreed to give SBC 30 days notice before taking any strike action if a settlement isn't reached by contract expiration in early April. In turn, SBC agreed that it would continue providing health care benefits to employees in the event there was a strike. The contract covering SBC West employees expires April 1, and those covering SBC Midwest, SBC Southwest and SBC East employees expire April 3. The agreement states that, "We share a mutual long-term objective – SBC as a growing and profitable company with good-paying, secure jobs for the employees." "Over the years we have built a positive relationship based on mutual respect and the understanding of each other's needs," said CWA President Morton Bahr. "We hope to continue that process and to achieve a timely settlement that is fair all the way around." "This agreement is a demonstration of the durability of our longstanding cooperative relationship with the CWA," SBC Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre said. "Today, more than ever, we must focus on the needs of our customers to ensure our long-term viability in our highly competitive industry." Whitacre and Bahr agreed that the company and union have some serious issues to resolve at the bargaining table but both pledged to pursue an agreement that is fair to employees and allows the company to compete in a highly competitive market. Bargaining is scheduled to begin in SBC West on Feb. 12 and in the other regions on Feb. 20 or soon thereafter. ****************************************** We're Taking a Stand for Jobs and Health Care |
01/01/2004 - 02/01/2004 02/01/2004 - 03/01/2004 03/01/2004 - 04/01/2004 04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004 07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004
Across District 9, CWAers showed their solidarity and support for the bargaining team by wearing stickers and t-shirts and joining rallies and other actions.
