AT&T Legacy T Mobilization Report #16

Keep up the pressure on the Company through mobilization…for the first time in weeks, some progress has been made at the bargaining table.

Members in the field remain the key to getting the Company to bargain a fair contract. There are so many different actions that you could be participating in (and perfect to bring the kids). Make sure you are doing your part.

Our members pride themselves on the level of quality customer service they provide for our customers; we demonstrate that with every interaction while maintaining focus on safety. If you witness any unsafe working conditions or OSHA violations, report them to your Local Stewards or Officers. You can also contact OSHA directly and then notify your Local Union. Make sure your safety and protective gear is functioning properly.

Locals have been spreading the work in our communities at golf tournaments, major league baseball games, street festivals, outdoor concerts, summer fairs, farmers markets, etc. Anywhere people are gathered, we should be there informing the public about AT&T’s attack on good middle class jobs, and the Company’s refusal to help rebuild the nation’s economy by bringing work back to the United States. (It doesn’t have to be an AT&T sponsored event.)

Our collective action inside and outside the Company is the only way to maintain affordable healthcare, protect our job security language, and get the fair and equitable contract we all need and deserve.

Here are some of the reportable actions happening around the country:

Locals 1150 & 1153 have been holding weekly rallies on Wednesday and continue inside mobilization with daily stands, noise making, and members continue wearing RED and BLACK.

Local 1152 continues inside activities with multiple daily stands & chants. Members are wearing RED & BLACK and participate in Rallies and a mass walk-in on Thursdays. Best Buy and Radio Shack retail store organizing continues.

Local 2204 members continue to wear red on Thursdays and are putting signs in the car windows reminding AT&T management that they expect a fair contract.

Local 2252 members continued noise activity levels within the office. Activists continue the outside organizing campaigns at retailers.

Local 3207 continues to hold actions on the job and on the street. Members are engaged in the Fight for the American Dream and mobilize everyday including wearing bandannas or camouflage clothes Wednesday, RED Thursdays, BLACK Fridays, and standing up in the center for 5 minutes twice each day.

Local 3250 Alpharetta members wore RED CWA shirts during a recognition event held by management. Thursday activists and members participated in a rally in the building atrium shouting “We need a contract”. Members in Atlanta rallied in solidarity for healthcare and no give backs. All locations continue to wear red bracelets daily, RED Thursdays and Black Fridays.

Local 4250 members, in a show of solidarity, are walking in to work together, wearing Union colors, favorite t-shirts, taking health breaks, and Fridays are “Hats off to our bargaining team” where the members are wearing their favorite hats (baseball caps, even a helmet!) Outside, members and retirees continue to distribute public handbills through the greater Chicago area.

Local 4252 wears RED Thursday and BLACK Friday, with a group of members that are wearing RED and/or bracelets every day.

Local 4998 members have continued actions in the office including wearing RED Thursdays.

Local 6143 continues to mobilize on the job and off. They hold lunch time rallies at least once a week and have made RED shirts that say “Fighting for the American Dream”. Members continue to wear RED Thursdays & BLACK Fridays.

Local 6150 members are still making noise on the job, and wearing RED Thursdays.

Local 6201 members walk in together in solidarity every morning, chanting once entering the floor. They continue with tapping actions, and are focused on providing the best customer service. Q presence reflects that they are Legacy T members and spell out WTF. Red armbands and keeping members updated on bargaining are a daily occurrence. Members wear RED Thursdays & BLACK Fridays.

Locals 6300 & 6350 continue to make noise on the job and mobilize off the job. Members all wear RED proudly and loudly on Thursdays and BLACK on Fridays. Organizers and Mobilizers visit resellers and retailers on the weekends, and the Locals have joined forces to boycott OT with other areas of the country. The members remain dedicated to customers and fighting for a fair contract.

Local 6450 held a “Union Day” where mobilization and bargaining Q&A sessions in the break room happened at one location and members signed up for PAF. The center managers held spirit week to help boost their spirits; however, members boycotted all activities put in place by managers! Members participate in lunchtime rallies, organized walk-ins, random outbursts of noise and chanting throughout the day. With the help of Local 6360, the “June CWA Rally” video was posted on youtube. The Local has continued to build its broad coalitions with JWJ, Occupy, Other Unions and other CWA District 6 Locals to increase strength within their communities.

Local 7050 members across Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico & Texas continue to boycott branded apparel. They remain focused on Quality while they maintain the network. As the heat becomes more severe, safety of the membership requires more attention.

Local 7250 members were excited to see pictures from the bargaining table and get mentioned in a bargaining report for their actions. The Company has continued to attempt to completely stop mobilization in the call center, which has sparked many members into other actions. Many people decorated their cubes RED and created signs and posters showing who they are “fighting for” in this contract battle. “Rain or Shine we walk the line…” was part of the newest chant at the weekly public demonstration on the streets of downtown Minneapolis for Thursday’s rally which members took from the AT&T building to the busy mall of the farmers market.

Local 7750 members attended a flagpole rally & Informational picket. Activists handed out flyers at a Colorado Rockies game informing the public about AT&T’s Corporate Greed and Off-shoring of work to other countries. Much support was received from the public. Mobilizers continue to do desk drops throughout the week.

Local 9415 members in Pleasanton mobilize by standing up in the workplace in solidarity, letting management know they are CWA and won't settle for anything but a fair and just Contract.

Local 13500 members continued to wear RED Thursdays and make noise every hour on the hour. Health care breaks continued on Friday.

Local 13550 passed out flyers to members regarding Corporate Greed, reminding members that AT&T is not part of a recession. Activists are continuing to make noise inside, wearing RED Thursdays and BLACK Fridays. Mobilizers and Organizers continue the public leafleting and contractor & retailer organizing drives.

Local 13552 has everyone wearing RED Thursdays and BLACK Fridays.

All Locals have continued to express their sincere gratitude for the hard work, dedication, and personal sacrifice of the CWA T&T Bargaining Team.

Members continue to reply to Company-wide emails, News Now & Insider stories and relate them to our contract struggles against AT&T and their corporate greed; in nearly every case the Company refuses to post the reply, or removes them.

The organizing drives at retailers like Radio Shack and Best Buy continue, and have been expanded to include contractors that AT&T uses to do business. Many of the contractor jobs belong or used to belong in our bargaining units. If we can’t get the work back, we should work to help organize the workers currently doing the job.

If you experience a change in working conditions, please report them to your Local Officers or Stewards and bbates@cwa-union.org. Also report all violations of our right to concerted actions to bbates@cwa-union.org and your District or Sector Staff. You will likely be directed to file charges against the Company for violating our right to participate in concerted activities.

Are your Local’s actions missing from this report? Send pictures and mobilization reports to your mobilization coordinators listed here:

D1 Chris Wise christopherjwise1@gmail.com
D2/13 Mary Lou Schaffer marylouschaffer@msn.com
D3 Glenda Poindexter gotorganize@gmail.com
D4 Dave Skotarczyk davecwa@sbcglobal.net
D6 Sarah Harreus sharreus@sbcglobal.net
D7/D9 Shari Wojtowicz whatawitch@hotmail.com
Staff Rep Jim Cosgrove jcosgrove@cwa-union.org

Local Mobilization Coordinators: If you are unsure what to do during this phase of mobilization, or how to ramp up your current actions, please contact your District Coordinator above. If you have any problems or questions, call your District Staff person or the National T&T Office.

Stand Strong. Stay Mobilized.