CWA Local 1111

The triangle symbolizes the three major programs of the union:
representation, organizing, and community/political action.

If the triangle is broken on any side,
sooner or later it will be broken on every side.

Weingarten Rights

YES, YOU HAVE RIGHTS

EMPLOYEE'S RIGHT TO UNION REPRESENTATION

The rights of unionized employees to have present a union representative during investigatory interviews were announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1975 case (NLRB vs. Weingarten, Inc. 420 U.S. 251, 88 LRRM 2689). These rights have become known as the Weingarten rights.

Employees have Weingarten rights only during investigatory interviews. An investigatory interview occurs when a supervisor questions an employee to obtain information which could be used as a basis for discipline or asks an employee to defend his or her conduct.

If an employee has a reasonable belief that discipline or other adverse consequences may result from what he or she says, the employee has the right to request union representation. Management is not required to inform the employee of his/her Weingarten rights; it is the employees responsibility to know and request.
When the employee makes the request for a union representative to be present management has three options:
(I) it can stop questioning until the representative arrives.
(2) it can call off the interview or,
(3) it can tell the employee that it will call off the interview unless the employee voluntarily gives up his/her rights to a union representative (an option the emplovee should always refuse.)

Employers will often assert that the only role of a union representative in an investigatory interview is to observe the discussion. The Supreme Court, however, clearly acknowledges a representative's right to assist and counsel workers during the interview.

The Supreme Court has also ruled that during an investigatory interview management must inform the union representative of the subject of the interrogation. The representative must also be allowed to speak privately with the employee before the interview. During the questioning, the representative can interrupt to clarify a question or to object to confusing or intimidating tactics.

While the interview is in progress the representative can not tell the employee what to say but he may advise them on how to answer a question. At the end of the interview the union representative can add information to support the employee's case.

THE LAW: SAYS YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO JOIN A UNION

THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT SAYS:

"Employees shall have the right to self organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representation of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining . . . "

"It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer . . . to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Section 7 . . . "

You have the legal right under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act to join or support a union and to:

2. Read, distribute, and discuss union literature (as long as you do this in non-work areas, such as break rooms or parking lots, during non-work times, such as during breaks or lunch hours.)

4. Sign a petition or card asking your employer to recognize and bargain with the union.

5. Sign petitions or file grievances related to wages, hours, working conditions, and other job issues.

6. Ask other employees to support the union, to sign union petitions or cards, or to file grievances.

Under Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act, your employer cannot legally punish or discriminate against any worker because of union activity.

- Threaten to or actually fire, lay off, discipline, harass, transfer, or reassign employees because they support the union.

- Shut down the work site or take away any benefits or privileges employees already enjoy in order to discourage union activity.

- Promise employees a pay increase, promotion, benefit, or special favor if they oppose the union.

- Favor employees who don’t support the union over those who do in promotions, job assignments, wages, hours, enforcement of rules, or any other working condition.

The best way to encourage your employer to recognize your union and negotiate a fair contract is to build a strong organization where you work.

If your employer violates the law, the union can help you file "unfair labor practice" charges with the National Labor Relations Board.

The Labor Board has the power - backed up by the federal courts - to order an employer to stop interfering with employee rights, to provide back pay, and to reverse any action taken against workers for union activity.

- Keep written notes of any incidents in which company officials or supervisors threaten, harass, or punish workers because of union activity. Your notes don’t have to be worded a certain way, but you should include what was said or done, who was involved, where and when it happened, and the names of any witnesses.

YOU CAN HELP PROTECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS BY:

- Keep written notes of any incidents in which company officials or supervisors threaten, harass, or punish workers because of union activity. Your notes don’t have to be worded a certain way, but you should include what was said or done, who was involved, where and when it happened, and the names of any witnesses.

Right to refuse dangerous work:

Thousands of workers die or are injured because of on-the-job accidents each year. Many more are exposed to conditions that cause serious illnesses years later.

When does a worker have the right to refuse dangerous work?
On February 26, 1980, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling which more clearly defined a worker's right to refuse work where an employee(s) has (have) reasonable apprehension that death or serious injury or illness might occur as a result of performing the work. The unanimous decision came in a 1974 case against Whirlpool Corporation in which two workers refused to crawl out on a screen from which a co-worker had fallen to his death only nine days earlier. A Cincinnati, Ohio appeals court ruled in favor of the worker's rights in "Whirlpool” and the Supreme Court affirmed that decision. (At the time the Supreme Court took the Whirlpool case, there were two other appeals court decisions, which had gone the other way. These cases were by courts in New Orleans in 1977 and Denver in 1978.)

The two workers in the "Whirlpool" case were told to go out on a screen 20 feet above the floor to retrieve small appliance parts which had fallen from a conveyor belt system above. The screen was in place to protect workers in the plant from falling parts. The retrieval assignment had resulted in other workers falling partially or completely through the screen. Claiming that the screen was unsafe, two employees refused to carry out the assignment. Whirlpool supervisors sent the workers home for the day and withheld about six hours pay.

The Court, in its decision, emphasized that the OSHA Act provides a worker with the right to choose not to perform an assigned task due to reasonable apprehension of death or serious injury coupled with a reasonable belief that no less drastic alternative is available. Further, the Court held that a worker who utilizes this OSHA protection may not be discriminated against for such action. However, the Court also indicated that an employee who refused work based on the regulation runs the risk of discharge or reprimand in the event a court subsequently finds that he/she acted unreasonably or in bad faith.

As noted, the employer docked the two workers about six hours pay in the Whirlpool case. The Supreme Court ruled that the OSHA Act does not require an employer to pay a worker who refuses to perform an assigned task in the face of imminent danger. Rather, the Act simply provides that in such cases the employer may not discriminate against the involved worker(s). Thus, the Court has left this issue to be decided by labor and management through collective bargaining. Members of unions that do not negotiate the necessary protective language in their contracts should not expect to be paid for the refusal to work period. This will be true even where an employer is found guilty of violating the OSHA Act.

In light of the Supreme Court's decision, what should CWA members who are faced with an imminent danger situation do?

The Supreme Court has said that a worker may refuse unsafe work where he/she has refused the job in good faith. Good faith may be interpreted as an honest belief that the job was unsafe and where the job was unusually and objectively dangerous.

The bottom line is to stay cool. Don't let management provoke you into rash actions, which could hurt
your case later.

Proving that your job was "abnormally and objectively dangerous" is a matter of documentation:

Many chemicals and conditions are clearly dangerous but aren't covered by any standards. Have workers
been injured or made sick doing your job? Just what chemicals were you working with?

If any CWA member refuses unsafe work, he/she should notify the Local Union President. In turn, this information should be made available to the CWA Representative, and the CWA Occupational Safety and Health Department.

All CWA members should make sure that their employer is maintaining a safe and healthful workplace. The
key to making the workplace safe for all CWA members is strong, active Local safety and health committees. The committee can identify dangerous conditions at the workplace and discuss them with management. If the company refuses to cooperate, the committee can request an OSHA inspection. The committee should always coordinate its activities through the Local officers, the CWA Representative and negotiated safety and health committees.

In addition, CWA members may obtain information and assistance by contacting:

CWA Occupational Safety and Health Department
501 Third Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001-2797
Phone: (202) 434-1160

The right of workers to organize and bargain collectively is a longstanding American value. It has so helped build a strong middle class and a strong nation, that it is a now principle enshrined in
international agreements. It is a core standard that the United States uses to measure adherence to democratic norms throughout the world.

Yet across America, workers are being stripped of this basic freedom.

Each year, more than 20,000 workers are illegally fired or discriminated against for exercising
attempting to organize. Many employers make an art of it - hiring union busting "consultants" to help defeat organizing drives. And even if employees overcome all the odds, in one-third of all union election victories, workers still do not have a collective bargaining agreement two years after the election.

42 million workers who are not in a union have say they would like to be represented by one. 42 million workers - more than three times the number of workers presently represented by unions in the United States. 42 million workers who are unable to exercise their rights.

It is in the name of those workers that CWA is fighting for the Employee Free Choice Act. EFCA provides for the certification of a union as the bargaining representative if the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finds that a majority of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit have signed written forms designating the union as its collective bargaining agent.

EFCA also speeds along the process of bargaining between employer and employees for their first contract by obligating both parties to reach an agreement, through escalating procedures of mediation and arbitration, if necessary.

EFCA requires stronger penalties against employers for engaging in unfair labor practices while employees are attempting to organize or obtain a first contract. The bill mandates that the NLRB must seek a federal court injunction against an employer whenever there is reasonable cause to believe that the employer has discharged employees or discriminated against them or engaged in conduct that interferes significantly with employee rights during an organizing campaign or bargaining for a first contract.

The Act also mandates an award of three times the amount of back pay for illegal discrimination that occurs during efforts to organize or when workers are seeking a first contract. The legislation provides for penalties up to $20,000 per violation against employers found to have willfully or repeatedly violated workers' rights during an organizing campaign or pursuit of a first contract.

At the very minimum, American workers should be free to decide whether they want union representation without experiencing intimidation, indoctrination or misinformation.

Enactment of EFCA would help ensure that workers can exercise the basic human right to organize freely and bargain collectively.

EFCA: The Basics
Employee Free Choice Act: What the Bill Would Do
What if Voting for a Candidate was like Voting for a Union?
Collective Bargaining Makes a Difference: The U.S. vs the rest of the World
Cartoon: A Democracy Lesson
PowerPoint of EFCA

EFCA in Politics:
The Chamber of Commerce Blasts EFCA with new ad
Dem Governors call for EFCA support
Cohen Questions Dem Contenders on EFCA in Iowa
CWA: Majority of U.S. Senate Backs Workers' Rights
Fighting Back: Employee Fee Choice Act: Protecting Collective Bargaining a Top Priority

Corporate Ally: National Labor Relations Board Steadily Chips Away at Workers' Rights
Going to the Board Often Carries More Risk than Relief
NLRB Elections Aren't Free and Fair Elections
NLRB Elections Violate Basic Standards of Fairness
EFCA in the Media:

New York Times Editorial Supports Employee Free Choice Act
Washington Post Op-Ed on EFCA
Workers Want Free Choice:

Why We Need the Employee Free Choice Act (Verizon)
Why We Need the Employee Free Choice Act (Comcast)
It's Official: Majority of Verizon Business Techs in New England, New York Sign Up for Union

Representation
A Night-and-Day Change at Call Center
Lessons from Comcast: It Shouldn't be this Hard to Join a Union in the USA
Employee Free Choice Act: Vital Workers' Rights Bill is Key To Saving America's Middle Class
From Weekends to Retirement Security, Unions Make All Workers' Lives Better
Collective Bargaining and Organizing Rights
International Labor Rights

International Labor Office Report following up to the ILO Declaration
on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

Under FMLA New York State provides up to 12 weeks of paid or unpaid leave (at the employee's option) to "eligible" employees for certain family and medical reasons each calendar year, and for 1250 hours over the previous 12 months.

Reasons For Taking Leave
Unpaid leave must be granted for any of the following reasons:

To care for the employee's child after birth, or placement for adoption or foster care;
To care for the employee's spouse, son or daughter, or parent, who has a serious health condition; or
For a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee's job.
At the employee's option, use of leave credits may be substituted for unpaid leave for any absences the employee would otherwise be allowed to charge leave.

Advance Notice And Medical Certification
The employee may be required to provide advance leave notice and medical certification. Taking of leave may be denied if requirements are not met.

The employee ordinarily must provide 30 days' advance notice when the leave is "foreseeable".
An employer may require medical certification to support a request for leave because of a serious health condition, and may require second or third opinions (at the employer's expense) and a fitness for duty report to return to work.

Job Benefits And Protection
For the duration of FMLA leave, the employer must maintain the employee's health coverage under any "group health plan", if the employee wishes to continue it.

Upon return from FMLA leave, most employees must be restored to their original or equivalent positions with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms.

The use of FMLA leave cannot result in the loss of any employment benefits that accrued prior to the start of an employee's leave.

Interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided under FMLA;
Discharge or discriminate against any person for opposing any practice made unlawful by FMLA or for involvement in any proceeding under or relating to FMLA.

Enforcement
The U.S. Department of Labor is authorized to investigate and resolve complaints of violations.
An eligible employee may bring a civil action against an employer for violations.
FMLA does not affect any Federal or State law prohibiting discrimination, or supersede any State or local law or collective bargaining agreement which provides greater family or medical leave rights.

For Additional Information
Contact the Human Resources Office for further information. In addition, you may also want to contact the nearest office of the Wage and Hour Division, listed in most telephone directories under U.S. Government, Department of Labor.

The following procedures pertain to members within the Telecommunications and Operator Services Division.

2) Follow up with calls to FMLA at 1-877-489-2367 during your absence to verify if you are approved or not.

3) Call Workers Compensation at 1-800-568-1150 to establish your case and submit the proper forms for on- the- job injuries.

5) Resubmit the proper doctor information to Met Life to continue to be paid during your disability absence.

CWA, America's largest communications and media union, representsover 740,000 men and women in both private and public sectors, including over half a million workers who are building the Information Highway.

CWA members are employed in telecommunications, broadcasting, cable TV, journalism, publishing, electronics and general manufacturing, as well as airline customer service, government service, health care, education and other fields.

The union includes some 1,200 chartered local unions across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Members live in approximately 10,000 communities, making CWA one of the most geographically diverse unions.

CWA holds over 2,000 collective bargaining agreements spelling out wages, benefits, working conditions and employment security provisions for its members. Many CWA contracts call for innovative training and education programs and child and family care provisions that are considered pace-setters for organized labor in the modern workplace.

Among major employers of CWA members are AT&T, GTE, the Regional Bell telephone companies, Lucent Technologies/Bell Labs, General Electric, NBC and ABC television networks, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., major papers such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, US Airways, the University of California system, and the state of New Jersey.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., CWA also maintains regional district headquarters in New York City, Philadelphia, Silver Spring, Md., Atlanta, Cleveland, Austin, Denver and San Francisco. CWA staff members working out of 50 field offices assist local unions with contract negotiations, officer and steward training, organizing, legislative and community programs and day-to-day member representation.

CWA is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, the Canadian Labour Congress, and the worldwide Union Network International.

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CWA HISTORICAL TIMELINE

Unionization of the telephone industry during the first three decades of this century was confined to a few scattered pockets of organized workers. The first union to attempt to organize telephone workers — the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) achieved limited success during these years. These early organizing efforts did not include women who worked in the telephone industry. It was not until 1912 that the IBEW accepted telephone operators — generally women — as members. In 1919, IBEW's telephone department claimed 200 telephone locals with 20,000 members.

During World War I, under a Presidential order on July 22, 1918, the telephone and telegraph system was placed under the control of the federal government and Postmaster General Albert S. Burelson. In 1919, Burelson was faced with a strike by the IBEW that virtually tied up phone service in New England and threatened to become nationwide. In an attempt to end the strike, Burelson issued a government bulletin acknowledging the right of workers to bargain through committees "chosen by them, to act for them."

Frightened by the prospect of legitimate unionism on a large scale as a result of Burelson's statement, AT&T encouraged employees to form and join company dominated unions (usually called associations or committees).

The company associations succeeded in virtually destroying the existing IBEW telephone locals. By 1934, IBEW had been ousted in every location except Montana and the Chicago Plant. Company associations dominated the telephone industry until 1935.

In 1935, with the passage of the National Labor Relations Act (more commonly known as the Wagner Act), the situation changed dramatically for telephone workers. The Wagner Act did several things.

Formal severance of employee associations from the telephone companies is completed.

Strengthened by new rights gained under the Wagner act, new, independent unions began to spring up across the country. As the number of independent unions grew, their leaders recognized the desirability of joining together in an organization where they could exchange ideas and coordinate national activities.

After preliminary meetings in St. Louis and Chicago, representatives of 31 telephone organizations, representing a total combined membership of 145,000, assembled in New Orleans in November 1938, and adopted a constitution and established the National Federation of Telephone Workers (NFTW). The preamble of the NFTW constitution clearly states the reason for creating the union:

We, the telephone workers of America, mindful of the fact that many conditions necessary to our economic security and general welfare can best be effectively secured by united, cooperative and continuous action on a nationwide scale, do hereby combine and organize under the name of the National Federation of Telephone Workers.

NFTW was never a national union, rather it was a federation of sovereign local independent unions. NFTW's lack of authority over the affiliated local unions left it at a serious disadvantage in dealing with a single-headed giant like AT&T.

In December 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the AFL and CIO voluntarily gave no-strike pledges to the federal government for the duration of the war. In January 1942, President Roosevelt created the National War Labor Board (NWLB). The NWLB was charged with settling all disputes between labor and management that threatened war production.

The NWLB and 12 Regional War Labor Boards were composed of an equal number of representatives from management, labor and the private sector. All of the labor representatives appointed to the Board came out of the AFL or CIO. This was a great concern to the NFTW which was not affiliated with AFL or CIO and felt that the National War Labor Board and Regional Boards would not effectively protect the interests of telephone workers and the wages of telephone workers would suffer greatly during the war.

The concerns of the NFTW were borne out by events. The average real wage of a telephone worker dropped from 83 cents an hour in 1939 to 70 cents an hour in 1943. According to the Bureau fo Labor Statistics, telephone workers in 1939 occupied the twenty-second place on a list of average weekly earnings of workers in 123 industries; by early 1945 they had fallen to eighty-sixth place on this list.

At hearings before the NWLB, NFTW's Ohio Federation presented a report revealing the starting and top rates of telephone operators in 17 Bell System companies. The report showed that in 1944, starting operator rates varied from a low of $16 a week to a high of $23 with top rates ranging from $26 a week to $34. A Wisconsin operator starting at $16 a week could not reach the top rate of $27 in less than 16 years!

As a result of these wage disparities, telephone unions brought numerous cases before the NWLB and the Regional Boards. Response to these appeals was exceedingly slow and, by mid-1944, there were 85 cases brought by telephone unions still waiting rulings.

Gloria Shepperson was the first black operator to be hired in the NJ Bell System — most likely in the entire Bell System. Shepperson had to bring an anti-discrimination case to win her job as an operator. (Helped by the 1941 Fair Employment Practices Executive Order 8802 banning discrimination in hiring). Shepperson went on to become CWA's Director of Ethnic Affairs and, in 1977, served as Assistant to CWA's Secretary-Treasurer Louis B. Knecht.

The continuation of inadequate wages and the failure of the Boards to respond to union appeals led to increasing dissatisfaction on the part of telephone workers. These feelings came to a head in November 1944, when Dayton telephone workers went out on strike. Within three days, the strike had spread to 25 cities in Ohio and within six days to Washington, D.C., Chicago and Detroit. At that point, the government capitulated and agreed to establish a national board modeled on the NWLB that would only handle the cases of telephone workers.

On December 29, 1944, the National Telephone Panel (later renamed the National Telephone Commission) was established. It had two members each from the public, industry and telephone labor sectors. Its mandate was to hear and adjudicate all telephone cases and to formulate basic telephone wage policy.

The Telephone Panel was much more effective than the NWLB. By the end of 1945, when it was terminated, it had heard 55 disputes involving 180,000 workers.

When the war ended in August 1945, the wages of telephone workers remained below those of many industries. Contract negotiations stalled and the presidents of the NFTW affiliates authorized the Union's Executive Board to call a nationwide strike at 6:00 a.m., March 7, 1946. In the early morning hours of March 7, workers around the country prepared to walk the picket lines.

At 5:30 a.m., after 20 hours of bargaining, NFTW President Joseph Beirne and Cleo Craig, AT&T Vice-President in charge of negotiations, signed the Beirne-Craig memorandum. A strike had been avoided and for the first time in history, AT&T had negotiated a national agreement with the Union and committed its associated companies to that agreement.

While a major victory was won in the 1946 negotiations, the basic weakness of the NFTW had revealed itself: During negotiations, 34 of 51 affiliated unions broke away and signed separate agreements.

This weakness in the NFTW structure was exposed with devastating consequences in the 1947 strike. In 1946, AT&T was not prepared for a strike. But in 1947, AT&T was not only prepared for a strike, it forced NFTW into strike action.

AT&T was determined not to repeat the Beirne-Craig type of national settlement. It flatly refused to bargain on an industry-wide basis. AT&T approached bargaining with a divide and conquer strategy. The company did not make a wage offer until three weeks into the strike and made the offer contingent upon the affiliates agreeing not to clear it with NFTW's policy committee. Five weeks after the strike began, 17 contracts had been signed. The strike collapsed and the NFTW was finished.

NFTW President Beirne summed up events by saying: "We were trying to make a federation of union do the job which can only be done by one union in the telephone industry."

During the 1947 strike, AFL and CIO unions lent their moral and financial support despite the fact that NFTW was not affiliated with either the AFL or the CIO at the time. International unions in both the AFL and CIO aided the strikers with contributions totaling $128,000. This support was very important in helping NFTW workers survive the strike and regroup into a strong and truly national union.

In June 1947, a truly national union, the Communications Workers of America came into being. The first CWA convention took place that month in Miami with 200 delegates representing 162,000 workers.

The delegates adopted the first CWA Constitution which converted the former autonomous organizations of the NFTW into a three-level union: the National Union, 39 Divisions and the Locals.

Joseph A. Beirne was elected President and advised the delegates: "All of us must take a new view of our roles in CWA. No longer can we hope to act as autonomous' groups in scattered parts of the country. No longer should a division president permit his actions, aims or ideals to be bound by a first, last and always view of his local problems. We must embrace the all for one and one for all' philosophy of a single CWA union."

At the 1948 convention, President Beirne told the delegates, "I think the time has arrived for us to submit the question (of affiliation) to our members so they can establish in a free manner and by secret ballot what their thoughts are on this question."

Those who were in favor of affiliation were clearly in favor of affiliating with the CIO rather than the AFL. This was because the AFL could only offer CWA status within an existing international union for one industry. In February 1949, CWA's Executive Board recommended affiliation with the CIO and in a referendum, the membership approved the CIO affiliation.

Not all of the independents agreed to join CWA. The AT&T Long Lines unit applied for a CIO charter which was granted as the Telephone Workers Organizing Committee-CIO (TWOC-CIO). Later, units from AT&T Manufacturing and Sales and Michigan Traffic joined the TWOC-CIO. When CWA was granted the CIO charter, TWOC was folded in.

At the 1949 Convention, there was general agreement that the structure of the union needed to be changed to a more coordinated approach to the telephone companies. The three-level structure established under the 1947 Constitution created 39 Divisions and 39 different ways of bargaining, striking, and handling finances. The 1949 convention mandated that the Executive Board establish a special Constitution Committee to investigate the possibility of setting up a two-level structure.

In that same year, in response to charges levied by CWA, the Senate Subcommittee on Labor-Management Relations held hearings to investigate the status of collective bargaining and labor-management relations in the Bell System.

During the hearing, which lasted for 11 days in August and September 1950, the subcommittee heard testimony on these issues from representatives of CWA, AT&T and the associated Bell companies. Joseph Beirne's testimony alone lasted five days.

Following the conclusion of the hearings, a majority report of the subcommittee was issued. Its conclusions overwhelmingly supported the charges made by CWA. The subcommittee found that:

In 1951, after two days of heated debate on the issue and a roll call vote with 133,047 in favor and 101,883 opposed, the delegates to the annual convention voted to establish a national defense fund with contributions of 50 cents per member per month.

1955 was the year CWA undertook its most difficult task since its formation eight years earlier: a regional strike against Southern Bell lasting 72 days, encompassing nine states and affecting 50,000 workers. Throughout months of bargaining the company remained adamant that any new contract contain a ban on strikes "or other interruptions of service." Throughout the strike, CWA expressed its willingness to resolve bargaining issues through arbitration, but Southern Bell refused.

Ultimately, Southern Bell's attempt to break the union was unsuccessful. A one-year contract was signed that gave across-the-board gains to CWA members: Wage increases; the right to arbitration for suspension, discharges and job vacancy fillings; reduction of work tour hours; and, most significantly, recognition of the right to strike. The 1955 strike was an early landmark for CWA because of its scope, duration and success.

1963: General Telephone of California Workers Demand Equal Pay for Equal Work

In October 1963, CWA members went on strike against General Telephone of California for wages and benefits comparable to those enjoyed by Bell employees in the state. At the time, it was possible for a General Telephone worker and a Bell worker to be doing the same type of work across the street from each other, but the General Telephone employee would be receiving considerably less compensation for the job than his/her Bell counterpart.

In 1965, convention delegates, at President Beirne's urging, adopted CWA Growth Resolution #1, which endorsed the Triple Threat program and clearly stated that organizing was a top priority of the union. It was Beirne's program for broadening the membership base and expanding CWA's influence in the areas of politics and legislation as well as collective bargaining. For Beirne believed — and it has remained CWA's philosophy — that all these activities are mutually dependent and equally vital to CWA's overall success in representing its members.

The 5000 member Municipal Management Society came into CWA and became Local 1180. Between 1966 and 1980, CWA organized the parking enforcement agents and the Board of Elections workers in New York City as well as 15,000 welfare, city and county workers in New Jersey.

1968 brought the first national strike against the Bell System since 1947. Some 200,000 CWA telephone workers walked out because AT&T refused to agree to wage increases that would meet the rise in the cost of living. The strike lasted 18 days with AT&T ultimately agreeing to a raise in wages and benefits totaling nearly 20 percent over a three-year period.

On December 10, 1970, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed charges against AT&T and its twenty-four operating companies for discriminating on the basis of sex, race and national origin in their employment practices. The specific charges included:

The EEOC tried for two years to force AT&T to comply with the equal opportunity requirements of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Finally, on January 18, 1973, AT&T, the EEOC, the Department of Labor and the Justice Department reached an agreement on the charges. The settlement, called the "consent decree," provided for compensation for the victims of past discrimination and an affirmative action program for changing the pattern of discrimination in the Bell System.

The settlement included $5 million in back pay to 13,000 women and minority men, and an estimated $30 million in wage adjustments for women and minority workers. A second consent decree signed on May 30, 1974, provided $30 million back pay and wage adjustments to 25,000 employees in lower management positions.

Four hundred thousand CWA members nationwide went on strike against the Bell System in 1971 for wage increases to offset the devastating inflation of the previous three years. After a one-week strike, CWA achieved the biggest economic package ever negotiated with the Bell System and obtained, for the first time, a cost of living adjustment clause (COLA) and big city allowance.

In addition, wage progression schedules were shortened to 5 years and vacation time was improved to 2 weeks after one year's service. The total wage benefit package amounted to more than 33.5% over the life of the agreement. A large share of the credit for those successful negotiations went to the Task Force 71 Mobilization Program that President Beirne set up to activate the membership in support of CWA's bargaining objectives.

Task Force 71 consisted of 50,000 local union leaders (one for every 10-15 members) who led training sessions, put up informational posters, passed out bargaining leaflets and worked to keep their members informed and activated. The Task Force 71 participants wore "small potato 71" pins to identify themselves as part of this important corps of local leaders.

While the 1971 strike lasted one week nationally, for 37,000 New York Tel plant workers it lasted 218 days. This unit achieved a breakthrough in union security by obtaining an agency shop that was later extended in 1974 to the entire Bell System.

1971: First Special Convention Outlines Duties and Responsibilities of Locals

1971 proved a busy year for CWA but did not deter more than 1,500 delegates, alternates and guests from attending the first "special convention." The delegates adopted several constitutional amendments at this convention. The most important of these was the adoption of a constitutional amendment dealing with the duties and responsibilities of locals. The amendment required all locals to carry out the union's policies, participate actively in political and legislative activities, participate in local officers and stewards' training programs, and attend all district, state and area meetings.

Also adopted at the convention was a constitutional amendment creating CWA Retired Members Clubs and providing three-year terms of office at both the International and Local level. (Prior to 1971 there were two-year terms.)

It's been awarded annually since to local officers and staff who make an outstanding contribution to organizing. The award is a replica of the Stetson hat worn by President Joseph A. Beirne.

In 1973, 6,000 CWA members in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky went on strike against the General Telephone companies of those states. The strike lasted two months in Indiana and Ohio before settlement was reached, but the workers in Kentucky were on the picket line for five moths before their contract demands were met.

1973-1974: CWA Deals with Equity and Discrimination Within the Union; FWTW Merges with CWA

During the 1973 CWA convention, extensive discussions were held on the methods by which CWA dealt with the problems of women and minority members. As a result of these discussions, the National Executive Board established a Blacks and Other Minorities Structure Study Committee and a Female Structure Committee. In November 1973, these committees convened at CWA headquarters and prepared reports for the Executive Board that included recommended policies and procedures.

Extended discussions at the Executive Board meetings in January and February of 1974 led to a resolution recommending that the President develop a "Committee on Equity" concept from the national to the local level of the union. The Executive Board authorized the appointment of a National committee on Equity consisting of rank and file members from each district that is still in place today.

The Federation of Women Telephone Workers of Southern California (FWTW) merged with CWA. Its President, Dina Beaumont, became the first female CWA Vice President in over two decades.

1974: First National Bell System Bargaining; Death of Beirne and Election of Watts

1974 was a historic year for CWA. For the first time, the Bell System agreed to conduct unified national bargaining. The company had finally given up the charade that claimed its operating companies were independent, self-controlled businesses. The new bargaining was structured so that wages, benefits and contract language would be negotiated at one national table. The 1974 bargaining session was significant because unlike its 1968 and 1971 predecessors, it did not result in a CWA strike.

In January 1974, President Beirne left his sick bed to announce to the members of the Collective Bargaining Council that AT&T had agreed to his 28-year-old objective — national bargaining.

Joseph Beirne, who had pursued the goal of unified national bargaining for all of his 27 years as CWA President, did not seek reelection and died on Labor Day of 1974. He was succeeded by Secretary-Treasurer Glenn E. Watts, who had first gone to work for C&P Telephone in 1941.

Three of the most bitter CWA strikes of the 1970's took place at other independent telephone locations: a six month strike at Rochester, New York Telephone over an attack on wage levels, at General of Kentucky in 1976 over medical benefits and work rules, and a three month walkout at New Jersey Telephone over the issue of supervisors performing bargaining unit work.

CWA held its first annual National Women's Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Conference participants attended plenary sessions, workshops and discussion groups. Resolutions on the Equal Rights Amendment, child care and job pressures were presented to the CWA Executive Board.

On July 12, 1979, the Executive Board authorized President Watts to establish CWA's National Organizing Department.

1980-1981: CWA Organizes Public Workers — Public Workers Department Created

Over the course of the decade, CWA began to expand into fields outside of telecommunications. In July 1980, the CWA Public Workers Department was created. One of the biggest successes in the public sector was the organizing of 34,000 New Jersey state workers in 1981. Today, CWA represents 100,000 public and health care workers across the country.

The CWA Committee on the Future was created in July 1981 by action of the CWA convention. The 14-member committee was composed of one elected representative from each District and a representative from the Public Workers sector, and was charged with evaluating CWA's structure in light of rapid technological change.

After a year and a half of study and debate, the Committee on the Future submitted its final recommendations to the delegates to the special convention in Philadelphia in March 1983. The 1,750 delegates adopted 10 resolutions and two constitutional changes proposed by the Committee on the Future.

The first National Conference on Minority Concerns was held in Dearborn, Michigan. Participants representing more than 100 locals attended workshops on assertiveness training, leadership skills training for minority workers, effective persuasion through verbal communications, building minority coalitions and coping with stress.

In 1983, only months before the Bell System was to be broken into separate companies, CWA opened national contract negotiations. Not surprisingly, it was a difficult round of negotiations. AT&T was demanding givebacks from workers and seeking substandard job titles. Seven hundred thousand CWA members went on strike on August 7 for better wages, employment security, pension plan changes and health insurance improvements. After a twenty-two day strike, the telephone industry agreed to meet the union's demands. This would be the last time CWA would be able to negotiate at one national table for all its Bell System members because divestiture was only a few months away.

In response to recommendations by the National Committee on Equity for training opportunities devoted to minorities, the Executive Board established the Minorities Leadership Institute — a three week intensive study program. The MLI is held annually with participants recommended by District Vice Presidents.

For CWA, the most significant event of this decade was the divestiture of AT&T on January 1, 1984. The breakup of the Bell System was of great concern to the union. CWA feared divestiture would bring relocations, personal hardship and repudiation of contract gains by the new independent Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) and their subsidiaries. Personal hardship and relocation did, in fact, occur, forcing CWA to work hard to preserve the gains four decades of sacrifice and solidarity had achieved. Job security issues catapulted to the top of the list of bargaining priorities for 1986. During this difficult period, President Watts often reminded the members that it was AT&T that had broken up, not CWA. The union remained as unified, committed and strong as ever.

Also in this year, members of the Federation of Telephone Workers of Pennsylvania voted overwhelmingly to merge with CWA. The Executive Board created District 13 to accommodate the 12,250 newly affiliated men and women.

Changes occurred within CWA itself during the mid-1980s. There were structural changes taken in response to the divestiture of AT&T. There was also a leadership change for only the second time in CWA's history. In 1985, President Glenn E. Watts and Secretary-Treasurer Louis Knecht retired after serving eleven years in these offices. Elected to replace them were District 1 Vice President Morton Bahr and Executive Vice President James Booe, respectively.

1986 presented CWA with its first negotiations with the post-divestiture telephone industry. Twelve years after CWA had achieved national bargaining, the union was forced back to the old multiple table way of bargaining. CWA had to bargain not only with AT&T, but with the independent RBOCs and their subsidiaries. National bargaining was replaced by 48 different bargaining tables.

In AT&T negotiations, the company attempted to take back health care benefits, lower clerical wages, and eliminate cost of living adjustments obtained in earlier contracts. CWA had no choice but to strike. The strike lasted 26 days and AT&T agreed to provide wage and employment security improvements and retain health care benefits intact. Although negotiations with the RBOCs were also difficult, they were less contentious than those with AT&T. Strikes were necessary against some of these operating companies, but none lasted more than a few days.

The first large-scale mobilization effort began with New Jersey clerical and professional state workers. Faced with no right to strike in New Jersey, state workers launched the Committee of 1,000 to involve members in mobilization activities aimed at pressuring the employer during bargaining. A strong mobilization system of organization, education and collective action resulted in gaining a breakthrough contract for state workers.

In 1987, members of the International Typographical Union (ITU) were welcomed into CWA. Members of the oldest union in the AFL-CIO representing union typesetters and mailers throughout the U.S. and Canada approved affiliation with CWA. Recognizing the distinct nature of the work these members perform, the union created a new Printing, Publishing and Media Workers (PPMWS) Sector and elected a Sector Vice President.

In 1988, CWA celebrated its 50th anniversary. The convention took place in New Orleans, the site of the NFTW's founding in 1938. From its roots in the NFTW, CWA has grown to become one of the most respected unions in the United States, representing telecommunications workers, state and local employees, printers and health care workers.

CWA Mobilization was kicked off at the 88 convention in preparation for a major round of bargaining in 1989. Mobilization — organization, education and collective action — was a way for CWA to get back to the basics of unionism. Members were recruited to work one-on-one to educate members about bargaining and workplace issues. Mobilization became a way of life for many CWA locals.

Mobilization by CWA members around AT&T bargaining "proves how successful we can be when we stick together and fight together," said President Morton Bahr. Faced with the solidarity of mobilized workers, AT&T backed off health care cost-shifting demands. The settlement for 175,000 workers broke new ground on child and elder care by creating a $5 million fund to establish care centers and support facilities, granting parental and elder care leave with a job guarantee and paid medical and dental coverage for six months.

Mobilization also was key for NYNEX workers who spent 17 weeks on the picket line fighting management's attempts to shift health care costs. "Their victory in holding the line against concessions is a victory for tens of thousands of other telephone workers. Because of their sacrifice, others won't have to endure strikes in our next round of negotiations because we've sent a message throughout the industry — we're solidly united," President Bahr declared following the December 4 settlement.

But the strike was not without a price. Local 1103 member Gerry Hogan lost his life on the picket line when he was struck and killed by a scab driving a car at a NYNEX facility.

At the 89 convention, delegates voted to change the Defense Fund rules so strikers would receive a flat weekly payout beginning in 92 and continue a needs-based fund to provide emergency relief.

Delegates to CWA 53rd Convention resolved that the 1990s will be the decade of CWA Wall to Wall." Delegates reaffirmed their commitment to building the union by working to make every organized unity "CWA Wall to Wall." Delegates also made changes to the CWA Constitution to allow the Committee on Equity and the Women's Committee to give annual reports and recommendations to future conventions.

In an effort to put the bitterness of the 89 strike behind, CWA and NYNEX negotiated an unprecedented early settlement 11 months before contract expiration. The agreement called for a 13% wage hike, retention of COLA and fully-paid health care. It included a breakthrough agreement in company-wide organizing, neutrality and card check recognition.

1992: Membership Increases with Affiliations; CWA Elects 1st Woman Secy.-Treas.

The National Association of Broadcasting Engineers and Technicians (NABET) affiliated with CWA. NABET represents 10,000 engineers, technicians and other broadcast workers at NBC and ABC, television networks and 50 independent television stations and cable TV production companies.

CWA became the biggest union in Texas following the affiliation with the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT). The Association represents 12,000 officers, deputy sheriffs and jailers throughout the state.

Members at AT&T worked for six weeks beyond contract expiration during the summer of 92, carrying out an extensive mobilization strategy against the telecommunications giant. It was the largest bargaining unit ever to attempt a coordinated inside tactics strategy — 100,000 members, 500 locals, 50 states and thousands of work locations. The coordinated inside tactics by members and massive external mobilization efforts, including generating community and AT&T customer support, proved that sometimes applying pressure in different ways can work better than a strike.

Barbara J. Easterling was elected as the union's first female Secretary-Treasurer. Easterling, an Executive Vice President since 1985 and one-time telephone operator, was elected at convention.

After more than 30 years headquartered at the Mercury Building in Washington, D.C., the union moved to a new building across town, two blocks from the Department of Labor and four blocks from the Capitol.

CWA membership continued to grow outside the traditional telephone units with three big organizing wins at universities in 1993. Four thousand graduate students working as teaching and graduate assistants at the State University of New York (SUNY) saw the end to a 13-year organizing struggle when they finally voted for union representation. Seventeen hundred clerical and technical workers at the Bloomington campus of Indiana University voted for CWA after a four-year campaign. The Union of Technical and Professional Employees (UPTE) with 700 members affiliated with CWA.

The professional and technical workers hold non-academic positions throughout the nine campus University of California system.

On June 30, CWA activists joined other trade unionists and community activists in a day of protest at 30 regional offices of the National Labor Relations Board demanding justice from regional directors, and labor law reform to protect the rights of workers to organize. The civil disobedience led to 500 arrests.

1995: Easterling Breaks Glass Ceiling at AFL-CIO; Mobilization Makes the Difference in 1995 Bell Atlantic Bargaining; University Research Professional and Technicians Join CWA

CWA's Barbara Easterling made history by becoming the first woman to fill the AFL-CIO's second highest post when she and new AFL-CIO President Tom Donohue won election at the Federation's Executive Council meeting.

After 5 months with no contract, Bell Atlantic finally fell in line with the mainstream of the telecommunications industry offering its 37,000 CWA workers double digit wage and pension increases, employment security protections and access to future jobs. Over 6,000 members were suspended for such actions as sickouts, refusing overtime and passing out "Block 900" flyers. The workplace mobilization effort was strengthened by a multi-million dollar advertising and corporate campaign.

In 1995 and early 1996, 7,800 professional and technical university workers joined the CWA family. In 1995, 4,000 technical workers employed by the University of California system voted to be represented by CWA in UPTE-CWA (Union of Professional and Technical Employees). Fifteen months later, in March 1996, 3,700 professional researchers throughout the University of California system voted overwhelmingly for CWA representation as part of UPTE-CWA.

1997: TNG Joins CWA; CWA Obtains Historic Card Check Agreement with SBC and PacTel; US Airways Workers Win a CWA Voice; CWA Endorses Atlantic Alliance

The Newspaper Guild (TNG), representing 40,000 news industry workers in the U.S. and Canada, merged with CWA.

A five year campaign that integrated continuous bargaining, membership education, political action, mobilization and strategic organizing, culminated in March 1997 with CWA and SBC (Southwestern Bell Corporation) signing the most far-reaching card check agreement in the union's history. A similar agreement was reached with PacTel in April.

CWA won the biggest private sector organizing victory in a decade when 10,000 passenger service professionals at US Airways voted to join CWA.

CWA joined forces with two of the United Kingdom's biggest telecommunications unions — the Communications Workers Union and the Society of Telecom Executives — and endorsed an Atlantic Alliance of the three unions to exchange information and plan coordinated strategies to protect our members and to organize new members in the global telecommunications marketplace.

1998: CWA Signs an Alliance with the Independent Union of Telephone Workers of Puerto Rico; 7500 Workers at SNET Join CWA

In the aftermath of the 41-day strike and 2-day general strike against the privatization of the Puerto Rico Telephone Company, CWA entered into an alliance with the PRTC workers. The agreement calls for joint bargaining and organizing strategies in response to the acquisition of the PRTC by GTE.

In a representation election that culminated a 14-year effort, the 7,500 workers at the Southern New England Telephone Company joined CWA.

2000: International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers (IUE) merged with CWA; CWA strikes Verizon

Octber 1, 113,000 members of IUE voted to merge with CWA at their 27th National Constitutional Convention held in Cleveland, Ohio. Earlier, at CWA's 62nd Annual Convention, held on August 29th, delegates voted to welcome them. The merger brings CWA's number to more than 700,000 members.

On August 6th, 87,000 CWA telephone workers went on strike against Verizon communincations. Later in August a settlement was reacher. The settlement included a break through agreement for neutrality and card check recognition to help Verizon Wireless workers unionize. Other highlights are reductions in mandtory overtime and provisions to reduce stress in customer service and operator call centers.

The Association of Flight Attendants merged with CWA, adding its professionalism and expertise on airline industry issues.

2005: Larry Cohen is elected CWA's fourth President and Jeff Rechenbach is elected Executive Vice President

Convention delegates adopt CWA Ready for the Future Resolution which called for members at every level of the union to examine the challenges CWA faces and identify ideas and recommendations to best meet them. A discussion guide was prepared and distributed to locals. During the eight months following adoption of the resolutions, thousands of meetings were held across the union and a dedicated RFF website open to all members produced a lively dialogue. Labor leaders, academics, journalists and elected officials took note and praised CWA as one of the very few unions willing and determined to engage members such an open discussion about some of the most serious and critical aspects of the union.

2006: Convention delegates adoped "Ready for the Future: CWA Strategic Plan" with 11 specific items.

A bold new Strategic Industry Fund (SIF) was established as part of the plan. The fund allows for the financing of major large scale campaigns to increase our bargaining power and carry out pro-active campaigns. The stratigic plan also established a National Telecom Office to increase focus on the telecom industry and mandated that the Executive Board bring to the 2007 convention specific proposals to increase Board diversity.

2007: Convention delegates adopted a resolution and corresponding constitutional changes adding four at-large diversity Executive Board members to be elected at the 2008 convention.

2008: Convention delegates re-elected President Larry Cohen and elected Jeff Rechenbach Secretary Treasure and Annie Hill Executive Vice President. Four at-large diversity Executive Board members were also elected.