CWA Local 9421 | Sacramento, CA - Communications Workers of America

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

CWA Local 9421 Officers wish all of our hard-working members--whose toil and labor have given us all so much--a very happy LABOR day. Please see the video below for a special address about Labor Day 2010 from US Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis:

For Labor Day history, and more about the contributions of working people, please visit: http://www.dol.gov/laborday/.

We hope to see you all at the annual Labor Day picnic in William Land Park. Join CWA and the Sacramento Central Labor Council for this annual tradition, honoring all working men and women.

Annual Labor Day Picnic – Meet Jerry Brown, Controller John Chiang, AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Liz Shuler & more!

We are pleased to announce that gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown will be attending our Annual Labor Day Picnic this year! Brown will be a strong voice for working families as Governor! Please come and hear his message for California.

This year’s picnic will also be attended by Controller John Chiang, a champion of working families and public workers in particular; AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Liz Shuler and Labor endorsed candidate for Attorney General Kamala Harris.

Our Annual Labor Day Picnic will be held Monday, September 6th at William Land Park (Village Green Area). The picnic will take place from 11 am to 3 pm (food will be served until 2 pm). There will be a BBQ, a beer garden, children’s activities, karaoke, a Texas hold-em tournament, bingo, and more.

We are looking for volunteers for various duties (set up, cooks, servers, clean up, etc.) between 8am-5pm.

For more information, or to volunteer, please contact Teresa Villasenor at 916-927-9772 or teresa@sacramentolabor.org.
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Race for Democracy

This year we have added a new tradition to our Labor Day Activities!

Lace up your shoes and join us for a 10K, 5K and/or Kids Fun Run on Monday, September 6th at William Land Park (Village Green Area).

The Race for Democracy is a picnic fundraising event, sponsored by the Sacramento Central labor Council AFL-CIO and the Citizens-Independent-Democratic FUND (CID FUND) to raise money for effective field operations to increase voter participation and elect Democratic candidates. Be among the first 3,000 patriots and labor supports in a scenic run/walk through beautiful William Land Park, and stay for the Sacramento Central Labor Council Annual Labor Day Picnic.

For more information, please contact Debra Rose at 916-206-9429 or visit www.racefordemocracy.com.

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CARMICHAEL RESIDENT JOINS
UNITED WAY BOARD OF DIRECTORS

(taken from the August 18, 2010 edition of the Carmichael Times newspaper; click HERE to go to this edition and the full story)

Webmaster's note: We're excited to have our very own President, Lupe Mercado, receive such an honor and to be featured on the front page of the newspaper. Thanks Lupe for representing CWA Local 9421 members and making us proud!

Sacramento Region — Lupe Mercado of Carmichael has been elected to the board of directors for United Way California Capital Region. Mercado is president of the Communications Workers of America Local 9421.
“We are fortunate to have top leaders who care deeply about this community,” said Steve Heath, president and CEO, United Way California Capital Region. “Each of our board members makes it a top priority to reach out to new people and link arms with partners so we can create lasting results in the areas of education, income and health.”
Mercado began her career with Pacific Telephone in 1979 in Sacramento and has been a member of CWA local 9421 since the beginning of her career. As the company changed to SBC, and now AT&T, Mercado transferred to various departments and eventually to consumer markets where she held the title of bilingual sales and service representative serving Spanish-speaking customers. In January 2010, she retired from AT&T with 30 years of service.
Throughout her career, Mercado also was active with
CWA as a union steward, chief union steward, vice president and as elected executive vice president for 12 years. She has served on bargaining committees for CWA/SBC, AT&T broadband/Comcast, Gordon and Schwenkmeyer Inc, since 2001. She has been appointed to the CWA National Committee on Equity and the National Constitution Committee. She also is labor representative for the California Community Colleges and Workforce Development Program.
Mercado has volunteered with WEAVE and Wellspring, and she has served meals to the homeless and tutored minority children in low-income neighborhoods. She lives in Sacramento with her husband of 30 years and their children Marcos, Felicitas and Sofia.

Click HERE to continue reading this story.

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FORCED OVERTIME

AT&T notified CWA District 9 and CWA Local 9421 on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 that they would be forcing overtime effective immediately in the outside technical titles (Splicers, etc.) due to a "heavy load". The Union informed the company that forced overtime is NOT in the contract for these titles and advised the company to NOT force. The company refused. The Union insisted that if overtime is to occur, the company should at the very least offer techs the opportunity to come in 3 hours before the start of their shift, so that they can be paid time and one half ALL DAY, as per the contract. Again, the company refused (we know why: they are CHEAP); the company only agreed to allow techs to come in as early as 2 1/2 hours before their shift, to avoid the contractual language that requires them to pay time and one half all day.

We at CWA Local 9421 spoke to many members and advised them how to proceed. We are filing grievances on the issue as well. On Thursday, August 26, 2010, we met with members at the 24th & S yard and management. On Friday, August 27, 2010, we met with members at the Folsom yard.

We are happy to report that the company has removed all forced overtime and it has STOPPED effective Friday, August 27, 2010. We will still pursue grievances and not allow the company to force these members because the company cannot manage their workload or do their job. Our members should not have to suffer due to management's incompetence!

In Solidarity,

The Officers of CWA Local 9421

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Local 1298 Reaches Tentative Agreement for AT&T Workers

Members of Local 1298 in Connecticut rallied, marched and stayed strong during 18 months of AT&T bargaining that finally led to a tentative contract this week.

CWA members' solidarity during 18 long months of bargaining paid off Wednesday night (August 18, 2010) in Connecticut when Local 1298 reached a tentative agreement with AT&T East that includes job protection language the company had refused to include earlier.

"We hung tough, the membership hung tough, we had the support of national, and AT&T knew it and finally realized that 'we're not going to get these guys to move,'" Local 1298 President Bill Henderson said.

The two tentative contracts, one for nearly 3,400 core employees and the other for 176 yellow page workers, are the last in the round of bargaining that CWA and AT&T began at tables nationwide in 2009. Ratification ballots will be sent to members on Monday and must be returned by September 7th.

Both of the 1298 agreements require AT&T to keep at least 84 percent of the represented jobs in Connecticut. "It's not everything we wanted, but it's big for us and we can build on it in the future," Henderson said.

CWA District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton praised the negotiating team. "The bargaining committee stayed focused and devoted themselves to getting a just contract for the members and I thank them, my assistant Dennis Trainor and Staff Representative Pat Telesco for their work and dedication," he said.

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CWAers tELL California LAWMAKERS: 'KEEP JOBS HERE'

More than 100 CWA activists descend on the State Capitol in Sacramento for California Jobs Lobby Day.

More than 100 CWA activists (including ten from CWA Local 9421) descend on the State Capitol in Sacramento for California Jobs Lobby Day.

More than 100 CWA members from across California (including ten from CWA Local 9421) converged on the State Capitol in Sacramento on August 10, 2010 with a big Lobby Day message for members of the Senate and Assembly: "Keep Jobs in California."

At the Capitol, CWA members met with elected officials from the legislature about CWA priorities, and in particular, three critical bills. CWAers urged the closing of loopholes in the corporate tax code that would help raise revenues; pressed for tax incentives to keep jobs in the state; and called on lawmakers to require AT&T and Verizon to obey the 2006 Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act that requires the companies to keep a set number of jobs in California.

CWA members also got an overview of the union's top legislative initiatives and some key state proposals, including Proposition 23, a measure that would repeal California's Global Warming Solutions Act. California's efforts to address global warming made national headlines because it established a state-wide cap on greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and won the support of a broad coalition of labor and community groups, including the Blue Green Alliance. CWA is a partner in the BGA, and along with the Sierra Club and other organizations, is working to create quality, sustainable jobs and sustainable communities.

The Lobby Day is a project of CWA's California Jobs Strategic Industry Fund.

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CWAers to Build Broadband 'Anchor Network' in California

CWA Local 9400 will gain new jobs and new members thanks to a broadband grant awarded to a union company in California on August 18, 2010. Funded by the Obama administration's economic recovery program, the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program supports projects that build out high speed networks.
Local 9400 had organized workers at the California Broadband Cooperative; now another 1,000 new jobs are likely to come on line as a result of the broadband grant.

The company's "Digital 395 Middle Mile Project" will build a 10 gigabit fiber network that will provide a high speed link to 230 community anchor institutions in 36 communities, six Native American reservations and two military bases in eastern California.

Local 9400 and CWA District 9, partnering with the company, helped build support for the proposal by working with community groups, elected officials and others to get the project done.

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AFA-CWA Election Cleared for Takeoff at Delta/Northwest

The National Mediation Board ruled this week (August 16, 2010) that the Delta/Northwest merger created a single carrier, a decision that triggers a union election for 21,000 flight attendants at the newly combined airline.

"Finally our voice will be heard and respected under strong democratic procedures, the same way that other elections are decided in our country," Association of Flight Attendants (AFA)-CWA Toni Weinfurtner said. "We are excited for the opportunity to negotiate an industry-leading contract and continue to work alongside management in building a world class airline."

AFA-CWA represents about 8,000 former Northwest Airlines flight attendants and has been working with Delta flight attendants who want union representation, too. Past airline representation elections counted all non-voters as "no" votes, but in June, AFA-CWA won a long battle to use the same standard in airline elections as is used in virtually every other democratic election in the United States. Under the new rules, only actual votes are counted.

Over the next two weeks, AFA-CWA must show that there is enough interest among flight attendants at the airline to support an election. The NMB then will review the evidence and set a voting schedule.

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OBAMA SIGNS JOBS BILL

(taken from the AFL-CIO now blog, http://blog.aflcio.org/)

After months of Republican obstruction in the Senate, vital aid to states facing massive budget shortfalls and layoffs of hundreds of thousands of teachers, public employees, police officers and firefighters was sent to the White House, where President Obama promptly signed it into law on August 10, 2010. The bill passed the House by a vote of 247-161. A pathetic number of Republican representatives–two, count ‘em, two–voted to support working families. Says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka:

Simply put, this vote keeps us on the path to economic recovery….Republicans who continue to fight for tax cuts for the super rich did everything in their power to defeat funding for teachers and firefighters, adding to the laundry list of anti-jobs votes they’ve taken.

Read Trumka’s full statement here.

BTW, it’s fully paid for in part by closing costly corporate tax loopholes that allow corporations to ship American jobs overseas. Works for us. Too bad so many Republicans think it’s a bad idea.

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