President’s Report

MARCH 29, 2013

Union Brothers and Sisters

We are now 6 months into bargaining and still we have no CONTRACT!!!!  March 8th Centurylink put out an email to all CenturyLink employee’s sharing some of the bullet points of what issues are on the table.

Clarification:  As it was not anticipated we would still be in negotiations.    CWA Bargaining Committee requested a recess until April 3rd, not so they could do other Union business as CTL mentioned in the email, but so that they could use their entitlement time before losing it. For this reason there has been a break in Bargaining Updates posted to the website.  The Bargaining Committee will resume negotiations April 3rd.

Negotiations:  Movement has been slow and I know it’s been frustrating for you all these past few months. But as long as there is some movement at the table, I ask for your continued patience and faith in our Bargaining Committee. There are still 88 proposals on the table, most of which have major disagreement in the language.  Company still holds strong to Tier 2 titles across the board, bringing  back only 1% of the off shore work, cap illness days based on seniority, changes to differentials, Post and Bid and the list goes on.  Bargaining will resume April 3rd.

On a Good Note:   AT&T Contract expired February 8th and has now reached a tentative agreement and is now in the process of sending our ratification ballots to their members, CONGRATULATIONS to the AT&T Bargaining Committee for their hard work.

Centurylink:  Our Phoenix Call Centers continue to grow, over the past several months we’ve had several classes both for English and Bilingual. 

The Company has also been hiring Net Techs and Broadband positions here in Phoenix, which is really good news as it has been several years since the company has had any openings for these titles.

RECENT EVENTS:  “Day of Action “March 11th “, this event is referred to as a “Day of Action for Working Families”.  AFL-CIO put this event together for Unions across the state to gather for a day of action and education to ask our lawmakers to focus on creating jobs, not taking away worker’s right.   This event brought together National Labor Leaders along with community partners.  Our National President Larry Cohen was among the many speakers addressing worker’s rights for all workers.

UPCOMING EVENTS:  We have our 2013 Golf Tournament in the planning.  Some of you came out last year and enjoyed a day of golf, lunch and special prize give aways.    There will be more information to come in the next few weeks. 2013 Annual Convention will be fast approaching us, scheduled date September 21, 2013.    More information will be sent out in the upcoming months.

 Again I thank you for your support and patience through this bargaining process. Your Bargaining Committee is committed and without any doubt determined to get us what’s FAIR!  But they need us, remember we are the 7th person at that table with them.   “IT TAKES ALL OF US”

 

In Unity

Irene Robles
President

 

JANUARY 29, 2013

Union Brothers and Sisters

Let me first start by wishing you all a Belated Happy New Year,  I can’t believe how fast these past few weeks have gone.   As you all know we are no further along in our contract negotiations than we were before the Bargaining committee recessed for the Holidays.   It’s frustrating I know and I wish I had something new to share with you all, but the reality is that we seem to be in a holding pattern. We still have 88 open proposals, 60 of which are regressive company demands.  Recently an email was sent out by Mr. Glenn Post to all employees, in my opinion seems like they are feeling the pinch of our CWA Bargaining Committee.  Who have from the beginning and continue to stay strongly committed to bargaining  us a FAIR CONTRACT.   

Whatever meaning is behind the company’s “CONTINGENCY PLANNING”

Let us not interpert this into being a message of intimidation or their way of bullying us.  We expected this reaction we just won’t REACT on their terms.   Everything has a time and place so I will ask you all again to please be patient and most importantly stay informed.  This isn’t something we didn’t already expect so

Continue to “STAY FOCUSED AND STAY THE PLAN”.

I know that things have slowed down by way of our mobilization activities, but let us not forget that we are still in Bargaining and anything could happen at any given time, so stayed prepared.

Local Agreements for Consumer and Network have been negotiated.  My thanks to all Officers who were committed to getting fair agreements for our union members in their represented areas.

We’ve had job openings in Network for Broadband Techs and Net Techs.  Take advantage of Pathways as there are courses that will add to your skill levels for these positions should you have the opportunity to apply.  If you have any questions with regards to classes please contact Alice Moore who is our Pathways Advocate, you may call the hall for her contact information.

On Consumer side our call centers have been slammed with high call volumes and have been up to 300 plus in queue as a result Mandatory Overtime is becoming a norm on our consultant’s schedules.   We don’t know why all of sudden call volumes have been at its high but we welcome the work as this brings in more jobs in house and to our Phoenix Centers. We’ve had several classes here in Phoenix over the last couple of months with yet another on schedule in March. There have been many concerns around the metrics and let me share that your voices are being heard.  You’re supporting Officers and Stewards are working with Leadership in monitoring this issue and filing grievances as necessary.

We are still looking for members to get involved in our various committees, if you are interested in Education, Legislative/Cope, Organizing, Mobilization, and Community Services we could use your help.  If interested please contact the hall and ask to speak to one of our Executive Officers for more information.

AT&T has begun negotiations Orange Contract is due to expire February 9th 2013.  Town Hall meeting dates have been set to hear from the Bargaining Committee on negotiations. 

Bargaining Committee Conference Calls will continue to be recorded and posted to the District website.  Please take the time to listen to the calls. 

                           

                         “IT TAKES ALL OF US”

 

In Unity,

Irene Robles
President

 

DECEMBER 31, 2012

Union Brothers and Sisters

I would like to start by wishing you all a Safe and Happy New Year. 

Not much movement in negotiations since my last report.  The Bargaining Committee is on Holiday Recess until January 7th bargaining will resume then.

For now there have been no conference calls or updates on the website.  I will ask for your continued support and patience.  As I have stated before TIME is on our side, it is important to remind ourselves that although movement is slow this does not mean we should stop thinking about what CenturyLink is trying to do to us with regards to Healthcare for both Active Employees and Retirees, Off-Shoring and Contracting out our Jobs.    Money plays a big hand with CenturyLink and everything is about COST STRUCTURE.

Just a reminder that all Bargaining Conference calls are recorded and posted the following day of the call on the District 7 Website.  We will no longer hold those calls at the hall for now.  In the event there is an important communication, members will be notified through the Mobilization Structure, Stewards, and Officers.

Thank You from the Bargaining Committee and your Local 7019 Officers for your continued support and patience.  

“IT TAKES ALL OF US”

President

Irene Robles

 

DECEMBER 14, 2012

Hello Union Brothers and Sisters:
Friday December 7th and 8th, All Local Presidents and State Mobilization Coordinator’s met in Denver.  There was discussion with Reed and the Bargaining Committee around what was taking place at the table with our contract negotiations. The BIG QUESTION “Where we are and Why”.

Although there was no hard information to bring back, there was a CLEAR message that the Bargaining Committee felt necessary to share with each one of us face to face and I will now pass this message along to you.

Negotiations are moving by inches not by feet.  The Company continues to put proposals on the table without full knowledge and at times not able to explain the proposal they’ve just submitted.  Every evening they must report to Monroe Louisiana to Glen Post.  To put in Short CTL is totally CLUELESS!!!! With what we do in our job titles, where we are located and how many hold the job titles in question.

The company is focused strictly on COST STRUCTURE.  They are very adamant about the Tier 2 Titles across the board; new employee’s hired in a Tier 2 Title, would be expected have the same expectations of the job you do today for half the pay and there was talk around the Premise Tech title, other “COST STRUCTURE” items for them is wages, differentials, Retiree Healthcare, Active Employee Healthcare, Illness days, differentials, OFF SHORING OUR WORK, safety glasses, and the list goes on.

The question was asked if a Mediator will be brought in, the answer not at this time.  Centurylink has yet to put all of their proposals on the table, out of 400 proposals submitted to date only 100 have been accepted.  

So you’re probably asking “WHATS THE PLAN” , although all the details were  not shared with us at this meeting I can say there is a Date and Time set and the locals will be notified when it is to be executed out.

The Upside to all of this is that you my Union Brothers and Sisters have TIME on your side.  The company expected to STARVE us out October 7th, with their

CLUELESS NEGOTIATIONS at the table, we will continue to work and collect our pay and well deserved, after all CTL has made BILLIONS !!! in Profit from our labor.  And it was very kind of CTL to give their employee’s a BONUS this year, knowing full well this wouldn’t cover a fraction of the cost we would lose if we settled with their offers at the table.  

So I will end my report with this message:  

YOUR BARGAINING COMMITTEE appreciates your continued SUPPORT and ask for your TRUST in their commitment to Bargaining a Good Contract for us all.  Thank you for your patience .

In Unity

Irene Robles, President

 

NOVEMBER 27, 2012

Union Brothers and Sisters
Over the last several weeks our Bargaining Committee has been very consistent with putting out the Bargaining Reports for the ongoing negotiations.   Many of you are starting to feel a little frustrated and wondering “What is happening at the Table”.

Let me Share that Our Bargaining Committee is working very hard for each and every one of us to negotiate a fair contract.  Proposals made by the company have been anything but fair, despite the reports they’ve put out.   Conference calls will continue every Thursday, and for those of you who are unable to make it to the hall, Bargaining Conference calls are recorded and posted to the District 7 Website. Reminder that our calls have been breached so any information that is critical will be shared directly to the Locals and communicated through our Mobilization Structure.  Remember to Wear Red on Thursday’s to show our UNITY!

WE CAN’T LOSE FOCUS!   We are all in this together and I’m asking for your patience as we continue to work through negotiations.   Keep in mind that we are not losing anything by continuing to work on a day by day extended contract, everything stays the same.   We continue to collect our paychecks and pay low healthcare premiums for as long as negotiations continue.

There have been many questions asked around the Healthcare Open Enrollment, there is a Q&A in the Bargaining Report #48 on the District 7 website that may answer some of your questions, I encourage you to take a moment to read it. 

Mobilization Committee continues to meet every Thursday for mobilization activities.   This is not always an easy task as we get a lot of push back from the company with our flyers, clickers, button and Union Boards but that will not stop us from continuing to get our message out that Centurylink is acting with the same CORPORATE GREED that devastates the middle class.   

Thank you for your patience and continuing Support of Local 7019.

In Unity

Irene Robles
President

 

OCTOBER 11, 2012

Union Brothers and Sisters

There will be another conference call with the Bargaining Committee Thursday, October 11th starting promptly at 5:30 pm here at the hall.  I encourage you to come and sit in on the call.  Previous calls have been recorded so if you have missed anyone of them they are on the District 7 website. 

The question has been asked since the Rally on Saturday what progress has been made?  The answer to that question is . . . NONE!  The company continues to insult us by their proposals and the only thing they have done is waste the Union’s Time.

The Company proposal to combine job titles of Load Specialist, Data Specialist, Information Specialist, Sales and Service Specialist, Sales and Service Consultant, Service Delivery Coordinator, Service Order Administrator and Screening Consultant would be to create a new title.  Really!!!  All titles range in various wage scales not to mention the different job functions.  The proposed title is still unknown as they have yet to share what the name of this new title will be.  Oh and let’s not forget they also would like to have this title make about 30 to 40% less than what the current titles pay today.  The company also proposed a new title of Field Service Technician, which tops out at $20.40 after 5 years of service.

The Bargaining Updates are not giving much promise that this new company is looking out for its employees.  Centurylink has made a profit of 2 billion dollars off of our backs in 2011 and are on target to make more in 2012.   I believe that

Centurylink has a responsibility to its employees who has made it a success and we deserve a share in their profits.

At this time we are working on a Day to Day extension of our current contract.

If there continues to be no progress made at the table, the bargaining committee can give a 24 hour notice of terminating our contract.  I will share the Committee’s patience is wearing thin.  If such a thing should happen, I will tell you any direction given by the Committee will be communicated VERBALY.  there will be no emails and no texts. 

I know and will have faith in our mobilization structure that word will get out quickly to you, the Members, when that direction is communicated.  Until such time, please continue to read the updates on the District 7 website, you will need a password to get access.  If you do not have this information, please call the hall at 602 331-7019.  

This is not a time to panic or become afraid if a STRIKE is called. This is a time to get MAD!!  We didn’t come this far to go backwards with what took so many years to fight for what we have today.

I was at a yard this morning and I couldn’t help but look at the posters that were tacked up on the wall.  CTL Unifying Principles first Bullet:

Fairness – The Golden Rule - I say where is the fairness as they outsource our jobs, slash our wages, and give us no hope for a future to provide for our family’s and plan for retirement.

STAND STRONG BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND LET’S SHOW UNITY!!

WEAR YOUR RED UNION SHIRTS - IT TAKES ALL OF US!!!!

In Unity,

Irene Robles
President

 

SEPTEMBER 2012

UNION BROTHERS AND SISTERSS

September has been a very busy month for our local.  

STRIKE BALLOTS:   You have seen your Officers, Area Reps and Stewards at various work locations collecting your ballots.  The Election Committee and Officers were also on location at 20 E Thomas collecting strike ballots.  Ballot close date was 09/19/2012.  Ballots will be counted by the election committee and results will be forwarded to the District Office.    We will share the results once the District has all the numbers from all Locals with the Strike Vote.

INFORMATIONAL PICKET:   September 12th Local 7019 along with all the other Locals in District 7 had informational Pickets at designated work locations.  Local 7019 walked the pavement at 20 E Thomas.  Some of you may be asking why this was not communicated to our membership.  We could not risk that management would get wind and hinder our Mobilization Activity.   I will share WE GOT THEIR ATTENTION and the company’s Hotline were flooded with calls.

BARGAINING COMMITTEE:   Updates are being posted on a regular basis, from this last update it doesn’t sound like it is anywhere near where they should be with only 2 weeks left before contract expiration.   Updates read with just the bullet points of discussion to our contract.  As per the conference call from the Bargaining Committee September 6th our Website was compromised.  There was concern and it was communicated they would change passwords, pull the site down and or take extra care in what information is being posted.  PLEASE do not share passwords with nonmembers, email updates to any work email or share with managers.  It is our right to have information available to us using our UNION Resources and to be given to UNION MEMEBERS.

MEMBER RELIEF FORMS:  During the next couple of weeks you’re Officers, Stewards and canvassers will be given the task to get Member Relief Forms out to you.  It is Important that you fill this form out, this is how you get paid in the event that there is a work stoppage and you sign up for PICKET DUTY.   Picket duty sign up sheets will be going out within the next couple of weeks.  Your Officers will be communicating this information to their Steward Structures.  Details of Picket Duty will be explained at the time of sign in.

 Contract Expiration:   October 6th midnight will be the expiration for the CWA/Qwest Contract.  CWA will have a Rally the night of October 6th more information on time and location will be E Blasted out.

Mobilization Activities will continue until a Tentative Agreement is reached after expiration.  The Flyers, Buttons and most Important wearing our RED UNION Shirts have had a real impact on getting our message out to the company. Continue to wear your “It Takes all of Us “every Wednesday and your Red Union shirt on Thursdays.  These Activities will become more aggressive in the coming weeks.  In the past few weeks we have had several grievances with members wearing certain union shirts, Officers Unit Reports on our union boards are being censored by management and the Local has met with management.  Your efforts in supporting our Right to a Fair Contract is very much appreciated.  Keep up the good work and thank you.

 In Unity,
Irene Robles
President

 

AUGUST 2012

UNION BROTHERS AND SISTERS

MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS: Over the past several weeks we have had Membership meetings in the East and West valley and just recently a 3rd meeting at our Union Hall. The presentation was put together to give our members a sneak preview of what we could expect from CenturyLink and to educate our members about what our options are when the contract expires. If you have missed the meeting I encourage you to ask your peers if they attended and have them share the information from those meeting with you.

BARGAINING BEGINS: As you all know bargaining began August 15th, prior to that all Officers and their Steward Structures were busy handing out the Bargaining T-Shirts to all members. On the morning of Aug 15th, Officers, Area Reps and Stewards and members stood out in the plaza of 20 E Thomas, to greet members as they walked into work that morning. It was a Sea of RED, our outside forces reported to their yards and other work locations following suit in RED!!! WE WERE LOUD AND PROUD…CWA 7019 sent a strong message that day.

BARGAINING REPORTS: You should all be aware, that bargaining reports are now being posted to the District 7 website, you will need the passwords to get access. Contact your Officers or Area Reps for the passwords, or call the hall. Debbie will need to confirm you are a member before giving out that information. If you have not read the latest report, you need too. When I delivered my report at our Local's convention August 18th I spoke about my visit to Monroe Louisiana, and when the question was asked “would the company bargain in good faith’”, the response was Yes of course. Well since that meeting over the past few months we have seen contractors being hired in huge numbers, managers in New Mexico doing occupational work, our work (Grievances have been filed ), members harassed about wearing their Union Shirts, Mangers censoring our Union Boards, and let's not forget the outsourcing of our work off shores. Does that sound like bargaining in GOOD FAITH? It's no secret that the company likes contractors. The latest report that came out from the bargaining committee, reports that the company wants to ELIMINATE Sick time, employees would be required to use vacation, personal time or unpaid time for personal illness. When continually asked "HOW DOES THIS HELP THE EMPLOYEE" the Company’s responses overwhelmingly supported their position of COST REDUCTION.

URGENT: August 28th communication went out to all Local Presidents to jump on a conference. Before the rumors get out I would like to share what was discussed. There was a Letter of Agreement presented to the District on an Enhanced ZIPP VSPP offer. It's IMPORTANT to know that this proposal made by the company was made to the UNION the day after the bargaining committee proposed limits on the company's ability to make voluntary offers and replace employees with contractors. It was made clear that their GOAL is to induce current employees to leave so that their work can be transferred to contractors. It was a UNANIMOUS vote of all locals on the call not to sign this letter. The LOA as written is overly broad and would allow the employer total control over when, where, who and how. Their only obligation to us would be to provide ongoing, separate notices by each organization when/if they decided to make an offer. We would love nothing more than to accept an offer to allow our members the opportunity to walk away with a little extra money in pocket, but it is quite another to burn the ground out from under those who can't.

This not a scare tactic, this is real. Everything we have worked so hard for is at RISK of being reduced or just simply eliminated altogether. WEAR YOUR RED SHIRTS, and be prepared as mobilization activities will become more aggressive in the coming weeks. We CWA will STAND our ground and protect what we have, this is not the time to take a step backwards. Thank you for your support.

IN UNITY

Irene Robles
President

 

 

JULY 2012

Union Brothers and Sisters

BARGAINING SHIRTS ARE IN!  AVP’s are in the process of getting those shirts sorted out and will be distributed the week of August 13th.  We are asking that you wear your RED shirt on August 15th.  This date is very important to us as  we need to send a very LOUD MESSSAGE.

"When does Bargaining Begin?" August 15th is the date the Bargaining Committee will be at the table with Century Link. Wearing our RED shirts on this day will show our Unity as well as giving our bargaining committee the support they will need as they begin the grueling process of bargaining our contract.  In the past few weeks I have accompanied Executive Vice President, Paul Castaneda,  who is also our State Mobilization Coordinator, to various locations to conduct bargaining presentations, if you have not already read his report I encourage you to take the time to do so.  His report explains in more detail as to what kind of language exists in other CenturyLink contracts today. It has been a real eye opener to say the least and so the question I ask to you my brothers and sisters is “ What’s it going to take?” The word has to get out that this is real and it’s coming our way.  To say that this contract will be tough is an understatement.

“What should we expect for this upcoming bargaining contract?  My response is "Everything we have stood for and worked hard for in supporting our UNION, for so many years as well as those who gave the fight before us will be on the agenda for this company to begin their process of striping it away piece by piece.  Our Pension, Healthcare, Wages, Job Security and everything else that falls under our current contract today will be at risk.  I’m asking if you don’t go to Unit meetings, read emails or pay attention to the E Blast, that you at least remember to wear RED on Thursdays.  I hate to sound like a broken record but it’s important that we show our unity; let’s send that message to the company. We as elected Officers of this local can’t do this alone, “It Takes All of Us”.

This weekend July 21st and 22nd I will be in Denver at the Bargaining Committee Council meeting.  A survey was sent out a month ago asking any member who wished to submit a proposal , sad to report that not one proposal was submitted via our survey, Local 7019 Executive Board discussed and came up with the 5 proposals. If you would like a copy of those proposals call the hall and we can email them to you.  

10th Annual Local Convention August 18th, information will be sent out as to the time and location, if you are interested in coming as a guest, we welcome you, call the hall at 602 331-7019 and give your name to Debbie.

A couple of months ago we had a contest and sent out an eblast asking our members to submit a design for our next CWA T-Shirts.  We had a few members send in their designs, it was wonderful to know we had so much talent out there; the designs were unique and creative making it very difficult to choose.   With that we are happy to share that the design chosen for our T-shirts was by John Cooke, Network Technician.  T-shirts are being ordered hope to get those in within the next few weeks.  John’s design will be featured in our next News Letter.   Thank you to all who participated in this contest.

Contract expires midnight October 6th,  If we expect to make a difference “It Takes all of Us”

In Unity,


Irene Robles
President

 

JUNE 22, 2012

Union Brothers and Sisters

CWA District 7-Legacy Qwest 2012 Bargaining Survey - CLOSED
May 15th District 7 put out a survey for the Legacy Qwest 2012 Bargaining and the Legacy Qwest 2012 Retiree Bargaining Survey, those surveys are now closed. Results from those surveys are now available on the District 7 website. 

CWA District 7 – Legacy Qwest 2012 Sales Compensation Plan Survey
For those members who are affected by a sales compensation plan I urge you to take a moment and fill out the survey.  This survey is open until June 30, 2012.

CWA Local 7019 Online Survey
On behalf of Local 7019, there will be an online survey available on our website. As a member of this local this will give you an opportunity to submit what will be an important item or items to submit as proposals in the contract language for 2012 bargaining.   August 15, 2012 will open negotiations for a new contract.  To prepare for these talks a meeting of the (Legacy) Qwest Bargaining Council will be held in Denver, Colorado.   Local 7019 will prepare and submit the “Top 5”proposals based on what information we get from these surveys.  Remember this is your voice speaking to what’s important to you?  The survey will be available until July 5th.   

Sales Support Centers
Phoenix Sales Support Center as well as in Omaha have announced a VSPP offer, those employees who take the VSPP will be off payroll October 18th.  Although the company has not shared the exact number of employees they will allow to take the VSPP offer, the minimum was 10 here in our Phoenix Center.  

Consumer Sales and Care Organization
The Consumer Sales and Care Organization under Senior Vice President Kathy Victory, have begun to establish two (2) National Order Help Desk aka NOHD. The two locations will be in Phoenix and Boise.  This began a chain of events that effected The You Can Center and the movement of work from the Offline Support (Sales Support Center into these NOHD Groups).  At this time the company gave a targeted date to have everything in place by July 1st.  According to recent dialogue that may be pushed back.  Officers of those Units will continue conversation with leadership to make sure all questions and concerns are answered for our members.

Force Adjustment Service Assurance Technicians
Local 7019 received notice of (1) force adjustment of SAT (Service Assurance Technicians) located here in Phoenix; this force adjustment will be completed in August 2012.

Third party vendor LRAC and LPC
The company sent out a communication to the LRAC and LPC centers in Phoenix, Minnesota, Seattle and Denver this week to advise that they are in the planning stages of hiring a third party vendor to assist with the work volumes beginning third quarter.  Not many details have been given as to where these contractors are located only that they are off-site.   VERY DISTURBING, this is all the more reason contractual language needs to be looked at in our current contract around Contracting of Work.

10TH Annual Local Convention
Our 10th annual Local Convention is scheduled for August 18th, more information will be eblasted out for anyone who would like to attend as a guest.  

Membership Meeting(s)
We are still waiting to get confirmation on a location for a membership meeting.  First meeting will be held in the west valley, as soon as we get the confirmation an E Blast will go out with the date, time and location.   October 6th will be upon us in no time, let’s be ready, come to the meetings and be informed.

 

In Unity

Irene Robles
President

 

 

 

April 19, 2012

Union Brothers and Sisters

 Bargaining begins with CenturyLink on August 15, 2012 in Denver.  The Bargaining Committee was elected at the District 7 Conference in March.  Below is the list of names who were elected.  Additional information will be posted to the website with more background for each of the Bargaining Committee members, along with the names of those who were elected as Alternates.

Kenneth J Saether:  President Local 7906, Kenneth has bargained both Qwest and CenturyTel contracts; his bargaining experience has been with CWA/CenturyTel of Oregon 2004, 2007 and 2010, CWA /Qwest 2008, CWA/Lincoln County Rd Dept. 2006.  These are just a few from the list Ken provided with his bargaining experience.

Lisa Avila:  Executive Vice President Local 7704,  Sales Consultant, Lisa has 30 years of service, extensive experience both in Network and Inside Call Centers. She was the Co-Chair of her Local where recently she dealt with ADT negotiations and experienced firsthand a very negative employer; their agreement was ratified in December 2011.

Kari MossVice President Local 7603, Sales Consultant, Kari has thorough knowledge of our current contract, experience with 1st and 2nd step grievances, has been active in her local on various committees and has extensive education in union training from 2001 to present.

Audrey Deguio:  Executive Vice President Local 7777, CDT-Rapid Recovery, Audrey has a strong knowledge of Regional Grievances, Arbitrations, Contract Interpretation, Retiree Healthcare, QJD/CTEP/CQUE/DSQUE, contract and language contract analysis.

It’s getting to be crunch time; our Mobilization Committee is working to get structures in place with both inside and outside workforces in preparation for bargaining.  T-shirts for all membership will be ordered the end of May.   If you have not given your t-shirt size to your Officer, Area Reps or Stewards I encourage you to call the hall (602-331-7019) and speak to Debbie our secretary and she will take your information, or get with your Officers and or Stewards as soon as you possibly can.   I can’t stress enough how important it will be to show the company our Unity in wearing our Red Shirts this bargaining year. 

A General Membership meeting is being scheduled for June, once the date is set an eblast will be sent out. 

The MALF (Maricopa Area Labor Federation) Education Committee will be awarding 4 scholarships, for any member who has a student getting ready for college.  We know the expense that this entails and every little bit helps.   Eligibility criteria would be for the student to write and submit a 750-1000 word research paper on a topic.   Deadline June 1, 2012.  The website will be update with more details within the next few days.

New Stewards Training is being held this week, April 20th and 21st.  I wish to thank those who have stepped up I really appreciate your desire in being a part of our Steward structure.  If anyone else is interested in becoming a Steward you may contact the Chair of the Education Committee John Seeley or myself, our numbers are on the website. 

Just a reminder the 12th Annual Day of Sunshine is May 19,  2012.    All proceeds benefiting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatrics Aids, I hope to see you at this event.

If you have had changes to your email or mailing address let us know so that we may update your information.

Next month there will be an online survey going out to the membership, this will be your opportunity to share your issues and any other concerns that you feel are important and need to be addressed at bargaining.  The more input we give the more power we give to our bargaining team.   The next few months will start to get busier as we get closer to bargaining.  Let’s be ready!  

In Unity,
Irene Robles
President

Trying to make a difference a little at a time”

 

March 2012

Union Brothers and Sisters,

I wanted to take a moment to bring you up to date with what’s been happening within our Local.  Recently, an E-blast went out announcing I was sworn in as the President for Local 7019. I also wanted to take this opportunity to assure you I, along with the Executive Board, have not let these sudden changes get in the way of what our primary focus is for this Local. One item on the forefront is preparation for this year’s contract negotiations.  Many questions have been asked with regards to the upcoming contract and what’s happening at the bargaining table.  

Let me just share on March 12th, the voting process will take place to select those who will be on the Bargaining Committee; this would be for Century Link, Dex and AT&T Mobility.  Multiple resumes have been submitted as potential candidates for this committee.  All of the candidates come with many years of experience in both Network and Consumer Services.  Some will have sat on previously and some will be new to the committee.  As soon as those individuals are named, I will pass the information on to the membership.

In the meantime, it is vital that we collectively and individually continue to make preparations. This is an important juncture in our lives and now is the time to prepare ourselves and not wait!!!  A few months from now things will be in full swing!!!

Due to the importance of this year’s contract, we need to be ready.  CenturyLink is a new Telecom to District 7 and this Local.   These waters have not been explored and we are not quite sure what this new company will bring to the table.   Rumor is they are very frugal.  District 7 has appointed Paul Castaneda as our state Mobilization Coordinator.  He has been providing training to all the locals in our state.  He just completed training for the Local 7019’s officers, area reps, committee chairs and retirees.  He is currently working on Tucson and Yuma.  I had the pleasure of attending one of the training classes and I can only say it was a real eye opener for me.  We need to be ready and send a strong message that we are ONE!   

 On March 1st, some of us were able to attend The Day of Action.  Unions from all across the state joined together to rally against the bills which are currently attacking Unions and the rights of firefighters, teachers, steel workers and public workers.  It was amazing to see so many come together to tell our law makers they should be focused on creating jobs not taking them away.  Bill SB1486; customarily when representing a union member during work hours, public employees simply agreed with their supervisors to make the time up.   REALLY!!!!  This is just one of few bills which couldn’t be heard because of our presence at the capitol. Those dockets were pulled!!!  

There is strength in numbers! Let’s make sure our presence is felt intensely this year.  Let’s make our presence known!!!

 In Unity,

President Irene Robles 
   
and the Executive Board

30/nw

afl-cio

 

Back to the Homepage | E-mail the Webmaster | CWA National Site