CWAers FIGHT FOR CALL CENTER JOBS IN NY, NJ, CT, ME, NH
New York – On February 12, with dozens of CWA members looking on, the New York Call Center Jobs Act passed through the New York Senate Labor Committee.
If passed, the bill would protect call center jobs in New York by ending tax breaks for companies that ship at least 30% of their work overseas, as well as require all state agencies to utilize companies located in New York State for any government related call center work.
After years of fighting to get the bill through Senate committees and to the NY State Senate floor for a vote, this is a big step towards getting the bill enacted. Legislators and CWA leaders are optimistic that the bill will become law, but the fight isn’t over just yet – you can help.
Call 855-980-2282 now to tell your State Senator to support the NY Call Center Jobs Act (S.1826) to save call center jobs in New York and keep workers employed!
READ MORE about the bill and our efforts to get it passed here.
Connecticut – AT&T workers in Connecticut were joined on Monday by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the Westerns Connecticut Labor Federation, and others to speak out about the tragic news that AT&T will be closing several call centers in Connecticut in the coming months.
Despite pulling in nearly $20 billion in tax breaks last year, AT&T has rolled out plans to close a number of call center closures in recent weeks. After announcing last month that a call center in Syracuse, NY would be closing, the company informed workers at three call centers in Meriden, CT on February 22nd that their jobs would be going to Tennessee and Georgia. The workers, many of whom have been with AT&T for more than 30 years, were told that they would have to move or end their careers with AT&T.
“AT&T should have to explain why it’s rolling out closure after closure, and upending lives of workers who’ve given the company so much,” said David Weidlich, President of CWA Local 1298. “To be out in front of the tax bill making promises about jobs and then pushing workers to relocate far away—there is simply no excuse. AT&T is profitable, there’s plenty of work to do in the company and no good reason why these jobs need to be moved out of Connecticut.”
Connecticut CWA members have joined those in New York, New Jersey, and Maine in fighting for legislation to protect call center workers and end tax breaks for companies that close call centers and ship jobs out of state.
WATCH the press conference here.
Maine – CWA Local 1400 members fighting for call center jobs in Maine! Speakers at a hearing on February 20th addressing the Maine Call Center Bill (LD201) included the bill’s sponsor, Michelle Dunphy, a Maine House Rep and CWA member who works in a call center.
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CWA MEMBERS AT USIC VOTE TO STAY #UNIONSTRONG
Workers at US Infrastructure Corporation (USIC), who mark the streets for Con Edison and National Grid before they dig, voted last week overwhelmingly 113-57 in favor of remaining members CWA Local 1101.
The employer recently launched a vicious anti-union campaign aimed at intimidating workers that continued right up until election. USIC workers are currently paid only $17-per-hour while the company refuses to negotiate a living wage. Meanwhile, CWA has successfully lobbied in New York City to include USIC workers under the “prevailing wage” laws, which would mean a life-changing pay increase to $45-per-hour.
Although the New York City Comptroller agrees with CWA and has ordered USIC to pay prevailing wage, the company has appealed. Councilmember Brad Lander has promised now to introduce legislation to mandate that USIC pay the prevailing wage.
Many elected leaders came out to strongly support our USIC members, including Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York State Senator and Labor Committee Chair Jessica Ramos, and New York City Councilmember Brad Lander.
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ACTION ALERT! EXTEND THE JAMES ZADROGA ACT TO PROVIDE HEALTHCARE FOR 9/11 HEROES
Many of our members were among the thousands of people impacted by the events of September 11th, 2001, and are still feeling the effects today. The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) is facing a lack of funding that will mean many responders and survivors will not get the full compensation they were expecting and deserve. The VCF is providing desperately needed financial help to thousands of injured and ill 9/11 responders and survivors who live in every state.
Worse still, if Congress does not act, the VCF is set to close its doors at the end of 2020 – just as thousands more who need help are being diagnosed with 9/11 related cancers.
We need to take action now to do something about this. Call your Member of Congress now and urge them to join in co-sponsoring the bipartisan legislation, “Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act,” that would fill any shortfalls in funding for the VCF and would permanently authorize the Fund to remain open for years to come.
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CWAers FIGHT FOR SAFE STAFFING TO PROTECT OUR MEMBERS AND COMMUNITIES
Throughout New York, CWA members have been speaking out for the vital need for safe staffing ratios for healthcare workers in our hospitals and nursing homes. Year after year, studies show that when nurses care for two to three times the number of patients that they can safely manage, the chances of preventable death, hospital acquired infections, and adverse outcomes increase.
CWA has been collaborating with the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) to fight for legislation in New York that would set standards for staffing ratios in order to guarantee hospitals and nursing homes have the staffing they need for quality care.
In New York City, we joined NYSNA members on the picket lines on February 13th as the nurses continue their fight for a new contract that would include safe staffing.
In Westchester, CWA Local 1103 Legislative Political Coordinator Joe Mayhew spoke at the New York State Budget Forum about making Safe Staffing a budget priority for the coming legislative year – watch his speech here:
In Albany, dozens of CWA members joined CWA Area Director Debbie Hayes as she spoke before the New York State Joint Budget Hearing on Health/Medicaid about the importance of Safe Staffing.
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UNION MEMBERS, ACTIVISTS DISCUS REAL IMPACT OF NJ’S CORPORATE TAX BREAKS
On February 11, a coalition of union members, policy experts, small business owners, activists, and clergy held a press conference to provide a more balanced view of the impacts of the New Jersey’s massive tax incentive programs.
The press conference was held as the NJ Legislature held a closed hearing concerning the oversight and effectiveness of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s (EDA) tax incentive programs after a scathing audit by the state’s comptroller office.
The audit found that since 2005 the EDA approved nearly $11 billion in tax breaks to corporations with little oversight to ensure companies actually created or retained the jobs they said they would. Moreover, at least 20% of the jobs promised from the incentive programs have not been created. The incentives will cost the State nearly $3.5 billion over the next three years alone in missing revenue, making other critical investments in public education, public transportation, and public worker retirement security difficult or impossible to achieve.
The legislative committee invited more than 20 guests to testify before the committee with a majority of invitees coming from companies with a vested interested in maintaining the incentive programs. Missing from the list of invitees were workers and community groups who are most directly impacted by the generous tax breaks in cities like Camden.
“When people talk about investment, it’s always about these big companies — it’s never about the people. They throw us a chicken bone, while the big companies are feasting on lobster and steak,” said CWA Local 1014 member Candice Jefferson.
CWA members and community activists in Camden also blasted the massive tax breaks in a protest outside an invitation-only breakfast held by Chamber of Commerce of Southern Jersey for business leaders and CEOs on February 7. Equipped with a “Camden Workers Rising” banner and whistles, protestors also demanded fair contracts for CWA Local 1014 Camden City workers.
According to an analysis by New Jersey Policy Perspective, since the expansion of the state’s incentive programs in 2013, nearly 30 percent of all tax breaks have been given to companies based in Camden County. The average cost per job created or maintained by these projects has exploded to nearly $224,000 since the early 2000s when the average per job cost was roughly $16,000.
“I have been a Camden resident for over 50 years and a city employee for over 20. It’s not fair that these big corporations come into our city and get big tax breaks and we the people get nothing,” said CWA Local 1014 member Kyle Smith. “I’m a firm believer in fair and equal treatment and until this happens I don’t believe our city will rise.”
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CWAers FIGHTING FOR PAID FAMILY LEAVE IN CONNECTICUT
Local 1298 members gathered in Hartford earlier this month to urge Connecticut legislators to pass Paid Family and Medical Leave and make Connecticut a safer, healthier community.
CWA members were on hand as legislators laid out their plan to pass the bill that would allow for paid time off to recover from an illness, take care of a sick loved one, and paid time off after the birth of a child. Similar bills have passed in New York, Massachuttes, New Jersey and Rhode Island, and CWAers are ready to fight to make sure that Connecticut joins those states in protecting all workers.
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DEADLINE APPROACHING! NEW JERSEY PATIENT HANDLING CONFERENCE
CWA District 1 is proud to co-sponsor the first Safe Patient Handling Conference to be held in New Jersey on March 19, 2019 at Rutgers University in Piscataway. The conference will focus on best practices for safe patient handling in all types of healthcare settings to protect patients and health care workers from injuries.