Three Elections in Broadband
Workers in Ohio Go Union
On August 23rd, the AT&T Broadband workers in Elyria, Ohio, voted to join CWA. This suburban Cleveland system voted 34 to 10 to be part of the union. The workers' organizing committee worked closely with John Kosek from Local 4340. “The committee worked incredibly hard for this.” said Local Organizer Kosek. “ They wanted a union and no matter how people tried to mislead them, they stuck to their guns. They are very proud of their accomplishment and they should be.”
245 Techs in Suburban Atlanta Now Represented by CWA
On August 22nd, the AT&T Broadband workers in the East Tech Center in Stone Mountain, GA., voted in the CWA. This is the second former MediaOne system to choose CWA. In April of this year a Mediaone system in Hialeah, FL, chose CWA and are now completing their first contract.
In the last weeks before the election, management had a fish fry for all the workers, took several new employees out to lunch, held a captive audience meeting, spoke poorly of existing contracts and permitted anti-union workers to attach anti-union leaflets to the company trucks in the locked parking lot. Neither the free meals nor the confused meanderings in the union busting literature could stop the workers. A strong committee and a determined workforce are now prepared to carry the message to the rest of the workers in Atlanta.
CWA Loses by 4 Votes in Alpharetta
On August 21st the AT&T Broadband workers at the North Fulton Tech Center fell 4 votes short in their bid for union representation. By a vote of 26-30, the workers chose to remain without representation in the workplace. The committee felt very frustrated and believes that the company violated the neutrality agreement in the weeks before the election. Charges have been filed and if AT&T is found guilty the Arbitrator could order that the union be recognized.
