El Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido (The people united will never be defeated)
CABLE WORKERS AT AT&T BROADBAND IN HIALEAH, FLORIDA VOTE TO TURN BACK COMPANY-SUPPORTED EFFORT TO DECERTIFY UNION
We have our union, we have our contract and we have the respect of cable workers throughout South Florida. For the past 18 months we have taken everything the largest cable company in the country could throw at us and we have won.
In April 2001, local management did everything they could convince us that we didn’t need a union. They promised, threatened and lectured us. But we knew that things would only change if we had real rights in the workplace – rights that didn’t change at the whim of a supervisor, rights that are the same for everyone, rights that were in a contract.
We voted in the CWA in April of 2001, held shop steward training in May, and we began bargaining with the company in June. Throughout the bargaining process management had to keep everything the same. If they wanted to change things, they had to talk with us – the union.
While we bargained, people continued to get promotions and wage increases. When we still weren’t done in March, everyone got their annual merit increase. Some of the supervisors said things would be worse when the union came in but they were wrong.
In June, we reached tentative agreement on a contract. We got the productivity merit increase that averages 7.5 percent and we are all guaranteed a 3.5 percent wage increase next March. Our contract includes a grievance procedure and company practices in writing. We then got to vote on it. For the first time the workers got a real say in what goes on at work. Some of the supervisors talked against the contract, but when our votes were counted, the contract was approved by an 11-1 margin.
That should have been the beginning of our new relationship at work but it wasn’t.
A small group of our co-workers supported by local management wanted the union out. Workers now have rights so we had another election and we voted to stay union and keep our right to representation. Only 29 employees voted against us (when we voted in our union in 2001, 33 of workers voted against the union).
With our union, we have a contract, a guaranteed wage increase and a real voice at in our jobs and work. We did this by sticking together. Our union makes us strong.
