Local 2204 Members Rally in Support of Norton Adelphia Members
On April 29, members from Local 2204 held a rally to demonstrate support for their fellow members at Adelphia Cable in Norton, VA. Union members from AT&T and Verizon expressed their concern with Adelphia's unwillingness to reach a new bargaining agreement.
Adelphia has used their bankruptcy and other delaying tactics to avoid reaching a new collective bargaining agreement with the workers who have built and maintain the cable system.
Thirty-five CWA members came out during the rally that lasted from about 4pm thru about 5:45pm. "We were successful in drawing a lot of public attention to this abuse of power" said Local President, Guy Angel. "The Coalfield Progress wrote an article and the community has really been supportive. See the press coverage and I then held a membership meeting for the Adelphia members last night. Seems as though when the Company found out about the meeting they all of a sudden had to work everyone overtime. We waited though, and about half of the members came to the meeting which lasted until around 9-9:15pm. The members are frustrated, but are hanging in the fight. They said there are a few rumblings but on the whole, I think that the unit is holding it's own. They had many questions but I feel that the show of support from the other members of the Local, letters that are appearing in the Local papers in support of them, and a mailing that I did prior to the D2 conference have encouraged them. Don't misunderstand though….they want a contract soon!
