Why We Need a Union at Adelphia in West Palm Beach, Florida
Cableworkers' Organizing Committee Publishes an Open Letter to Employees
Many of us are asking ourselves why do we need a union? And, why is management against the union? We need protection and management does not want to lose control. This is the same management that was personally hired by the Rigas [family].
They are the same management that "threatens" to close us down and yet advertises to our customers "Adelphia is here to stay."
This is the same management that gave us a nice raise while cutting our commissions as much as 90 percent.
In the past year, they dumped six new corps on us, made us all rebid our shifts, implemented the IEX system, intensified the REM system and [implemented] the latest torture, the "Customer Care Program."
Now as we reach triple digits in queue every day, we are chastised and sometimes written up for keeping customers on hold too long and for being on after-call too long all while trying to finish a problem account correctly.
Breaks and lunches must be taken at your scheduled time or you are written up for not being in "compliance," and for further inconvenience, break and lunch times change every day.
We care about Adelphia and our customers.
It’s what we do everyday to generate revenue by selling our products, retaining customers and solving their problems that make us the great workforce that we are.
We want Adelphia to succeed and we want it to stay a part of Palm Beach and Martin Counties. We want to do a good job but we do not trust that management will help us do that.
We know if we have a union, we can have a place to take our grievances and know they will be heard. We know we can build a contract that gives us an equity value in the company we care for and work so hard for. We can begin to talk about reasonable vacation leave, reasonable sick leave, a possible pension, and so much more.
We are the union, and we, the union, will be a force, and a strong voice that management, which forgot and discarded us a long time ago, will have to reckon with. Join us and your fellow employees who want a better Adelphia, and vote "YES" for the union.
Note: In response to the workers' campaign, management has held "captive audience" meetings where they have shown antiunion videos. Management also mailed antiunion material to each employee’s home. The company hired a union-busting attorney to handle its campaign to prevent employees from getting representation and bargaining rights.
