Knology, Inc. Cable Techs in Georgia Move to Form Union
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Technicians from Knology Inc., in Augusta, Georgia, strike a pose with a surprise that one of the workers found on an assignment |
With installation and service technicians working mandatory overtime 6 days a week, 10 and 12 hours a day with no end in sight, it was just a matter of time for the Knology technicians from Augusta, Georgia, to starting talking about getting a union.
Considering that Knology technicians install digital cable, telephone, and modem services for the broadband bundle communications provider, the workers' wages are among the lowest in the industry.
The company’s relentless drive to complete more and more RGS (revenue generating units) each month (combined with Knology's decision to cancel its outside contract installation provider) has severely overloaded available resources.
In addition, management's seemingly deaf ear to the workers' concerns about safety -- lack of proper equipment, training and needed personnel -- lead a number of the techs to contact the CWA for assistance forming a union.
Since news of the technicians' union campaign become public, management brought in big guns from corporate headquarters to address every issue that employees raise, from offering ladder training to making available hand cleaner and disposable towels to the techs.
The company's current attitude represents an 180-degree turnabout from how it responded to employee's concerns before the techs began working to organize a union with CWA. The response from the company can only be applauded.
Yet, if the mere presence of the technicians' organizing drive can cause such a positive reaction, imagine what a collective bargaining contract negotiated by the employees could accomplish.
