CWA Organizers
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They have been visitng Dish Network install companies as well.
I dont really care much for unions however I do agree that installers need something to protect them (as do retailers)
I dont really care much for unions however I do agree that installers need something to protect them (as do retailers)
newsattec said:
Where are you located?
I and some other of the techs at the D* HSP I work for called the CWA to try and get our local office in the union (a number of other offices within our company have done the same). There are some big changes coming in the way our company operates (changes which are being mandated by D*). We are going from using tech owned vehicles and being paid by the install to using company owned vehicles and being paid by the hour. The company has yet to disclose what our hourly pay and benefits will actually be after these changes are made. It is in our best interest to get a union in place so we will have some bargaining power over our salary (we know we are going to take a pay cut, but with a union helping us we can hopefully not get hit with too much of a cut) that way we do not have to take whatever bone they throw us.
Just in case anyone is wondering how much the CWA charges for union dues, they are 2½ hours of your salary each month (if you get paid $10 per hour that comes out to $25 per month).
I recommend that anyone who is a installer and considered by their company to be an employee and not a contractor, look at the CWA's website to see what they are all about. Check out their FAQ link and you will probably find the answers to just about any question you might want to ask, if the answer your looking for is not there then call or email the local in your area (locals can be found on the website) and talk to a representative. A link to the CWA website is at the bottom of this post.
So what exactly mkaes sat techs think the HSP will take this lying down? I'm pretty sure Rupert isn't a fan of unions. Why wouldn't they do as WalMart does? Just asking questions. I got out of the biz and am in the IBEW so I am pro union but there are tons of RAT electricians out there. Won't the HSP's be able to hire RAT sat techs if you do unionize?
Talked to a BellSouth guy today (they are CWA) and he implied that CWA members would support (?) organizing efforts by D* techs in this area. You are right, there could be some issues. The techs the HSP would bring in would probably be the ones they fired for being hacks.deezoneezo said:
Hack RATs - now thats a pretty sight.
Here is Connecticut lots of the SBC guys are getting upset that the SBC / Dish Network installs are not being done by SBC, and they are getting more upset that the folks doing the installs are not even union workers.
This could get quite messy.
This could get quite messy.
What kills me is that these companies as in Walmart and D* won't even need to worry about unions if they didn't always want to screw over the average worker so their CEOs could get a few more million bucks added to their existing millions.
My thinking is that they deserve what they get and my only gripe is that most workers take it up the rear and refuse to fight back for the stupidest reasons I've ever heard. They are always worried that if they strike and unionize right away they won't lose their jobs because the company firing workers at that point in time looks very bad and besides that once workers decide they want a union they have protections in place to prevent wrongfull firing.
Also most people think of Unions when run by the mob back in the days where they were against the company. People who say they won't join a union because they support their company amaze me because how can you support your company when they are screwing workers. If the company wasn't screwing the workers the union word would never be used thus you wouldn't need to support your company.
Today Unions are there to keep both the company and the workers from getting screwed nothing more and nothing less. Also the big companies that have unions in place are some of the best in their areas and have great profit numbers so that excuse is out the window. I see many companies today where workers are getting screwed left and right and lets just say service is very very very bad and customers aren't what they could be that is for sure.
My thinking is that they deserve what they get and my only gripe is that most workers take it up the rear and refuse to fight back for the stupidest reasons I've ever heard. They are always worried that if they strike and unionize right away they won't lose their jobs because the company firing workers at that point in time looks very bad and besides that once workers decide they want a union they have protections in place to prevent wrongfull firing.
Also most people think of Unions when run by the mob back in the days where they were against the company. People who say they won't join a union because they support their company amaze me because how can you support your company when they are screwing workers. If the company wasn't screwing the workers the union word would never be used thus you wouldn't need to support your company.
Today Unions are there to keep both the company and the workers from getting screwed nothing more and nothing less. Also the big companies that have unions in place are some of the best in their areas and have great profit numbers so that excuse is out the window. I see many companies today where workers are getting screwed left and right and lets just say service is very very very bad and customers aren't what they could be that is for sure.
deezoneezo said:
The HSP's really have no choice, it's all up to the workers. Once the workers contact the union and seek representation they are protected by the law from descrimination or harassment by their employer in regards to their union activities. The HSP's can try to push out the techs who are trying to organize or support going union, but it will only land them in hot water with the union & Labor Relations folks and possibly cost them a ton in legal fees, fines and/or awards. The only way the HSP's can avoide going union is if they revert back to hiring the workers as contract labor. But then what would they do with all those fleet vehicles they have in their parking lots or on order? Many of the HSP's screwed themselves when they reclassified the techs as "employees" and not "contract labor" or "independent contractors". As far as I am aware the union will not cover "independent contractors".
As for Rup, he doesn't own the HSP's, yet. He can tell them how he would like the installs to be done, but he really has no control over whether the HSP's go union or not, it's not like he can threaten to move the whole operation to Mexico or something like that. We have a company here, who oddly enough at one time made D* receivers, before they sold out to another company the owner had aways threatened to move everything to Mexico if anyone mentioned the word "union" (they now make E* receivers in Mexico). So, if a number of the HSP's go union, when/if Rup decides he wants to buy them out and bring the installation operations in house (as he did with the call centers), he will either have to deal with the union or start his own installation department from scratch (something he isn't going to do).
uboatcmdr said:
At least someone understands how all of this would work. That is a very good overview and I've added a couple stars in my book for ya.
LonghornXP said:
LonghornXP is correct. People need to stand up for themselves, but when you are facing a corporation with all the power the only way you can stand up is in number, the numbers that a union helps you to organize. That is one of the reasons union memebers refer to each other as "brothers" because they band together as a family would to fight for a common cause, fair treatment & pay in the workplace.
As for the myth that unions are run by gangsters or that they will force you to go on strike, that's all B.S.. The CWA union officals I have meet thus far are either current or retired Bellsouth employees. And if a strike happens it is because a majority of the workers in a shop voted to go on strike. The union isn't going to ask a group of techs who work for an HSP in Alabama to go on strike because a group of Bellsouth linemen in Georgia are unhappy with their contract and vise-versa.
Some people say unions and their memebers are only out to sqeeze and pocket all the profits out of a company, not true. I want the company I work for to be very profitable and stay in business for a long long time. But, as an employee of that company I deserve to be paid a decent wage and receive some good benefits. The union also wants the company to make money and stay in business. If I am a union memeber and paying dues it is better for the union to have me working and the company I work for doing well, not for me to be unemployed and the company filing for bankruptcy.
newsattec said:
Ma Bell doesn't love their employees any more than Walmart loves theirs. They have the contract they do because of years of hard negotiation and the help of the union. That contract didn't come overnight, that's for sure.
BTW, one of the benefits of being in the CWA is that if you'd like to switch jobs and go to work for Bellsouth, the union will loan you the study materials you'll need to help get you through the tests Bellsouth requires you take.
Scott Greczkowski said:
You have to realize, the CWA does not actively seek out companies to unionize. If they are talking to you and other techs it's because some of your fellow workers have contacted them requesting represntation and a majority of your co-workers have already signed commitment cards (cards saying that they want union representation and will vote in favor of a union once a vote is organized).
uboatcmdr said:
Exactly right and I'm sure we can agree that Ma Bell didn't do this out of the goodness of her heart. Unions are a business and like others said it doesn't do them any good if they bankrupt a company because no workers means no union dues. Also the workers should ask themselves why are companies so very much againsts unions. I say this because the union isn't killing UPS or USPS is it. They should ask themselves if its luck that tons of newspaper companies are going to independent contractors and from what I hear pay is going down.
Again my local carrier for the St. Pete Times never had a union in place even though one almost got in place in the 80s but for many years they were employees and had health benefits among many other benefits and they were doing great as a company. I also had great service that has gotten very very bad in the last two years and more so in these last 6 months. It was about two years ago that I read in the St. Pete Times that they made all of their workers Indepent Contractors. Now my question is how is this good for the company and the workers. From my guess I don't have my 15+ year carrier anymore who has never missed me at least not that I can remember. That can't be a good sign. I now know that my entire street who all took the Times only two out of those 10 now take it and all of our friends refuse to take it now. We now read our news online because what good is ordering a newspaper when you never get it anymore. On the few days I did get it I had holes in the bags and a wet paper. It also seems that the St. Pete Times also thinks that I would rather have a soap box in my bag than my newspaper safe in the bag and dry. Last time I had that soap box my paper flew out of the bag and got soaked and torn. I'm paying for the paper not the f*****g soap sample. That is what I told the CSR word for word. That was the day I cancelled my paper.
Boy I went long but that is the example of why I would rather have my newspaper company get stuck with a union because maybe they would figure out that us customers actually want to get the paper we pay for without having to call and have a manager bring it out every morning two hours after I'm supposed to be out somewhere.
I have been an installer for many years, since primestar. We started this union thing because the working conditions at our work place has steadily gone down hill and now they want to take even more from us.I love my job and what I do But never felt secure in it.I support the CWA all the way.For you that are not installers lets say your boss makes you work outside in the rain when you know you cant get a signal and then after years of doing this they say "Oh by the way we are going to cut your wages by more than 50%". Try going from 65,000.$ a year to under 25,000. a year or being forced to goto work for half a week for free.Sound like they cant do that?Well they did and constantly do, because If we say anything they say If you dont like it -theres the door.But know big brother has arrived on the playground.And for those that dont like the union idea tell your boss you will work for 50% less and every 3rd day youll do it for free.Im not bashing anyone here just stating truth at least out of my office. I am tired of this and refuse to take it laying down anymore. Lower pay results in sloppy work from all the rook replacements for the guys and girls that take there job serious and go out of there way to please the customer.rooks for the most part "but not all" cut corners cause trouble calls, damage claims and a cut throat work environment, not to mention pissed off customers. If I can think of anything else I'll be back.
I called CWA in my area.
D* was pushing my Local HSP office for us to install a guy when 40ft ladder wouldn't reach his roof. We kept saying it's unsafe but D* and my office keep trying to make us do it.
D* was pushing my Local HSP office for us to install a guy when 40ft ladder wouldn't reach his roof. We kept saying it's unsafe but D* and my office keep trying to make us do it.
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