CWA Organizers

[bellhead1970]

Cwa

Being a CWA member Local 4400, great to have you all aboard. This goes out to everybody, I have worked for 9 1/2 years now for ma bell and am very glad I am in a union work enviroment. With every work environment there are the goods and the bads. Around where I work yes there are people who don't pull their weight or do less work than their peers but nothing is not said to them by management. This is not the unions fault it is managements fault. The union has its faults every organization does, people are given unfair advantages either through being one's golf buddy or having a relative in the right place. The biggest common gripe people have around where I work at is that the union is not militant enough and bows to the company too much on issues when they should stand strong. Not every work place is perfect but unions for many years in this country have gotten a bad rep and now have a reputation worse than a abu garab prison worker. Which is not fair.
As for working conditions and wages. The current regime in power wants to roll back all wages and health care for the non-millionare ranger club members in the US right now, one of the few rebel organizations who are fighting back are the unions. They were created to fight for the workers rights to a descent wage and living and working conditions. Former Ma bell employess enjoy one of the last blue collar living wage jobs in the US anymore. I think outside of us and the UAW there aren't many left. If you look at our website cwa 4400 there is a link there highligting our lates contract.
If you think that we are being overpaid or have benefits that nobody should have you need to realize the "fab four" our top four execs all received bonus this year equaling more than most will make in thier lifetimes. If is not unfair for workers to demand descent pay and benefits. If you all stick together and bargain hard you will be strong good luck to you all in NY.

 

[newsattec]

I talked to a dispatcher where I work and she said management was "pissed" about the CWA handing out flyers. I asked if she would vote for the union and she said, "Hell yes - not yes but hell yes."
I hope the CWA is contacting the other workers at the HSPs, not just the techs.
BTW, my earlier comment about Ma Bell loving her workers was smart-ass, ment to drive home the point of how much the CWA has accomplished.

 

[cobra55]

unions

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.

union's are the #1 cause of job outsoursing, and the high cost of american made products. if dtv or dish go union customers will pay a lot more.

 

[phatnuts]

if they dont --install your own system!

 

[uboatcmdr]

union's are the #1 cause of job outsoursing, and the high cost of american made products. if dtv or dish go union customers will pay a lot more.

You fail to see the point of why it is we are trying to unionize. Let me explain it in detail so everyone will see the big picture here.
Currently we are paid by the install. My company pays $60 for a one outlet basic install, $25 for each additional outlet. We are paid $40 for a one outlet upgrade (this is also the fee we get for dish upgrades or to relocate an outlet). We are paid $25 for a service call (a service call can be something as simple as resetting a receiver or as difficult as reinstalling or nearly replacing the entire system). We drive our own trucks, pay for our own insurance & gas and most of us provide our own tools (some of the newer techs were issued specialty tools while the veteran techs had to purchase their's). I averaged $52K+ last year, some techs in my office made more some less. The above rates of pay are what my company has been paying their techs for years. They have made a slight cuts here & there (like they used to pay extra for Tivo installations because they require two wires, now they pay just as if it were a regular outlet).
Now my company wants to make some major changes. They want the techs to drive company owned fleet vehicles, they are stocking the trucks with cheap Chinese made tools and expecting the techs to be financially responsible for any that break and they plan to pay us by the hour instead of by the install. With the work hours and pay rates they have discussed with us thus far I figure my work hours will increase by 25% while my pay will decrease by atleast 40%.
Our purpose for seeking union representation is not to try drive our company out of business, just to try and keep them out of our pockets!
I think the drive behind all these major changes is that D* has plans to try and buy out all the HSP's and bring the installation operations inhouse sometime within the next two years. If the HSP's can put the shaft to the techs and add much of what they are currently making to their profit margins then they can justify asking more for their companies when the buy out comes down. So they are trying to boost their profits by grabbing money from the techs pockets.
I and my fellow techs aren't asking for more money we are simply trying to keep close to what we have now. Look at it this way, many of the techs have loans (car, truck & home) that were received based on their pay rates, not the company wants to greatly reduce that rate. How are those people going to make their payments? Should they be forced into bankruptcy just because the company whats to show more of a profit? And what can these people do to prevent going bankrupt? Beg the company not to cut their pay? One person cannot make the company change, that is very evident in every tech meeting we have. One at a time techs raise their hands and ask questions about important issues and one at a time the boss shoots them down with answer like, "if you don't like it, there's the door". The only way to keep what we have is to organize and make a stand in number, the number that a union can help bring together and provide.
Now as for customers paying more, if these changes happen and the techs are getting paid less do you somehow feel that the rate the customer pays is going to go down? Hell no it isn't, the extra money the suddenly have is just going to go in their pockets. D* & E* aren't going to have to charge more if their installers pay stays the same as it is. The reasons they have raised rates in the recent past is to pay for those new sats they are putting up or buying from other companies (as in the case of E* buying the Voom bird). They may be trying to avoid raising rates anymore by cutting our pay, but why should the techs be made to suffer in order to pay for your service?
Trust me if your boss walked in on Monday and said, "as of August 1, we are giving everyone a car to drive to work each day but all of you will have to work extra 2 hours a day and in addition we will be cutting everyone's salary by 40% to help boost our profits and pay for those new vehicles", you'd feel just like we do. Too many people believe all the myths and BS that have been spread about unions over the years, I did to a limited extent as well. If it weren't for the fact I have many friends who are in unions I would have never known how much they can actually do for you.
You can believe what you want, I'm not posting here to try and change your minds, just to provide the facts of the matter and give people the information to make an informed decision for themselves.

 

[newsattec]

union's are the #1 cause of job outsoursing, and the high cost of american made products. if dtv or dish go union customers will pay a lot more.

Please explain to me how D* is going to outsource installs and service calls to India. The problem is not unions in America, it is no unions in the third-world. Chinese children are virtual slaves making products for Wally World. Unions forced the government to end that practice here.

 

[newsattec]

...I think the drive behind all these major changes is that D* has plans to try and buy out all the HSP's and bring the installation operations inhouse sometime within the next two years. If the HSP's can put the shaft to the techs and add much of what they are currently making to their profit margins then they can justify asking more for their companies when the buy out comes down. So they are trying to boost their profits by grabbing money from the techs pockets...

Good point. It will be easier to organize at the HSP level than when D* takes over. D*'s deep pockets will allow them to put up a big fight with high-priced union-busting lawyers.

 

[martin1]

union's are the #1 cause of job outsoursing, and the high cost of american made products. if dtv or dish go union customers will pay a lot more.

B.S.

 

[LonghornXP]

B.S.

Your right the #1 reason to outsource is so they can pay someone else todo our jobs for 1 buck an hour instead of minimum wage and they don't have to offer benefits either. Unions aren't the reason as martin1 seems to know and I'm suprised that everyone here doesn't know this.

 

[uboatcmdr]

Good point. It will be easier to organize at the HSP level than when D* takes over. D*'s deep pockets will allow them to put up a big fight with high-priced union-busting lawyers.

Correct, that is why at the bottom of all my posts is the phrase:

 

[Chado]

I have been a customer for many years and a lazy one at that so I like to have the techs come out and take care of any installation issues. Like most of us, I have been through moves, add-on's and a dangling dish thanks to Jeanne. I will add that I never lost my signal during the hurricanes last year, well.... until the dish blew off the house. Anyways, the job is always done and it is always done well. Many times the job is done beyond the call of duty. Sneaking and stretching in the attic in my tech's case was not necessary but was done without hesitation and with extra effort. I bring this up b/c I like to think one of the reasons I stay with D* is the techs that are provided is a part of the service that I value from D*.

It really sucks to hear that these techs are being treated this way. Especially since it sounds like a person's means of living will be drastically changed. As a customer, I think it is a poor business move, but it is a business decision that apparently is being executed. So I would say that you have an advantage at this point with the knowledge that this change is coming. Since you are aware of this, you also have the ability to make a choice concerning your future. I have to stress these last two points since many, many, many people in this country over the years were put in the same or worse situations without the benefit of either knowing or being able to make a choice.

It may not seem like much now, but you can use this advantage to do what you wish. If you choose a union, then best of luck. If you choose an alternative career path, then best of luck as well. But the important thing to realize is that the "writing is on the wall", that the best of times as a D* tech has probably past you by. It is frustrating as a customer, since I figure one of two things will happen, either the level of service will go down or my bill will go up.

 

[cr0mag]

union's are the #1 cause of job outsoursing, and the high cost of american made products. if dtv or dish go union customers will pay a lot more.

Correction... GREED is the #1 cause of job outsourcing AND the rising costs of american made products. Particularly GREED on the side of upper management of most companies.
I'm no friggin Robin Hood or anything, but when is the last time you heard of a board of directors voting to lay any of their peers off? But, if it will make a little more money, will they cut worker's pay? sh*t yes they will! Would they close facilities that people put blood sweat and tears into? You got it! Do you think that they would cut benefits and insurance for the little guys? Damn right they would!

In a past job I worked for what was a HUGE computer company, who made some bad choices... Who paid the price? The employees, that's who. Oh sure, some of the upper management lost jobs (with more $$$ in severance than I'll ever earn!) and the founder of the company who will remain nameless (but he is bald with a pony tail, and used to live in Iowa!) had to settle for a few billion less in his overall wealth. The company kept taking things away from the employees for years trying to salvage profits. And upper management was meeting and discussing these plans in Hawaii, the Bahamas, Las Vegas and other places that cost much more than a trip down the hall to the boardroom.
Could organized labor help that company? I don't think it could have hurt any worse, that's for sure! But the bottom line is that in a service industry like HSP's are in, the costs of the service will rise. The cost of D*'s subscriptions will rise too. But if someone is trying to cut the pay and benefits of those men/women who are busting their butts everyday to pad their own greedy fatcat pockets, shame on them.
Go ahead and talk to the unions! What could it hurt? If you are afraid of getting in trouble or losing your job because you spoke to a union representative, then you need to quickly quit that job anyway and run like hell. The workplace is not intended to be intimidating.

/massive rant

 

[uboatcmdr]

(snip) It is frustrating as a customer, since I figure one of two things will happen, either the level of service will go down or my bill will go up.

The really sad thing is that once the changes come down, many techs will be forced to go into another line of work. I for one cannot afford the dramatic pay cuts they are suggesting and I am looking at all my options for other types of work. That is why I am trying my best to get a union voted in for our office and suggesting that any HSP tech try to get one voted in where they are. Without it they might as well bend over and wait for the big weenie to be driven home (that may not sound pretty but it is the truth).
You are right Cado, the level of service will go down because the turnover rate of the techs will increase (it is pretty high now, but soon it will double or triple because no one will do what D* needs/wants for the slave wages they are wanting to pay). And yes your bill probably will go up, if D* does try to buy out the HSP's as I suspect then they will surely increase subscription fees to offset the cost of the buyout.
I hate to see all this happen because I really like my job and the company I work for.

 

[cr0mag]

Please explain to me how D* is going to outsource installs and service calls to India. The problem is not unions in America, it is no unions in the third-world. Chinese children are virtual slaves making products for Wally World. Unions forced the government to end that practice here.

AMEN BURDDAH!

 

[uboatcmdr]

(snip) Go ahead and talk to the unions! What could it hurt? If you are afraid of getting in trouble or losing your job because you spoke to a union representative, then you need to quickly quit that job anyway and run like hell. The workplace is not intended to be intimidating.

/massive rant

I agree with everything you said, but if you look on the CWA's website you will see that they have recently & successfully sued Comcast twice when they fired or harassed an employee for simply exercising his/her right to seek union representation. In both cases the employees were awarded over $20K in back pay and the company had to offer them their jobs back.

 

[cr0mag]

I agree with everything you said, but if you look on the CWA's website you will see that they have recently & successfully sued Comcast twice when they fired or harassed an employee for simply exercising his/her right to seek union representation. In both cases the employees were awarded over $20K in back pay and the company had to offer them their jobs back.

uboatsmdr, I think it's great that CWA was able to help those folks out. What I meant was that if anyone feels so strongly that they will feel reprecussions just from investigating their own rightful options, than they are already in a hostile environment, and that should be addressed immediately either by seeking labor representation, or by getting the hell out of there.

 

[uboatcmdr]

uboatsmdr, I think it's great that CWA was able to help those folks out. What I meant was that if anyone feels so strongly that they will feel reprecussions just from investigating their own rightful options, than they are already in a hostile environment, and that should be addressed immediately either by seeking labor representation, or by getting the hell out of there.

I understood your meaning. I just wanted to point out what the CWA has done for people in the same situation. All too many people think that if they seek out a union to represent them that their employer will fire them over it. Problem is that the employer often gets away with firing the employee because they didn't realize their being fired for that was illegal.
I agree, if your boss/company is hostile and out to get you then either stand and fight or get out.

 

[newsattec]

Here's my take at this point: D* is raising the standards for the HSPs so high that they cannot possibly meet them. That way, D* can justify dumping the HSPs and bring the techs in house. What uboatcmdr and others are experiencing is HSP management having a knee-jerk reaction to the new standards and leaning on the techs more and more in an attempt to meet the goals.
For example, if D* said HSPs must meet a goal of 0 percent NLOS, then dump them for not meeting the goal. An extreme example, but I think the bar is being raised higher and higher in hopes the HSPs will fail.
Uboatcmdr is probably right, the days of the HSP are numbered.

 

[n1wbd]

Oh yeah I BELONG TO CWA Local 3808, putting a constant back into the work place

Vote UNION!!! My Mom is retired member of Machinists Union Local 2450 and I believe in Union representation to protect your jobs and getting a fair day's pay and benefits!!


UNION YES!!

 

[DTV TiVo Dealer]

If my technicians joined the union they would have to be paid far less. We love our satellite technicians and provide a safe, respectful, friendly and well compensated workplace.

Most satellite technicians are underpaid and not appreciated enough. Just imagine, you need to be physically fit, technologically intellectual and mechanically handy and skilled. Plus you need to have good communication skills and get along with the general public. Not many people can handle a career as changeling as a field service satellite technician.

-Robert

VE Advanced Digital Technology Dealer