I got this email from the Communications Workers of America talking about AT&T and the Masters Tournament. The interesting strategy I read about in this email is the CWA’s embracing of Twitter to spread the word about AT&T’s corporate greed.

When you send your "tweets," be sure to include a link to our petition (www.standupforworkers.com) and add #masters to the end of your message. This will make sure that other Twitter users who are following the Masters Tournament will see your messages about AT&T.

They even have some example tweets you can send or make up your own if you’d like.

• Master of corporate greed — AT&T wants to cut my health benefits www.standupforworkers.com #masters

• AT&T leaves its workers in a bunker www.standupforworkers.com #masters

• AT&T at the top of the leader board for corporate greed www.standupforworkers.com #masters

• AT&T execs: watching golf and cutting retiree health benefits www.standupforworkers.com #masters

AT&T is the leading sponsor of the 2009 Masters Tournament. The thinking goes that if they have the money to do this, they have the money to stop job cuts and the taking away of health care benefits.

It would appear that Best Buy is mobilizing its tentacles to voice their “concern” that Geek Squad employees might want to unionize.

Emails are shooting around to Geek Squad employees, encouraging them to join the Communications Workers of America union, so Best Buy retorts with emails of its own to voice its concerns. In an email sent by corporate management, Best Buy spoke of its concerns about unions, that unions would hinder its ability to speak with and negotiate with each Geek Squad employee individually. For, there’s nothing like the closeness created when one employee negotiates with a hydra.

Geek Squad employees should most certainly organize to form a union. They should also be aware of the various union-busting tactics that Best Buy will deploy.

I actually mentioned the Blue Green Alliance today when blogging about Van Jones’ new book The Green Collar Economy. It’s good to hear that the Communications Workers of America is joining with the United Steel Workers, The Sierra Club and other unions and environmental organizations. I’m convinced that alternative energy is going to be the route we must go in order to grow the economy in a fair and sustainable way.

The details of the agreement:

The new agreement includes a general wage increase of about 12.6 percent cumulative over the life of the contract, compared with a 9 percent rise that had been offered in the three-year agreement in August, Qwest said.

The new agreement calls for a $75 per month contribution for family coverage and a choice of plan designs, besides also including a 3 percent hike in pension for eligible individuals retiring after Oct 12, this year, the company said.

Congratulations to the Communications Workers of America.

Looks like another strike has been averted.

From Priyanka Joshi over at WashTech:

Denver/Seattle – Denver based Telecom giant Qwest Communications today entered into a contract with its largest labor union, the Communications Workers of America, averting a possible strike that could have disrupted service at the democratic convention due in about a week in the city.

The three-year deal will cover some 20,000 Qwest employees in 13 states who are represented by the union. Qwest also reached a tentative agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents employees in Montana. CWA has reported that its tentative contract settlement with Qwest meets the union’s major objectives of providing quality jobs, improvements in a range of workplace issues, wage and pension increases, and maintaining adequate health care benefits. The agreement was reached early this morning after marathon negotiations following the expiration of the previous contract at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.

Technorati Tags: cwa, qwest, washtech

So we’ve seen a strike on Verizon avoided, now it comes to the Qwest talks. The existing contract between the corporation and the Communications Workers of America expired at midnight Saturday. The union has voted to authorize a strike if needed, but right now it appears that they may not have to go that route as talks are continuing. You can also read the press release on CWA’s website.

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It looks like a strike has been avoided.

Verizon Communications Inc. and two unions representing 65,000 workers who had threatened to strike within hours agreed Sunday on a new three-year contract that provides 10.5 percent wage increases and changes in retirement benefits.

Technorati : cwa, ibew, verizon

Well I know there was a deadline coming up, but now I read that things are actually progressing. Could the strike be avoided?

Negotiations are continuing and we’ve made significant progress toward our goal of a settlement that meets our members’ critical goals and issues. We will update you throughout the course of the day and still have some remaining issues to work through.

That was from eleven thirty this morning. In any negotiation both sides are not going to get everything they want. I do hope that the unions are able to get their most important goals and issues addressed in any agreement that comes out of these talks. Outsourcing I’ve heard, is one of those major themes so it will be interesting to see what happens regarding that issue.

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I was just reading the latest updates over at the CWA website on the negotiations with Verizon when I saw this.

The CWA/IBEW Unified Bargaining Committees have set a bargaining deadline for completing contract negotiations with Verizon. That deadline is Monday, Aug. 11, 12:01 am. At that time, the existing contract that was extended last weekend will expire. Strike action then becomes possible if a fair settlement is not reached.

This Monday, if bargaining doesn’t bare fruit by midnight, they would then set a strike date. I would love to see Verizon feel some pain, but obviously the goal is for the unions to get a fair settlement to prevent a strike.

Update: I’ve seen repetitive visits over the past week from GTE to my blog. Looks like they’re keeping close tabs on this situation.

Technorati : cwa, ibew, verizon

It’s not a strike yet as they are still negotiating form what I hear, but this is a good use of direct action.

Verizon Communications Inc. workers plan to picket and rally in New York and New Jersey before their shifts today to pressure the company to stop outsourcing jobs.

Meanwhile, Verizon continues to negotiate with Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The two unions represent more than 65,000 Verizon workers.

This would be a major strike for the country if it were to happen. It might send a much needed wake up call to America that unions still matter a lot.

Technorati : cwa, ibew, verizon