Message from CWA 1298 President Dave Weidlich
First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone that participated in our mobilization activities to kick off bargaining. It is extremely imperative that the company understands that we mean business! During the first 3 days of bargaining, they did not pass their typical retrogressive proposals, but, we know they are coming. We fully expect that to happen when we meet next on September 9th and they present their medical plan. We spent several hours this week talking about contract labor, and Frontier’s failure to invest in jobs in Connecticut. We emphasized that there are and have been, several opportunities to use internal resources before going external to contractors. We also clearly articulated that the company has contract language that can be followed, and they could engage hiring temporary employees. Frontier explained how well the business is doing, and we expect to share in that success, because when the business grows, our jobs should grow as well. We also spent an extensive amount of time talking about the Leverage Sales Consultants and the calculations used to pay our members. There are so many moving parts in the company’s calculations which we believe is by design as to not benefit our members. We need our members to earn their money properly and make sure they are not cheated out of their money by mystery calculations and targets.
In closing, I want to thank everyone who took the time to participate and show support for our CWA brothers and sisters conducting a ULP (unfair labor practice) strike against AT&T in District 3. Together we can fight and win collectively at CWA. When we stick together and fight, we can win.
In Solidarity,
- Tonya Hodges – Chair – D1 Staff Rep
- Katie Montalbano – Co – Chair – D1 Staff Rep
- Dave Weidlich – Co – Chair President
- Louise Gibson – Secretary-Treasurer
- Esther Almodovar – CM VP
- Phil Colello – Plant 1 VP
- Ray Lucarelli– Plant 2 VP
- Frank Oliva – HQ VP
- Sherri Jefferson - CM BA
- Michael Ciscar – Plant 1 BA
- Jason Seibold – Plant 2 BA
- Diane Vieira – HQ BA
