Bahr Gives SBC 30-Day Notice Of Intent To Strike

CWA President Morton Bahr announced that CWA has given SBC Communications its 30-day notice of the union’s intention to strike, clearing the way for possible strike action at the end of that period.

Bahr called on local unions to begin the strike authorization vote among members, with the results to be publicly announced on April 29. District vice presidents will work with locals on collecting the results of the vote. The nationwide strike vote is due by April 28. Bahr cautioned that locals and districts should not report their results prior to the public announcement to be made by CWA on April 29. The result to be announced will be the cumulative vote of all SBC bargaining units. That will come one day before the April 30 SBC annual shareholder meeting in Columbus, Ohio.

A strike is not automatic. If members vote to authorize a strike, the next step would be for CWA’s executive board to authorize President Bahr to set the strike date.

Bahr summarized the status of negotiations, noting that SBC still was demanding major cost shifting of health care costs to active and retired workers. This is bad for active workers and “a calamity for retirees” who rely on their pensions to make ends meet, he said. CWA will continue to fight for what’s right for retirees, he said, adding “we owe this to those who built this union.”

Bahr made the announcement on a conference call this afternoon with district vice presidents Larry Mancino, Jeff Rechenbach, Andy Milburn and Tony Bixler, and SBC local union presidents.

On employment security, Bahr pointed to SBC’s outsourcing of work to contractors in the United States and overseas as a major issue. Bahr said that the company has proposed nothing meaningful in employment security and noted that SBC’s principal proposal would allow the company to offer surplused workers jobs anywhere within the geographic territories of SBC East, Southwest, Midwest and West, respectively, hundreds of miles from home and potentially requiring a demotion.

Bahr rolled out a two-prong strategy: giving our 30 day-notice means CWA is in a position to strike or to adopt other tactics to affect the company’s revenue. This would include the carrier switch program that could result in the switch of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from SBC by unions, AFL-CIO organizations and others.

Bahr noted that in 11 of the 13 states in SBC territory, there was an alternative union carrier. Phase I of the carrier switch program would involve the AFL-CIO, its state federations and central labor bodies, as well as state and local building trades councils.

Bahr praised the locals for their solidarity and effective mobilization and called for unity all around until a fair contract is achieved.