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600 AT&T Customer Service Reps Form Union in Dover, N.H. |
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This just in from Rand Wilson, communications coordinator in the Center for Strategic Research, AFL-CIO Organizing Department.
Marking the largest private-sector organizing win in New Hampshire in decades, 600 customer service representatives employed by AT&T Government Solutions in Dover formed a new union with Local 1298 of the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
On Nov. 5, the American Arbitration Association compared union authorization cards signed by employees against a list of employees provided by the employer and certified that a majority of employees designated CWA to represent them. Under a new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule, after a union is certified through a voluntary “card-check” procedure, if 30 percent of workers ask for another election within 45 days, another election may be held. Since no petition was filed by Dec. 28, the union now is formally recognized.
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The workers’ campaign for a union revolved around a strong desire to gain better access to affordable health care, to secure a more livable wage and to strengthen job security. A full-time employee earns less than $22,000 per year and has a $5,000 yearly deductible for a family health plan.
Says customer service representative Helen Cook, a member of the union organizing committee:
We formed our union because right now we really can’t afford to take our kids to the doctor when they are sick.
The workers formed their union under an agreement between AT&T and CWA that the company will remain neutral and will recognize the union once a majority of employees sign up.
The call center is located in the historic Cocheco Mills in Dover, N.H. In 1828, the mill was the site of the first strike or “call out” run by women workers in the United States. The current AT&T workforce also is made up mostly of women. CWA District One Vice President Chris Shelton drew a parallel between the 19th century workforce and the current one.
As happy as we are to have such great new union members, I am sure that their union sisters from 1828 would be deeply moved that their struggle for justice in the Cocheco Mills has come full circle 180 years later. We hope to make both groups of workers proud by securing a fair contract, the same contract enjoyed by other CWA members employed by AT&T.
The call center is contracted by the U.S. Department of State’s National Passport Information Center (NPIC) to assist citizens applying for U.S. passports.
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