3 Reasons to Buy Your New iPhone 4S from AT&T
Jon Ross of Union Privilege sends us this.
The new iPhone 4S will be available from AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint on Oct. 14. Here are three reasons why you should buy your new iPhone 4S—or any wireless device—from AT&T:
1. AT&T is the one and only unionized wireless carrier. Some 45,000 members of the Communications Workers of America work as AT&T technicians, customer service representatives and retail store personnel. Both Verizon Wireless and Sprint are nonunion.
2. 15 percent union member AT&T discount. Union members save 15 percent off the regular monthly rate for individual and family wireless plans with the Union Plus AT&T discount. That means you could save $116.98* annually on an AT&T iPhone plan (based on a monthly $39.99 Nation 450 individual talk plan and $25 DataPro 2 GB data plan).
Visit UnionPlus.org/AT&T to save.
AT&T Vows to Return 5,000 Jobs to U.S., but Dept. of Justice Action Threatens Jobs
If AT&T’s merger with T-Mobile is approved, AT&T will bring 5,000 wireless jobs now performed offshore back to the United States, the company announced this week. AT&T also promised the merger will not result in any job losses for current call center workers at AT&T Mobility or T-Mobile USA.
Today’s announcement by the Justice Department that it will sue to block the merger “is simply wrong [and] puts good jobs and workers’ rights at the bottom of the government’s priorities,” the Communications Workers of America (CWA) says in a statement released this afternoon.
Instead of acting to block this merger, our government should be looking to support companies that create, keep and return good jobs to the United States.
The jobs that returned to this country “will provide quality wages and benefits and good working conditions for U.S. workers,” says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
T-Mobile Workers Defy Anti-Union Tactics, Vote for CWA
 |
||||
|
||||
A group of T-Mobile technicians in Hamden, Conn., are the first T-Mobile workers to win a voice at work with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) after yesterday’s vote in the 15-worker unit.
While T-Mobile’s parent company Deutsche Telekom (DT) respects workers’ right to bargain collectively in Germany, T-Mobile’s U.S. management has fought workers’ organizing attempts with campaigns of delaying tactics and interference to intimidate workers. CWA Local 1298 President Bill Henderson says:
This vote made history, with T-Mobile workers fighting back to beat the odds and win the union voice they want. It showed the desire of people to have a union and an even playing field. Hopefully this will mean a new direction for all working people.
AT&T/T-Mobile Merger is in Public Interest
 |
|
Not only would a merger between AT&T and T-Mobile mean that T-Mobile’s more than 20,000 workers have the chance to choose a union without interference, but it would open the door for a high-speed broadband build-out to 97 percent of the population, helping close the digital divide.
To ensure AT&T’s pledge to build out, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should, if they approve the merger, include service and speed benchmarks the telecommunications giant must meet or face penalties, Communications Workers of America (CWA) research economist Debbie Goldman told an Economic Policy Institute (EPI) policy forum on the merger this morning.
When we weigh all public benefits of the merger against the harm, we believe this in enormous public interest for America.
She said that when T-Mobile’s parent firm, Deutsche Telekom, made the decision to sell its U.S. subsidiary, “The choice was T-Mobile was going to be sold and who was going to buy it. AT&T is cleary the better choice.” If the merger isn’t approved, it is likely Read the rest of this entry »
AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Would Be Major Gain for Workers’ Rights
The proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile will not only bring a wide range of benefits to consumers but as important, writes Nathan Newman on the Daily Kos today, it would bring benefits to T-Mobile workers who now “face a complete atmosphere of fear and intimidation.”
On top of the normal threats of being fired if they form a union, T-Mobile workers were told by the company that they would be punished if they said anything negative about the company even on their personal Facebook page.
AT&T is the ONLY unionized wireless company in the country and the merger would ensure that 20,000-plus T-Mobile workers would have the chance to join the 43,000 currently unionized AT&T Mobility employees with decent wages and legal protections on the job.
Newman says the progressive community—some of which have criticized the merger—should focus “on the massive gain for workers’ rights from the merger.” He writes that the most likely alternative if the merger is not approved would be Sprint Nextel- T-Mobile merger and that would be terrible news for T-Mobile workers.
White House Forum: Women Need A Voice
|
|
Working women told a White House forum today that women need protections on the job as much now as they did 100 years ago when the Triangle Shirtwaist fire killed 146 garment workers—most of them young women—and spurred the first nationwide call for workplace safety.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to President Obama and chairwoman of the White House Council on Women and Girls, hosted the Women’s History Month forum with women workers and organizers sharing their stories of courageous action. In a statement they note that “this compelling history highlights the critical need to ensure worker safety and labor standards for all workers—including a new generation of immigrant workers.”
“We’re not trying to get rich doing these jobs,” said Allison Julien of Domestic Workers United. “We just want to be protected like other workers.”
We go home happy that we did a good job, but broken hearted because we have no protections. Labor law has to change.
During a reception at the AFL-CIO for the women who spoke at the forum, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker told the women today’s forum was proof of how important it is to get involved politically and elect the right leaders. She praised Jarrett and Solis for their bold leadership on issues affecting working women.
Buy Union and Get $50 Credit on New Cell Phone Service
 |
This from Union Plus.
With the attacks on workers in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states, it’s more important than ever to show your support for union workers and employers that honor their workers’ desire to belong to a union.
Union Plus is now offering a one-time $50 credit if you switch your cell phone service to AT&T, the only unionized national wireless company. That’s in addition to the 15 percent union-member-only monthly discount from Union Plus.
The $50 credit is available only to new AT&T customers who sign up online for a monthly voice plan of $34.99 or more. This offer excludes iPhone, iPad and other tablets and expires April 29, 2011.
AT&T—Not Verizon—Is Place to Shop for iPhones
 |
|
Jennifer Wright Dorr at Union Plus sends this latest news on the iPhone and AT&T.
The big tech news in the past few days is that Verizon will begin selling the much-sought-after Apple iPhone—at least for those with phone envy—in February. Previously, it was an AT&T exclusive.
While some analysts predict a huge flood of new iPhoners heading to Verizon, Union Plus offers three great reasons—solidarity, savings and service—to head on over to AT&T if you’re in the market for an iPhone.
Solidarity—AT&T is the only national wireless company that is union. AT&T Mobility employs some 40,000 members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA). Verizon Wireless is not only nonunion, but it has fiercely resisted employees’ efforts to unionize.
Savings— Union members can save 15 percent off the regular monthly rate for individual and family plans on AT&T with the Union Plus AT&T discount. That means you could save $116.98 annually with an iPhone from AT&T.
Service— PC World reported that, on average, AT&T’s network delivered significantly faster speeds than the three other major U.S. wireless providers—Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon. AT&T’s network also allows you to talk with someone and surf the Web at the same time on the iPhone, while Verizon’s will not.
Talking Unions this Holiday Season
 |
||||
|
||||
At gatherings with family and friends this holiday season, you may run into those who don’t see unions as key to rebuilding America and the middle class. Be prepared with the facts. Our friends at American Rights at Work have compiled this guide to help you shed light on what unions are really all about.
MYTH: Unions are run by big, overpaid bosses.
FACT: Unions are run by workers.
- A union is simply a group of employees who join together to address workplace issues, so they can improve their working conditions and have a fair shot at a better life for themselves and their families.
- Unions are democratic institutions. At the local, state, and national level, all union leadership is elected by majority votes—just like elections for public office.
Union Members Can Save on New iPhone 4 Wireless Service
 |
Union members who purchase a new iPhone 4 from AT&T can save $198 over their two-year contract on a basic monthly service and data plan (450 minutes and 200MB of data) with the Union Plus AT&T discount. Members who buy higher rate plans can save even more.
Union Plus, which provides consumer benefits to union members and retirees, has raised to 15 percent its discount on all new wireless service through AT&T, the only union wireless provider, just in time for the release of the new iPhone 4.
The new iPhone 4 goes on sale June 29 at AT&T stores and at UnionPlus.org/ATT.
