43,000 New Jersey Communications Workers Ratify Pact, and More Bargaining News
Some 43,000 New Jersey Communications Workers of America ratify a revised contract—and more updates here from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The
AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,100 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
CWA, New Jersey: More than 43,000 workers in the largest union representing New Jersey state workers, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), ratified a revised contract that defers a raise and swaps furloughs this year for future vacation days. “During these hard economic times, nothing is more important than protecting vital public services and the jobs of working people,” said Hetty Rosenstein, CWA’s New Jersey area director.
Free Speech in Rhode Island? Gotta Register
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Providence, R.I., wants protestors to register in advance. It even has provided a special online registration form and “Public Viewing Guidelines” (h/t to Pat Crowley).
How thoughtful.
Seems the upcoming U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting set for that city has put the spotlight on Providence Mayor David Cicilline’s seven-year-long battle against union members. Cicilline refuses to bargain a fair contract, forcing the union into arbitration over each contract, and even going so far as to introduce anti-union ordinances and calling for similar state legislation. The Democratic mayor—yep, a Dem—couches his attacks against members of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 799 as saving taxpayer money. In reality, as of 2008, Cicilline’s mounting legal bills against the union hit $1 million, with the city losing every court decision.
Biden Refuses to Cross Fire Fighters Picket Line
What’s the difference between a president who supports working families and their unions and one beholden to corporate and anti-worker interests? As President Obama has shown, there’s a lot, but last Friday the Obama administration did something the Bush administration would never have imagined doing.
The White House announced that Vice President Joe Biden and a delegation of top administration officials—including Labor Secretary Hilda Solis—will not cross a Fire Fighters (IAFF) picket line to attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting scheduled to begin Friday in Providence, R.I.
