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SBC CWA Strike Imminent
Tmack writes "SBC union workers are preparing (again) to strike after negotiations have broken down between CWA and SBC. What this means to the average person? As long as the strike is taking place, orders for new service and repair of existing services with SBC will be delayed as only non-union workers and temps will be around to complete the work. Latest word is the strike is now planned for Friday night through next Tuesday. Check here(1),
here(2), and here(3)
for more info."
looks like one of the major bargaining issues is outsourcing. This is from an interview w/ one of the union members "We recently made 10 test calls to DSL technical support. One went to Florida, one went to Texas and eight went to India," Rosen said. "We would rather see these jobs go to people in Indianapolis than people in India.". Kinda sucks for them.
I was an Ameritech manager in 1995 when the CWA was threatening a strike. It was pretty funny when my manager told me my strike-duty location and I replied that I wouldn't cross a picket line. The concept was so foreign to him, it was as though he couldn't understand the English language. In the end the CWA didn't strike so we didn't get to find out what would have happened next.
Best decision I ever made, leaving that job.
As a Brit who lives in America, there are some curious differences between European (or British anyway) and American unions. American unions seem only to be strong in a few selected industries, where British unionization is more widespread. However, where the unions are strong in the US they have a hold like the old pre-Thatcher British unions. Lots of silly rules to protect the members at all costs. If your company does a trade show in a unionized hall you are not allowed to carry anything in and out, you have to wait 2 hours for a union guy to come off his break and carry it for you.
I live in Chicago, and as far as I know, this will affect millions of people from here to Texas. It should at least get an honorable mention for that. Most strikes I hear in the news seem to be about things /.ers don't really care for (not as much as technology) -- you know, mass transit, newspapers, mass transportation... umm... air traffic control (thanks, Reagan. :-( ). Since these are telecom workers, they would be one of the closest parallels to you average everyday software developer unionizing.
There are plenty differences, which I'm sure are to be pointed out in various child posts, but hey, it made front page for some reason.
-Rob
Marriage doesn't have to suck!
...announcing a strike at the same time Cingular and AT&T are announcing approval of a merger. The "cost" of the merger is tied to the value of the stock. The value of the stock drops, and Cingular loses. The union is blackmailing the company into settling fast and sweet by timing their announcement to knock the stock prices down at a critical time.
If SBC has the gonadal substructure, they'll reply with "Well, with all these AT&T people coming on board, we'll be way over staffed, and we'll have to start cutting some jobs..."
Hey, I'm against both sides. I just enjoy a good corporate bloodbath. Movies are getting too expensive, news is free.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
not having unions also means that your employer can forbid you from talking to your coworkers about how much money you make. Then your boss tells everyone that they're the highest employee in their department, resulting in no one ever getting a raise. It also means that you are essentially at the mercy of your employer regarding overtime, and basically makes it impassable to negotiate contract terms (after all they can just find someone else.) Unions put the workers on the same footing as their employers.
You may be better at your job than the idiot in the next cube, but seniority policies actually protect workers. They help prevent the company from hiring someone into a higher level position based on their (supposed) experience. There's nothing worse than having your new supervisor hired from outside, finding out that his qualifications are b.s. and then being stuck with him until his contract runs out.
Hiring all employees at the same wage, and then giving them regular promotions and raises, prevents elitism in the rank and file.
Unions by being able to negotiate with authority protect workers, provide protection, and create a sense of brother-ship instead of competition.
--this has been my pro union party line. I've worked in union and non union environments and I must say that I much prefer union.
Well art is art isn't it, but then again water is water; and east is east; and west is west; and if you take cranberries
Today was my last day as a 411 operator with SBC. Starting a new job next week. Yay, me.
Anyways, SBC is fucking cheap. They make mad profit every year, but they can't afford a single water cooler for our little 90 person office on the shoreline in Connecticut. They want you plugged in and taking calls on time, but the clocks go unfixed. It feels like a fucking casino. A simple bit of routine maintenance. I'm surprised the mens bathroom light got fixed today.
Good employees that make a company as profitable as it is, should not be treated like disposable trash.
BytesTemplar.com