Local 1400 Verizon Members,
Verizon has announced another surplus in our Local and many other locals in New York and New England. CWA National and Local Leaders don't agree that we have a surplus. Our work is being moved around the country and vendors are doing our work in violation of our contract. Verizon has laid off CWA members in NY and IBEW members in NE, in violation of our contracts. Make no mistake Verizon is declaring war on us and we will be fighting back! CWA National Union Dist-1 is coordinating an all out attack. We have filed National Labor Relation Board charges and law suits and grievances. We need volunteers to help leaflet Verizon Wireless customers and other planned actions. Please call the local union office 603-436-4388 or email at clocal1400@aol.com to volunteer. Thank you for your support.

Don Trementozzi
CWA Local 1400
President


CWA Takes on Verizon Over FMLA Abuses

CWA has filed a lawsuit charging Verizon Communications with denying workers the rights and protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act. The class action lawsuit covers Verizon workers in Districts 1, 2 and 13. (Local 1400 is District 1)
CWA and individual workers have laid out extensive complaints against Verizon. “Verizon has created a number of arbitrary administrative procedures that it requires workers to follow if they want to be certified for FMLA, but these procedures are not a part of the FMLA law. They shouldn’t be used to deny workers their rightful FMLA benefits, but that’s exactly what Verizon is doing,” said CWA General Counsel Mary O’Melveny.
FMLA provides workers at companies with 50 or more employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for the birth or adoption of a child; care of a spouse, parent or a child under 18 for a serious health condition; care of a child over 18 with mental or physical disabilities, and an employee’s own illness.
Verizon’s policies are a real Catch-22:
If a worker followed verbal instructions from the company’s absence reporting center, and those instructions were wrong, though the worker didn’t know it, the claim is denied.

If a worker couldn’t file the full report on time, because her doctor was on vacation or unavailable, the claim is denied. If another physician in the same office completed the report, but didn’t spell out the relationship between the two medical providers, the claim is denied.

If information was missing from the claim, for example, the doctor’s office didn’t complete an item, the claim is denied.

If a supervisor makes an error in reporting a workers’ claim, it’s denied.
At Verizon, as far as FMLA is concerned, once a claim is denied twice, a worker loses her FMLA rights.


Hell No!  Zero Givebacks!

Yesterday and today over 700 members showed up for a joint IBEW / CWA meeting in Bangor and Portland Maine. The message to FairPoint members is we did not cause this problem. The overwhelming 2.5 billion dollar debt and organizational chaos is the reason. The members response to the $30 million annual concessions is "Hell no! Tell them "0" givebacks.  We have given and continue to give them our blood, sweat and tears!"


The U.S. Senate is threatening to pass a health care reform plan that would
tax our health care benefi ts! This plan would force Verizon to cut benefi ts
and shift costs to workers and retirees to avoid this tax.
Average ANNUAL TAX on Verizon East Health Plans:
$5,500 for workers with families
$2,000 for single workers
$3,200 for early retirees with families
$ 500 for single early retirees
President Obama promised health care reform that lets us keep our health care
benefi ts. CWA supports that plan, and the Senate should too.
There’s a better way. All employers should cover their workers and the wealthy
should pay their fair share too.
Call your Senators today! 1-888-580-0792
Tell them: Taxing health benefits is not health care reform!


Verizon is trying to save money by not sending the books describing the benefit plans that they are offering this year.  EVERY MEMBER should be calling to request these books due to the plan changes!!!  1-877-489-2367 Verizon Benefit Center

We filed a Board Charge on the changes the Company made to the HMOs and the Company’s refusing to bargain the new plan (National EPO NYNE). We will continue to pursue these legal options. The company has decided to move forward and there will be many HMO plans that will be terminated. Those members must decide on a new plan during this enrollment period.

If your members want to review their benefit information, such as the Health Plan Comparisons Charts, they can review them and print them at www.verizon.com/benefits or you can contact the Verizon Benefits Center at 1-877-4VzBens (1-877-489-2367). Representatives are available between 8 AM and 6 PM.

You can request a copy of your 2010 available options by calling the Verizon Benefits Center from October 19 - November 16th

Your members do not need to do anything unless they:

  • Want to make changes for 2010

  • Have a change to covered dependents

  • Need to certify who is a full time student

  • Want to enroll in a Health Care or Dependent Care Spending Account

  • Need to update their spousal surcharge eligibility.

As described on page 7 of the enrollment brochure, members who have not made a benefits change within the last 12 months will be able to change benefit coverage between November 1st and December 1st  for the new coverage to be effective January 1 2010. 

Again, if your current plan is available in 2010 and you want to keep your current plan, you do not need to do anything. If your current plan has been terminated, you will be defaulted to the EPO unless you enroll in one of the other options available.

If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to call


Unions: Fairpoint requests are unfair. Concessions topic of talks

When FairPoint purchased Verizon's landline network in northern New England last year, opposition from the two unions - Communications Workers of America Local 1400 and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2320 - played a major role in earning FairPoint about $350 million in savings on the deal.

"To come back to the people that really helped you get a much sweeter deal and say, 'We need concessions now,' I think that's unfair," said Glenn Brackett, business manager of the IBEW chapter.
Click here for the full article


FairPoint workers cool to bid for cuts

Union leaders are unhappy with a FairPoint Communications Inc. request for concessions as the company struggles to avoid bankruptcy.

"Nickel and diming the unions is not a way to get the company back on track," said Don Trementozzi, president of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1400.
Click here for the full article


DoL Review Complete: Team Trementozzi Vindicated

Dear Members,

For those of you that are unaware, in September of 2008 there
was an anonymous call to the Department of Labor making
accusations of financial misuse or otherwise of the local's
funds. Since September 2008 the local's records from 2003-2008
have been in the possession and under extensive investigation by
the Department of Labor.

We are pleased to announce that the local's records were
returned to us Friday, October 2, 2009. For the years in question (2003,
2004, and 2005) the Department of Labor has exonerated the
previous Trementozzi administration of any wrongdoing. The
agents for the Department of Labor advised that even though the
records were in their possession, they did not do an
investigation on years 2006, 2007 or 2008 since the September
2008 caller's accusations were about years 2003-2005.


Boston union workers rally over layoffs

Hundreds of angry union workers marched through downtown Boston yesterday to protest recent layoffs at the Hyatt Hotel and planned cutbacks at other firms including Verizon.

Saying they won’t tolerate a “jobless recovery,” union members rallied first on Boston Common near the State House, then marched to the Verizon building in Post Office Square - and then they ducked backed into the Downtown Crossing area to the Hyatt, which recently fired dozens of non-union housekeepers in favor of lower-paid subcontracted employees.
Click here for the full article.



CWA Local 1400 Members -- informational picketing at Andover CSSC "Honor Our Contract"
 


Vermont AT&T wireless phone store workers unite in CWA Local 1400

 

After a short campaign, eighty-one AT&T Mobility phone store workers in eleven Vermont stores have formed a new union with CWA Local 1400.
Click here for the full article.

Click here for a copy of the certification from the American Arbitration Association.

 


Verizon Attempting to Unilaterally change HMO plans to EPO 

I had previously reported that the company had intended to eliminate most of the HMO’s and they were going to add a new EPO plan. We notified the company that we do not believe that they have a right to eliminate these plans and add a new plan without the union’s agreement. The company has responded that they have a different view and would not need to obtain the Union’s agreement or permission. We are now pursuing our legal options.

We have continued to meet thru the AHRC and the company has taken
some of our suggestions and concerns and adjusted their initial plans. We now have nine (9) HMO’s that will be offered in 2010. They are:

808 Capital District Physicians Health

825 Blue Alliance NY

843 Univera Healthcare NY

822 HIP Health Plan of NY
814 Empire BCBS HMO of NY –( now calling it Anthem EPO NY/NE )
847 Aetna INC HMO
838 HealthNet of Connecticut
827 Independent Health of Buffalo
817 United Health Care Passport/Harvard Pilgrim

We maintain that they must bargain with us over the new EPO plan which they list as an HMO and the Company cannot eliminate HMOs without actively involving the Union in the process. We are pursuing our legal options but will continue to discuss with the company adding additional HMOs.

We will keep you informed.

 

Dennis G. Trainor
Assistant to the Vice President


CWA District One members show strong support for appointing temporary Senator from Massachusetts


Click here to view the rest of these pictures

Over 50 members from five Massachusetts locals attend statehouse hearing

Boston -- CWA District One members showed strong union support for appointing a temporary interim Senator to fill Sen. Kennedy's seat at the Massachusetts legislature's Joint Committee on Election Laws hearing. 

"With the passing of Sen. Ted Kennedy two weeks ago, Massachusetts has only one U.S. senator," said Don Trementozzi, President of CWA Local 1400.  "This has left Massachusetts working families with only partial representation during critical fights in the Senate on health care reform and the Employee Free Choice Act."  CWA Local 1400 members work at Verizon and AT&T.

"We could be just one vote short of the 60 votes we'll need in the Senate to get legislation passed this year," said Lynda Nordyke, President of CWA Local 1302.  "It is imperative that we have full representation as soon as possible."  CWA Local 1302 members work at Idearc.

The hearing at the Massachusetts State House on House Bill 656 packed Gardner Auditorium.  And no group had a larger -- or more visible -- turnout than CWA, whose members filled an entire section of the room with their colorful red t-shirts.  Other CWA local unions with members attending the hearing included Local 1300/AEEF, 1301 and 201.

House Bill 656 would not impact the special election scheduled for January 19, 2010, but it would allow Massachusetts to have full Senate representation in the interim period.

"Every day, U.S. Senators cast critical votes on issues essential to the people of Massachusetts," said Paul Bouchard, a CWA District One Representative and former Lucent Technologies employee.  "There are lots of important issues coming up.  All the other states have two senators for the next six months.  We should too."

Pictures from the hearing can be viewed here


 

Local 1400 Protesting Verizon's new Dress Code


Verizon Declares Impasse on Dress Code Negotiation

Hi All---long after close of business yesterday the Company sent an email indicating that they were declaring impasse in the Business and Workplace Attire negotiations.  Their plan is to impose the Workplace Attire policy immediately with communication with inside employees beginning today and enforcement of the guidelines beginning Monday, August 24, 2009.

On the Business Attire Policy the will establish accounts with the Company's vendor for the affected employees, but have not yet stated a time line for ordering the Verizon branded shirts.

CWA legal will file a board charge today over this implementation.  We do not believe that we are at impasse and Legal will make our position known in the board charge process. As more information becomes available it will be sent out. 

As always, if you have questions, please call.  Lisa    

Elisa Riordan, Area Director
CWA
80 Pine Street
New York, New York 10005


You are invited to view CWA District 1's photo album:
2009 - CWA Convention

2009 - CWA Convention
Washington DC -
Jun 21, 2009
by CWA District 1

 

Thousands of CWA members descend upon Washington, DC in support of the Employee Free Choice Act & health care reform.

Click here for the full newsletter & pictures


US Vice President Joe Biden thanks the CWA for our support

Check out lots of other videos from
the convention in Washington, DC here

 

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