IBEW 2320

Business Managers page

Glenn Brackett

Business Manager Report to E-Board June 4, 2008

TCC-2 Conference May 2008

Conversation began about the general apathy of IBEW/Verizon members.  A prime example of this apathy showed as we collected only 6094 proxies out of over 70,000 members.  It is imperative that local unions get involved on a major level in the statewide political process.  Members should be strongly encouraged to participate in COPE and to run for local & statewide office.

One major issue that has surfaced on a nationwide basis is out of date beneficiary information.  Single members often have no viable beneficiary and members with more seniority often have out of date beneficiary information.

Verizon & NYC are in negotiations on a $5 billion project to Fios all 5 NYC Boroughs.  A major component in the negotiations is that NYC wants a written guarantee that there will be no work stoppages/strike for 3-5 years.  In New England, Verizon is talking about a 4 year contract, but Myles a 2 year deal.  If healthcare is cemented for both active and retired members then the union would be very interested in a longer term contract

Operator Services in New England has approximately 400 total operators, of which 110 have just been declared surplus.  VZ Wireless has moved its Operator Services contract to the Philippines.

Every local within the TCC-2 has lost significant membership.  Local 827 in NJ and Local 2326 in Vermont just passed dues increases.  Only Fios locals have work.  Copper locals nationwide are dead work wise.

In Michigan, Local 51 has been fighting in Federal Court as Verizon has attempted to block eligibility for arbitration of cases of Verizon Business Techs doing our bargained for work.  It was Verizon that initiated the attempted Federal Court injunction that would block arbitration.

Washington State/Oregon local cannot get FairPoint to the bargaining table despite promises made during the East Coast Stop the Sale campaign.  The local is considering Board Charges against FairPoint.

Local 824 Tampa Florida is currently engaged in full blown war with Verizon.  Discipline has been a major issue.  824 recently organized the Direct TV group but is having problems getting the company to the bargaining table.  One issue they are fighting is the company (VZ) establishing “Personal Account Managers”  These are contractors who work from home for $400 per week, no benefits and each “Personal Account Manager” is the single point of contact for 1000 customer accounts.

Illinois has become very involved with labor legislation at the state level.  They have proposed language to limit use of mandatory OT unless specific staffing levels are in place.  They have a comprehensive list of initiatives they plan to introduce over the next 2 years.  the Business Manager has emailed me with all of their proposed legislation to see what we can use here.  Currently his local has over 8000 unresolved grievances.  Every grievance is being denied at every level.  Every local, except Local 1451 in Pennsylvania) is having the same issue with grievances.  On a nationwide basis, Verizon is pushing every grievance to arbitration, then challenging the arbitrability.