On the picket line

AT&T workers vote to strike

Eighty-eight percent of about 100,000 AT&T workers in five locals of the Communications Workers union from coast to coast voted in late March to go on strike if AT&T doesn’t offer a decent contract. The old contract expired April 4. AT&T still demands the workers pay more for health care and receive less toward their pensions—not to mention offering an insulting token raise in wages. Even though AT&T made $12.9 billion in profits in 2008—almost a billion dollars more than in 2007—and its CEO Randall Stephenson received more than $15 million in compensation, its fig-leaf reason for cutbacks is that if AT&T doesn’t stay competitive, it will go the way of the auto industry. But the workers aren’t fooled. “AT&T wants to increase profits by taking money out of the pockets of its work force and even its retirees,” reads an April 6 Communications Workers news release. “We’ve shown the company how to save money without massive cost-shifting; yet their only objective is to make workers pay more. Clearly AT&T is looking for scapegoats, not solutions.” Noting that this is a critical time for the Communications Workers and all workers, the union asks that progressive people show their support by signing a petition to AT&T at www.unionvoice.org/campaign/attcwa/. The contract for another AT&T local in the Southeast with 25,000 workers doesn’t expire until August.

National Labor Coordinating Committee established

Leaders of the AFL-CIO, Change to Win and the National Education Association met April 6-7 and announced the creation of the National Labor Coordinating Committee “to act nationally on the critical issues facing working Americans.” The committee, which includes leaders of the three national labor organizations, presidents of six AFL-CIO affiliates and five CTW affiliates, is also negotiating terms for a reunited labor federation. Such topics as organizing, politics and legislative matters are on the table. The three groups represent more than 16 million workers in more than 60 unions.

Actors reach deal about commercials

The Screen Actors Guild and the Federation of Television and Radio Artists reached a three-year deal with the advertising industry effective April 1.The contracts increase actors’ compensation by 5.5 percent and contributions to health and retirement funds by $21 million. The contracts also set aside money to study a pay structure favored by advertisers, under which actors would be paid based on a commercial’s rating rather than the number of times shown. The contracts also set a precedent by providing a payment structure for work made for the Internet and other new media. Because the final contract offered by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers first in June 2008 and again in February does not include such a new media provision, SAG has no current contract with the AMPTP. (www.sag.org)

Two unions to jointly organize hospital workers

The Service Employees union and the California Nurses Association ended a bitter, year-long dispute March 18 by agreeing to work together to unionize hospital workers and push for universal health coverage. The two unions, which butted heads over organizing 8,300 hospital workers in Ohio, agreed that in the spirit of the Employee Free Choice Act and the need for universal health care they could gain more by fighting together than fighting each other.

AFL-CIO says nix Prop 8

Following the lead of the AFL-CIO’s California affiliate and Pride At Work, on March 5 the National Executive Council passed a resolution unanimously calling on the California Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 8, which overturned same-sex marriage in the state. “I applaud the AFL-CIO on their continuing support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers within, and outside, the Federation,” said Nancy Wohlforth, Pride At Work co-president and AFL-CIO Executive Council member. “Denying LGBT couples the right to marry has tremendous impact on the ability of LGBT workers to access full parity in the work place. ... Invalidating Proposition 8 is the only way to bring LGBT workers in California full equality in the work place and beyond.” In addition, more than 50 unions in California signed an amicus brief calling on the court to invalidate Prop 8. For more information, see www.prideatwork.org.

Support Parsons’ fine arts faculty

Auto Workers Local 7902, the union of part-time faculty at New York University and the New School, is sponsoring a rally April 23 to protest the mass dismissals of arts faculty at Parsons the New School for Design. A picket line will be held at 66 West 12th Street in Manhattan from 12 to 1 p.m.