Michael E.
At 09:13 PM 8/12/1998 EDT, MScoleman at aol.com wrote:
>In a message dated 98-08-12 11:41:31 EDT, doug writes:
>
><< Maggie (or anyone else) - today's New York Times describes the Bell
> Atlantic contract as a great labor victory. Is this true?
>
> Doug >>
>
>Well, "great labor victories" are difficult to define and the subject of
>eternal debate, HOWEVER, as to the contract, I picked up the points sheet when
>I went in at midnight last night and it doesn't look bad. And frankly, we got
>alot more for a 2 1/2 day strike this time than we got for 17 weeks in 1989.
>The main points:
>
>-- It is a two year contract, we got 3.8% immediately, 4% next August, and a
>$500 bonus at ratification, and a $400 bonus on the one year aniversary of
>ratification. Effectively, this means we got paid to strike.
>-- Several lower level job titles got "break-outs" or raises in pay and
>pension bands that are higher than top paid job titles, meaning lower paid
>workers got more money both now and for retirement than higher paid craft
>titles. For some this will significantly close the gap between lower and
>higher paid workers. This will disproportionately benefit women and minority
>employees since they are disproportionally represented in the lower paid
>titles.
>-- The company has been hiring temporary workers for some time, paying them
>less, and denying them benefits. Anyone hired prior to April is now permanent
>and they will be receiving back pay and benefits and bargained for vacation
>time.
>-- By hiring all these temporary workers, permanent employees in lower level
>titles have been wholesale denied upgrades to higher paid titles through the
>internal job ladder. Almost 1000 new slots will be made immediately available
>to upgrades and as senior people retire throughout 1999 from the early
>retirement package they are FINALLY going to honor, significant portions of
>opening positions will go to upgrades.
>-- There is a unilateral no-layoff clause (which is very complicated, but to
>lay-off people they have to spend boocoop bucks, so it's easier to offer early
>retirements). The non-union center in Virginia will be shut down over the
>next year-two, new work in television cable departments will go to union
>people, a technicial support group which is all management will now be all
>craft, and alot of our internal installation of equipment will revert to our
>own craft people instead of outside contractors. The company will be allowed
>to contract out 1/2% of all work.
>-- The early retirement package negotiated in 1994 will be made available to
>all 13,000 eligible employees through 1999 even though the "surplus" the
>package was negotiated for has disappeared. Specifically, no one in my title
>(switchman, er person) and none of the outside crafts (splicer,
>install/repair) have been allowed to take the package and now we will. In
>fact, I got mine in the mail today. We all get to pick the four quarters of
>1999 (march, june, september, december) and then the company will inform us as
>to when we can leave. There is a 5% increase in pension immediately, a 5%
>increase in September, and for those who choose to stay until 2001 and not
>leave early, a 15% increase in pension.
>-- other than that there were a whole lot of little plusses: increases in the
>payouts on dental procedures, increase in pay for saturdays.....
>
>overall, a nice contract, maggie coleman mscoleman at aol.com
>
>