Communications Workers of America

Local 1107

*****Notice of Election*****

The Election committee Chair Desmond Robinson has validated the following petitions:

                   President: Todd Kelsey

       Vice President: Greg Brower

Secretary Treasurer: John Pungello

         Business Agent:  Dan Caprara

                                                                                                   No election will be held for VP or BAs since these positions were uncontested.

                                                                                                       Congratulations to the candidates and thank you to all our members.

* * * * NOTICE * * * *

Nomination

For Local Officers and Business Agent

CWA Local 1107

September 7, 2023

As provided in the CWA Local 1107 by-laws article XIV, “Nominations and Election of Local Officers and Business Agent”. 

Fifteen (15) days notice is hereby giving for the Nominations for the office of:

• President
• Vice President
• Secretary / Treasurer
• Business Agents (1)

1. - Business Agent:

Installation & Maintenance Group.

                                                                                     (FiOS & Core)  

 CXM Group.

                                                                      (Line, Splice, Building & Supply (Storekeeper))

                                                                                    Mechanics  (all titles)

                                                                     *Transervice   all titles

 Clerical Group....................(All Titles)

 Miscellaneous Group.........  (All Titles)  

 Building & Supply Group. (Watch Engineers)

Central Office Group...........(All Titles)

Special Services Group.

Company Services Group.

Verizon Business Group......(All Titles)

COEI Group.........................(All Titles)

Non-Verizon, Interconnects

                          Gretly…………………………………….... (All Titles)

                          Urban Telecom............................................ (All Titles)

All Nominations will be by Petition.

Petitions can be obtained by contacting the Election Committee, or at the Local Union Office at 200 East Erie Street, Blauvelt, N.Y. 10913

 RULES GOVERNING NOMINATIONS OF OFFICERS AND BUSINESS AGENT

Nominations for Officers and Business Agents will be by petition signed by Ten (10) members in good standing of CWA Local 1107.  The petition must be signed by the candidate.  The petition must be sent by U.S. Mail to the Communications Workers of America Local 1107, 200 East Erie Street, Blauvelt, N.Y. 10913, Attention: Election Committee.  Only petitions received in the Local Office no later than 4:30 p.m. on September 21, 2023, will be valid. If elections are required the Election Committee will hold elections in accordance with the bylaws of CWA Local 1107, and the United States Laws governing election of Union Officers. Date to be announced.

Election Committee:

Desmond Robinson (Chair)          (845) 558-9980

Tom O’Brien                          (914) 451-0151

Mike Mezzio                          (914) 772-2516

Chairman Election Committee,

Desmond Robinson

______________________________

As you may be aware, a recent Wall Street Journal investigation found that aging lead-clad telephone cables could pose a potential health hazard.  Toxic lead is a serious health hazard, especially for children and workers who may come into close contact with telecom wires and cables. Lead poisoning can occur through inhalation of lead dust or through direct skin contact, making those who handle or come near these cables particularly vulnerable.  

Lead exposure in adults can have a range of symptoms, but it is important to note that some individuals may not exhibit obvious symptoms even if they have elevated levels of lead in their bodies. The symptoms can vary based on the level and duration of exposure.   

It is essential to recognize that lead poisoning can have long-term effects, even if the symptoms are not immediately apparent. Prolonged exposure to elevated levels of lead can result in serious health issues. Blood tests can help determine lead levels, and early intervention can prevent further health complications.  

Past and present CWA members exposed to toxic lead due to their work assignments may be entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits and have a separate cause of action against the parties responsible for the lead exposure.  

FOA has represented CWA members for over 50 years, and we are uniquely qualified to review each member's personal situation and advise them on their legal rights. Not everyone will have a claim, but we will provide the proper information and guidance to people who contact us. We have created a separate web page, information sheet and phone number to address this critical issue.  Click here for more information: https://www.foalaw.com/practice-areas/personal-injury/toxic-lead-in-telecom-wires-and-cables/or call our dedicated toll-free number 1-888-533-3655 to learn more.   I have attached the information sheet to this email so your members can be educated on the harmful effects of lead poisoning.  Kindly print and hang in your locals and garages.   

The CWA/NETT Academy is offering the courses below at NO COST to CWA members in good standing.  All courses below are BEGINNER level and can be completed with any level of technical ability.

FEATURED COURSES-

• Speed Spanish - Self Paced (3 months access)
• Network Plus Certification Course (NET+)
• FCC GROL (General Radio Operators License)
• TKT Full Course and Review Course
• Cisco Cybersecurity Essentials
• Fiber optics Installer Certification*
• UAV (Drone Certification)

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

1. View course calendar HERE
2. Classes vary in length and begin August 9, 2023
3. TO REGISTER, view the course of interest and REGISTER.  You will need to create an

Account on our new registration system.

4. Create an account and check out.  We will work on validating your membership and get back to you in a day or two
5. Hurry, registration closes on August 7^th.

We are pleased to announce that the members have overwhelmingly ratified the contract extensions at Verizon and Verizon Wireless. Members represented by CWA in Mid-Atlantic and IBEW Northeast and Mid-Atlantic have also ratified their agreements. The agreements will extend the contracts through August 1, 2026.

Trainor to Vz locals- Ratification 7.29.2022.pdf

CWA, IBEW and Verizon have reached an agreement in principle to extend the collective bargaining agreements for a three-year period. The current agreements are set to expire on August 5, 2023. If finalized, the agreements will extend through August 1, 2026. 

The company and the unions are documenting the understanding in signed contracts and expect to have that completed next week at which time we will communicate further details. 

The contracts will be subject to ratification by union members. 

The contracts will include long-term work- from- home provisions. Pending ratification of the contracts, the current work-from-home arrangements are continued.

Wishing you all a happy and safe 4^th of July! 

Memo to Vz locals re Agreement in principle 7.1.22.pdf

As you already know, CWA IBEW and Verizon began meeting for a three week period to attempt to negotiate the terms of a possible extension to the collective bargaining agreements that are set to expire in August 2023. We have agreed with the Company to continue meeting for the rest of this week and if necessary, to extend the negotiations into next week. 

We will provide additional updates as appropriate.

  CWA Night

  Yankees vs RedSox

  Saturday, July 16th at 7:05 PM

Join the Communication Workers of America and the New York Yankees for a fun-filled day at Yankee Stadium as the Yankees take on the Boston Red Sox.

The first 1,000 fans who purchase through this offer will receive an exclusive New York Yankees hat co-branded with the CWA logo.

https://offer.fevo.com/yankees-vs-red-sox-bsymcew-e76c1e2?fevoUri=yankees-vs-red-sox-bsymcew-e76c1e2%2F

CWA victories in New York State budget

New York State finally passed a new budget last weekend – with $220 billion the biggest in its history - and we wanted to update you about our accomplishments in the budget. 

1.     BROADBAND: We won all 4 of our major demands regarding the historic $1.6 billion in state and Federal dollars for broadband.

LABOR STANDARDS: Requires applicants for public funding to have high workplace safety standards and a skilled workforce  

FIBER PREFERENCE: Prioritization of networks that are capable of speeds of 1 gigabyte up and down

PREQUALIFICATION: requires any applicant for broadband buildout grant to demonstrate to the state that it is competent to do the job

PREVAILING WAGE: Ensures that good union employers, like ours, don’t get undercut by low-road subcontractors

(We also need to push Verizon to apply for as many different buildout projects as possible!)

An important note on prevailing wage:  Currently, due to litigation that took place between 1997 and 2000, the prevailing wage for publicly funded “telecommunications” work in NYS is a rate based on IBEW “teledata electrician” contracts.  That rate varies county by county, but is in the neighborhood of $38 an hour, with another $25 to $30 for benefits.  In Monroe County, for example, the listed rate is $36 an hour.  In Erie and parts of some of the surrounding counties, the rate is $37.49 going to $39.49 at the end of this May.

In New York City, the rate for city-subsidized (as opposed to state subsidized) “Telecommunication Worker” projects is our contractual rate, $47.03 per hour with $23.15 for benefits.  The Comptroller’s office in NYC, which administers the City prevailing wage program, strongly favors matching the state and city prevailing wages, using our wage as the correct scale.

Two points to keep in mind:

1)     We plan to file a challenge with the DoL asking it to revise the state prevailing wage and use our contract, around the state, to set the “Telecommunications” prevailing wage.  To do so, we will have to demonstrate to the DoL that we have more unionized telecommunications workers under contract than any other union, which we believe to be the case, between Verizon and Frontier.  We will be reaching out to you to help us put together data on what other unions, if any, represent workers in this sector in your regions.

2)     However, even if our challenge fails, imposing a $36 to $39 prevailing wage on all the buildout work that will be subsidized under the state and federal infrastructure programs helps to level the playing field for Verizon.  Under the Cuomo broadband grant program, the work was not covered by prevailing wage, and many contractors came in with bids based on paying workers $20 an hour.  Having a prevailing wage on all the new work will make Verizon’s bids on the work much more competitive, even if the State DoL rejects our challenge.

We will keep you posted on this effort.

2. Funding Hospitals & Supporting Healthcare Workers: Partial Win, more work to be done.

CWA fought to win $1.35 billion dollars for financially distressed hospitals and more in discretionary funding. This money will be distributed based on a plan established by the Commissioner of the Department of Health. We will have to keep pushing to make sure our represented hospitals, which were badly hurt by the pandemic, get a fair share of this new funding to support hospitals designated to offset the impact of Covid-19.

The budget also included funding for up to $3,000 in bonuses for frontline healthcare workers. While we fought for a higher amount, we were pleased to win expanded eligibility to make sure more of our members were eligible for the bonuses.

3. Funding CUNY School of Labor & Museum: WIN!

The budget also included $3.5 million from the Executive and $1.5 million from the Legislature for the CUNY SLU plus another $3 million in funding for the NYC labor museum. The school is dedicated to expanding higher education opportunities for workers, developing the next generation of labor and community leaders, and serving the educational needs of the labor movement and the broader community.

 Once again, these are major victories for CWA on the state level – which would not have happened without the hard work and advocacy of our members standing together. CWA members made hundreds of phone calls, sent thousands of emails, rallied and lobbied to make this happen. But our work is not done – and we have to ensure we stay vigilant when it comes to the implementation of these accomplishments. 

We plan to send an email to NYS members later today regarding this good news. In the next weeks, we will share flyers and other materials so you can share this with your members.