January 11, 2008

Volume 08 NO 2

MEMBERSHIP MEETING Tuesday, January 15, 2008 6:30 p.m. Local Office—5321 First Place NE (Walking Distance from Ft. Totten Metro Stop)

On Thursday, December 27, 2007, after final rounds of intense bargaining, PIW and CWA Local 2336 reached a tentative agreement.

The contract explanation meeting and ratification vote will be held at PIW in the Hoffman Auditorium on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Local would like to thank the Bargaining Committee for their outstanding efforts and our members at PIW for their patience and support.

The NLRB has dealt yet another blow to workers’ rights, ruling in a case involving CWA journalists that employers can ban union-related messages from being sent through a company’s email system.

The case has been pending since 2000 and stems from three emails sent by the then-president of the Eugene Newspaper Guild in Oregon. The emails discussed a union rally and urged members of TNG-CWA Local 37194 to wear union colors to support contract talks.

The ruling has drawn fire from labor leaders around the country. AFL-CIO General Counsel Jonathan Hiatt told the New York Times that, "Anyone with email knows that this is how employees communicate with each other in today’s workplace. Outrageously, in allowing employers to ban such communications for union purposes, the Bush Labor Board has again struck at the heart of what the nation’s labor laws were intended to protect—the right of employees to discuss working conditions and other matters of mutual concern."

The dissenting Democratic members Wilma Liebman and Dennis Walsh said the anti-worker majority on the NLRB has made the board "the Rip Van Winkle of administrative agencies" by failing to recognize how email has forever changed communication at work and beyond.

One of the questions retirees most frequently ask of the Verizon Benefits Center is the status of monthly pension checks. In fact, each month, an average of 1,000 retirees call to ask if their monthly pension check has been mailed.

To better assist retirees in their planning, the Benefits Office will be communicating information to each retiree about when pension checks are mailed each month encouraging them to wait until the 5^th business day after checks are mailed before calling the Benefits Center.

If any Verizon Retiree has not received this information regarding pension checks, they should contact the Benefits Center.

	QUALITY OF SERVICE HEARINGS
	"Please Save the Date"

What’s right—what’s wrong with utility services in Washington, D.C.? It’s time to let the City Council know about your experiences with Verizon at the scheduled citywide Utility Quality of Service hearings.

On Thursday, February 7, 2008 and Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 10 a.m. on both days, Councilmember Mary Cheh, Chairperson of the Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs will hold public hearings on the quality of service provided by Verizon and other utility companies. The hearings will be held at the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. in the Council Chamber on the 5^th floor.

Anyone wishing to testify at these hearings should contact Aukima Benjamin at 202 724-8062 or via email at abenjamin@dccouncil.us.