CWA 1180 - Worksite Organizing

HHC Found Guilty!
January 2004

"We find that HHC's prohibition of the union membership meeting had a
chilling affect on the employees' rights to engage in union activity and
is inherently destructive of those rights," states the September Office of
Collective Bargaining decision in favor of an 1180 improper practice
charge filed against HHC. Guilty of interference, restraint, and coercion
of public employees in the exercise of their rights at work, as protected
in the New York City Collective Bargaining Law, HHC was ordered to "not
interfere with the holding of union membership meetings on HHC property
during off-hours."

Meeting rights defended

Local 1180 filed the charges against HHC after it barred a member meeting because the agenda included discussion of including a new title, Coordinating Managers, in the CWA 1180 bargaining units at HHC.

A Bellevue shop steward reserved a room at Bellevue for a December 2, 2002 meeting after work and a notice was mailed to 200 members and posted on designated workplace bulletin boards. After quibbling with union staff over their right to hold a meeting, management proclaimed the meeting "canceled," one week before the scheduled time. This was a clear attempt by management to interfere with members' rights to hold meetings and organize other workers.

Organizing continues

The September decision is the latest in favor of the 1180 ongoing organizing drive to include the positions of Coordinating Manager, Administrative Manager, Associate Call Center Representative, Associate Job Opportunity Specialist, and Administrative Job Opportunity Specialist into the bargaining unit. The decision sets a precedent for organizing rights and freedom of association for 1180 members.

Non-profits recognize 1180 as Union

In another Local 1180 victory, the union was voluntarily recognized, in early November, by the management of Lawyers Committee for Human Rights as the representative of the 35 staff. The first member meeting was held on Nov. 13 where CWA 1180 2nd Vice President Bill Henning introduced the union to the new members and explained the bargaining process. A bargaining committee has been formed and negotiations will soon be underway.

Five workers at the Institute for Mass Communications were also recognized in November as CWA 1180 members. Among other activities, the Institute hosts People Link, the Internet's politically progressive web hosting and design services provider for progressive activists, www.people-link.org.

Nationwide Movement Building Steam to Restore 'Human Right' to Organize

There is a movement building in America to restore the right to organize and combat the decades-long assault on labor unions in this county. The AFL-CIO has shifted more resources and attention in recent months to public education campaigns and lobbying for the right to organize. Similarly, a new organization called American Rights at Work, ARAW, has been launched to pursue freedom of association at worksites—a goal ARAW hopes to meet by building alliances with politicians and organizations outside the labor movement. Local 1180 has also recently protected the right to unionize by defeating HHC, who attempted to bar a union meeting.

These initiatives are responding to a work environment where a full 40 percent of American workers say they'd join a union tomorrow if they had the chance - they are thwarted by illegal and coercive tactics by their employers, the National Labor Relations Board and oftentimes the federal government. An estimated 90 percent of employers force their workers to attend anti-union meetings and 75 percent hire union busters during organizing drives. This assault on Americans' right to organize has been criticized by Human Rights Watch and has crippled the labor movement over the past six decades.

A Voice at Work

As part of the new Voice at Work initiative, the AFL-CIO marked International Human Rights Day, December 10, with a rally at the New York Stock Exchange and a march to the offices of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Voice at Work campaign is shedding light on worker abuses and anti-union activity in the U. S. in gross violation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, as well as the United States' own constitutionally protected labor rights outlined in the National Labor Relations Act.

Local coalitions rallied, held candlelight vigils and organized other events in cities nationwide to promote organizing rights on Human Rights Day.

Making Non-Union Allies

American Rights at Work, ARAW, was launched with former National Writers Union President Jonathan Tasini and Jobs with Justice's Mary Beth Maxwell at the helm. ARAW will focus on building alliances along workers rights issues and combating lobbying efforts of 'Right to Work' and other anti-union special-interest groups. ARAW will be launching their website at www.americanrightsatwork.com in the coming months.

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