President's Message
Carol Whichard, President
We Are Ready!
Verizon contract negotiations are just around the corner and will no doubt be the biggest issues CWA members face this year. What must we do to be successful and to give our bargaining team as much strength as possible at the table?
- Rumors will run amok. Management has been the primary source of false and/or misleading rumors throughout bargaining history. Do not play into the trap of passing on management-generated rumors.
- Beginning now, Thursdays will be CWA t-shirt days and/or hat days. Wear your CWA t-shirts and/or hats each and every Thursday! They are provided at monthly union meetings. Management will begin taking a pulse of unity amongst CWA members. They report to upper level management on the levels of CWA participation in union activities.
- Communication is important and probably the most difficult task ahead of us. The most effective means of communication will be through the Officers, Stewards and Executive Board members, as well as the website: www.cwalocal9404.org. Once negotiations begin, we will post the bargaining updates on our website as we receive them. Please take time to check.
- Attend union meetings. It’s a great place to receive information and to ask questions. That way you can be a source of information to your co-workers as well. This is our contract! Being informed is an opportunity no union member should pass up.
Don’t be a weak link in the chain we must form both visibly and verbally. The sooner we demonstrate We Are Ready!, the less likely management will be to take us on. Anything less than this will be an invitation to management to strip us of our benefits, wages, pensions and other gains we have fought for over many, many years of contentious contract negotiations.