CWA LOCAL 6132

Over the past few weeks, at least 2 of our members in Austin, Texas have tested positive for the Coronavirus. For those of you who are not taking this seriously, or are somehow convinced that this is not a concern, please take a look at this graph from the Texas State Department of Health Services. Pay attention to the direction of the cumulative and daily cases. In order for us to be in a safe place, the cumulative numbers should flatten, and the daily cases should be decreasing. There are approximately 29+ million people in Texas. As of June 15th, approximately 5% of Texans have been tested for the virus, or antibodies. That leaves around 27.5 million Texans that have not been tested. Although some states are not forcing people to wear masks, we highly recommend that you do. Please keep 6 feet away from others, wash hands and surfaces, and don’t put yourself and others at risk of contracting this deadly virus. This can be preventable, if you take even the simplest of precautions.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/06/10/texas-shatters-record-for-new-coronavirus-cases/#681409cd4923

LOCAL LEADERS 8 Minutes, 46 Seconds—Stop Work. Thursday, June 11, 12 Noon Black Lives Matter

The vicious murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer has spawned a massive uprising in cities and towns across the United States and the globe. While some of you have found ways to participate in or support these protests while observing appropriate COVID-19 precautions, we have not been able to come together as we normally would as a CWA family to share our outrage and our grief.

A little over a week ago, the CWA Executive Board issued a statement on the need to dismantle the racism that plagues our communities. If you have not yet had a chance to read the statement, you can find it at https://cwa-union.org/news/releases/statement-cwa-executive-board-on-need-dismantle-racism-plagues-our-communities. Since issuing the statement, the Board, with support from staff members, has been discussing the steps we must take to move beyond words into action. Expect to hear more about those plans in the coming weeks.

As a first step, on Thursday, June 11, at 12 noon in each time zone, CWA members and workers who are organizing to join CWA will be using one of the most powerful tools we have: the power to withhold our work.

We will show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement by stopping work for 8 minutes and 46 seconds—the length of time the Minneapolis police officer had his knee on George Floyd’s neck—and reflecting on our obligation as trade unionists to fight racism and police violence.

I strongly encourage you to participate in this work stoppage.

Our members work in different circumstances, and CWA District, Sector and Division Vice Presidents have sent suggestions to their locals about ways to observe the 8:46 including:

You may have other ideas that are appropriate to your circumstances. Please take action in a way that is meaningful for you.

Thank you all for your commitment to strengthening our union.

As you can see from the chart above, Texas cases of COVID-19 are not peaking. Please continue to follow the recommendations from the CDC.

We, as telecommunications workers, are considered essential, not by AT&T itself, but by Homeland Security and CISA. We provide information services to residential customers who are working from home, to hospitals, to state agencies, to news media, and to emergency workers. We are responsible for making sure that people can get the help or information they need during this crisis.

During this difficult time, our members are being asked to continue doing their jobs as safely as possible. AT&T has been consistently sending email notifications with important information from the CDC, and how that integrates with your specific tasks when installing or repairing services for our customers. AT&T is not asking you to do anything beyond the restrictions put in place by the CDC. Please, follow the guidelines. Ask your customers the provided questions to determine if you are safe to work inside their homes. If the customer answers ‘yes’ to any of the questions, then follow the Alternative Dispatch Guidelines. If you have not seen these guidelines, please talk with your supervisor. If you encounter anything not strictly stated on the questionnaire, talk with your supervisor.

CWA Local officers, chief stewards, and shop stewards, should not be advising members to do anything different than what the Company has asked of them. If you are hearing conflicting information, please contact the Local. If your supervisor is telling you anything different than what the guidelines state, contact the next level of management before reaching out to us. This should go without saying: do not get your news from social media posts.

CWA District 6 and AT&T have come to an agreement to compensate all bargained-for employees an additional 20% of base pay for every hour worked. Prior to that agreement, AT&T is offering 80-160 hours of paid time off if you meet the criteria. If you do not meet the criteria for the paid time off, then contact your supervisor and see if they will approve vacation or other PTO, or perhaps an unpaid leave of absence.

The Officers of Local 6132 hope that each and every one of you stay safe, stay informed with the daily changes to our city and surrounding areas, and to promote social distancing and proper personal hygiene and etiquette. Most of all, do everything in your power to keep you and your families safe.

On Tuesday, March 24, 2020, the Communication Workers of America and AT&T signed an agreement that would increase the pay for those employees currently working during the Coronavirus/ COVID-19 pandemic. Below is copy of the signed agreement which is linked to a PDF of the same document.