MARCH 24, 2008 - Bill and Jim recently attended the Technologies and telecommunications meeting in Dallas TX.  The meeting, in general session talked about this issues facing the independent telephone workers such as Embarq employees and things CWA is doing to help in those arenas.  Health-care, retirement and job security were the main topics.  They also attended a break out session for Embarq units only where bargaining and the recent changes in the corporation were discussed.  Most of the Embarq units still face contract negotiations over this year and next, we were one of the first.  Of course, like everywhere else at this time the nations politics were a big topic.  Not Democrat vs. Republican, but what kind of things CWA needs to be doing in the legislature to fix the major issues that face American workers.  In Early April the Union will be meeting with Embarq to discuss the grievance on the 2.9% for the Repair Reps.  This will be the third level grievance meeting between our staff from Portland and HR.  The grievance requests that the 2.9% be paid retroactive back to January 1, 2008.  We will not be sending any representatives to the District meeting in Salt Lake next month.  It was felt that our money was better spent at the Dallas meeting where we were interacting with all the Embarq locals and locals from smaller telephone companies like the one we work for.  We are the only Embarq local in District 7 and the meeting tends to be geared more for US West locals.  It is important to attend but our feeling is that we will do so when it is in the Northwest,which it often is and much less expensive for us to participate.  We are looking at having an Executive Board meeting in late spring or early summer.  This would be the representatives from all the districts meeting in Hood River to discuss our locals issues and plans for the next year.  If anyone has issues they feel the board should discuss please let any union representative know so they can bring your issues to the meeting.  Watch the boards for union meetings in your area, all districts should be having general membership meetings this spring.  Hope all is well with everyone and let us know if there is anything we can do for you.
JANUARY 8, 2008- Well hope everyone had a good holiday season and we wish you all the best in the new year.  Contract implementation isn't going as good as we would have liked.  The company has had some problems getting the techs pay changes in the system and it has caused many to not get the retro portion of the pay until January.  The local has looked into the issue and a grievance is pending but state charges look to be a waste of time because of the fact that by the time they process through the system we will have our pay.  The states also require each person to file individually, we cant file as a group.  The big concern will be all the pay changes in the call center.  If the company couldn't get the techs done without issue, there is likely to bigger problems do to all the changes for the pay schedules in the repair department.  We will have to hold our breath and hope they have it taken care of.  The repair pay changes go into effect in January so we will see on the first check.    There is also some concern about where we are headed in 2008 under the new CEO.  We have no idea what to expect and we hope that the company will continue its open line of communication with the National CRC.  We now have 3 members in White City.  We have been without for over a year.  It is good to have them back on board and we hope that more join.  As our messages always say, our strength is in numbers and we need to get our membership to grow if we want to fight the take aways and the major reductions in benefits.  If anyone has any ideas about what they would like to see from our local this year let us know.  A picnic, a Holiday party.........  whatever you folks think.  As the weather lets up we will be getting out for district meetings and we will also be having on E-board meeting this spring.

NOVEMBER 14th, 2007 - On November 13th the votes were counted and the contract was ratified.  All but 9 members cast a vote.  This is an excellent % of voting compared to contracts past.  The explanation of the changes to the contract and when everything goes into effect are on the Bargaining portion of this website.  We have heard allot of talk from non-members and some members about what the Union didn't do for them or what the Union did to them.  People need to really think through this.  The union doesn't go in asking for double time to go away.  We don't ask for a decrease in wages or benefits ever.  These are the proposals that the company brings to the table and we have to negotiate to a common ground.  Those that aren't members really have no room to complain.  If we were at 70-80% membership and all these people carried a vote we might be able to force the company at times to go back to the table and re-look at things.  The people that are not members of this local but suck off the benefits that the members work hard to negotiate and keep for the bargaining unit are the ones that are doing it to themselves and us.  The company asks for take aways and the lack of participation allows for it to happen.  There are all kinds of excuses as to why people don't join the union.  When it comes down to it, it should be about your wages and benefits and nothing else.  If you want good wages and benefits and want to have some kind of say in how those things come down to you then you should be a member.   The people that aren't members are dragging us down and allowing this company we work for to constantly erode what the members before us worked so hard to build up.  The dues you pay are tax deductible.  The political affiliations of the union should not even be a consideration.  Your dues money doesn't go to that.  Most of it comes back to this local for the operation of our day to day business such as fighting grievances, bargaining contracts, training etc.  Some goes to District and National for day to day operations.  The political monies the union uses to support its affiliations come from donations through COPE which is a voluntary payroll deduction and from other fund raising activities.  There are many Democrats and Republicans as well as other party members in the union.  The union is about supporting candidates and legislation that benefits us, the working class.  They will support any candidate that supports labor regardless of party affiliation.  A majority of the time that is a Democrat but not always.  The fact still remains, paying your dues should be about making your work place a better place to be.  The only way the local and the National union can fight off corporate greed is through all of us staying together.  These companies pay Millions to executives, make record earnings and then come to the tables and ask for help reducing cost.  The only way to combat this mentality is to band together, show strength and have one voice.  When you here people talk about how the Union did this or that to them or didn't do this or that for them remind them of these things.  People get mad and want to lash out or quit something.  The company wants to take away double time but they don't quit the company, so they blame and quit the union.  This creates a cycle that hurts us all.  They quit because of loss in benefits and wages and in turn make the union weaker and less likely to maintain benefits and wages.  We need to work together to help people realize this and get the non members back into our local.  We have three years to get our strength up for the next round of negotiations.  Many didn't like the take aways they feel we suffered this time and last.  The only way to stop the bleeding is through strength and unity.  Get out there, talk to the non members, make them realize how important they are to us and themselves as members.
In Solidarity, The Officers of 7970
October 21st, 2007 -  We are headed into negotiations with our contract expiriation on October 31st.  We have had one day of pre-bargaining talks with the company but just discussed general concepts.  Formal proposals will be presented and discussed on October 22nd.  Bill and Jim spent time at Convention in July with the other CWA Embarq units and discussed strategy and needs for our locals.  Texas went to the table last month but with the closing of their call center in the middle of bargaining it slowed things down and they are yet to have an agreement.  We have been to most locations and had meetings to discuss bargaining items and where we were not at meetings they sent in their specific concerns.  In the past we have sent out surveys which we received a low percentage of back.  We thought face to face would work better and would allow us some ability to obtain explanation of ideas which before wasn't possible.  We still accepted ideas and wants in writing or verbally for those unable to attend the meetings.  The local needs to stick together through negotiations and please remember that if anyone wants input or a vote they need to sign a card.  Get those non-members in and involved nd make us as strong as we can be.  Watch the bargaining section of the website for daily updates and the meeting section for announcements on upcoming meetings.  In Solidarity, The Officers, Local 7970
February 21st, 2007   As a result of change in management at many levels the March CRC (Labor/ Management) meeting has been held off, we will reschedule for April.  The district VP's continued to attend the localness meetings when they are held in the districts.  According to Bill Broderick, State Manager, the input from these people has been very valuable.  Well, we have hit 2007, it's a contract year. We have started out the year with a membership drive. For every person a member signs up they will receive $10.00.  So far we have had 10 new members in the Repair Center and two new members in the Gorge Field.   12 new members in a month, WOW!!!!!!  It is a bargaining year and we need to get strong and ready.  There is a district union meeting in the gorge on March 6th, 5PM at the Charburger.  The Yakima Valley meeting is set for March 28th, 5:30 pm at the El Valle Restaurant in Sunnyside. The election in Poulsbo was delayed for weather reasons.  The meeting should be rescheduled soon. The District 7 meeting is in Boise Idaho in April.  We will be sending a couple of people to represent our local.  As always, if anyone has any information or ideas for the website or for the local in general, please contact us.

In Solidarity, your local officers

November 22nd, 2006 There have been many things going on in the union over the past few months.  As a result of the national meetings between the company and the union we have a newly formed regional Labor/Management Council.  The union members on the council are Linda Rasmussen, CWA Staff Rep., Trish Smith, Steward, Jeff Miles, District VP Yakima Valley and Bill Ward, President.  The company has Sandy Skeels, Director Western Ops, Bill Stubbs, Manager HR,  Bill Broderick, Manager WA and OR and Jon Krutsch, Manager, Repair Center.  The council met for two days at the start of November for training with a mediation company and will start meeting quarterly in January of 07'.  We will be working on issues that we can address here in the Northwest and our goal is develop a better working relationship and to help grow the company and the union.  When our charter and mission statement is finalized it will be communicated to the membership.  The nominations for district VP in Poulsbo took place and there will be a vote at a membership meeting in Poulsbo on November 29th.  This election is to replace Burt Swanson who left the bargaining unit for a management position.  Gary Wiegert was the only nomination but we will still have a vote because of the write-in possibility.  Bill and Jim attended a membership meeting in Sunnyside on Nov. 15th.  The meeting was well attended.  The main topics of discussion were the new regional Labor/Management Council and the need to have some union social activities such as summer picnics, a golf tournament etc. The by-laws committee continues to work on the re-write.  Our by-laws are slightly outdated.  Most of the changes are just dates and language clean up.  When it is ready, it will be sent out to the membership for review and then the members will vote on the changes.  Please get the word around that this website is here.  Many members don't seem to know about it or haven't looked at it.  It is a great source for info on what is going on in our local as well as in the district and on a national level.  The repair center is looking to staff up an additional 60 reps.  We need to get these new people signed up.  We also need to work hard on getting some of our old members back that have dropped for who know what reason.  Get the non-members signed up, we are heading into a bargaining year and we need to be strong.  Everyone have a great holiday season and we hope that all is well with you.  Take care and let us know if there is anything we can do to improve your membership in the CWA.

In Solidarity, your local officers.

August 14, 2006 In July, Jim Kline and Bill Ward attended national convention. It was one of the most debated conventions in several years. The main topic of debate was Resolution 1. The body voted to adopt it which means that the quarter hour dues that were going to the member relief fund will now go to the Strategic Industry Fund. This is a fund that will allow us to be proactive in our fight against the greed of the companies we all work for. The strike fund is at near 400 million and will continue to grow at 20 million a year on interest income alone. If the fund ever falls below the amount it was at the day we diverted the funds, they will re-divert the money back from the strategic fund to the strike fund until it rebuilds itself. Another hot topic was adding a Canadian board position. After much debate it was tabled until next year for a new vote. Our membership continues to hold near 50%. We gain a few here and there and we lose a few in the call center every month. 2007 is a bargaining year and we need to get the numbers up folks. We have an opportunity to bargain with a new company and we need to go in strong and ready. We are hoping for a National Agreement very soon to allow us to move our Sprint stock into other investments. As it sits now, our Sprint matching stock is stuck and can't be moved because of contract language preventing it. Hopefully this will be resolved by the end of the week. If you have any ideas on building membership or you would like to see anything different on the web site please let us know.

April 12, 2006 At the end of March several e-board members attended the District 7 meeting which was held in Eugene Oregon. Many things were discussed at the meeting which had representatives from all over District 7 which covers from Minnesota to Arizona to Washington and most states in-between. The main topic of discussion was Resolution 1 which is looking at the way the union is made up and what changes may need to be made to make it more effective. Proposed changes from all districts will be discussed at the convention in July and hopefully some changes will be voted on by the convention delegates. Bill Ward spoke at the district meeting to the entire conference and requested that the big locals consider the smaller locals when making suggestions and voting on changes. The response was very positive and the feeling was that the bigger locals want to help us rather than merge us as originally discussed. It is great to see we continue to grow our membership. March gave us three new members. We are at over 50% for the first time in a few years and would like to make 60% by the end of 2006. Talk to the people you know, tell them about some of the positive things that are happening. Have them get on the web site or contact officers if they have questions. We need to grow our local. Our strength is in numbers and 2007 is a contract year so let's focus on getting as many people to sign up as possible. The bargaining unit will make up about 35% of the total Embarq Company as opposed to fewer than 10% of Sprint. This is very positive and should help our situation with the company very much. We still, however, need to have everyone in the bargaining unit be members so we can increase our clout even more. Talk to the non-members you work with and let them know how important they are to us and how important the union is to the wages and compensation. Non members may get the same package as members, but they need to understand that package will be better if we are well organized and have a high percentage of membership. The email list is growing and information goes out regularly from National, District and our local. If you're not on it, get on it. Go to the "contact us" portion of the site and sign up. The TRP grievance has been closed. There have been changes to the plan which make it somewhat fairer and many of the locals around the country wanted it. We are still waiting for a response at 2nd level on the contracting grievance. This is a very important issue. More and more of our work is being contracted out yet the company continues to not replace people who retire. Our outside work force is at an all time low yet the work is not going away. Everyone take care and if you or anyone you know has questions or concerns have them contact an officer. Our doors are always open and we are just a phone call or email away.

Feb. 15, 2006 This news letter has a lot of important information so please read it carefully and get back with us if you have questions. Recently Larry Cohen, President of CWA National and Jimmy Gurganus, V.P. of CWA Telecommunications requested and were granted a meeting with Dan Hesse, CEO of the new local telephone company, Embarq. It has been at least 20 years since the CEO of our company would sit down and talk with union leadership. The company was concerned about the unions' involvement with trying to stop the split at the regulatory level, and the union wanted to talk about several issues. This is a brief summary of what came of the meeting. If you want to see more detailed information your area V.P.s and stewards should be posting it on the boards. Pension Information - When it is available after the separation the actuary report will be provided to the union. Short Term Incentive - Will be paid once a year based on meeting company performance in Revenue, Earnings and customer Satisfaction. 100% of target will equal $1000 for bargaining unit non-sales employees and $500 for sales employees. The max payout for over 100% is $2000 for non-sales employees and $1000 for sales employees. Payouts of less than 100% may be available but minimum performance thresholds must be achieved. The STI will be paid to all employees, bargaining and non-bargaining through the company and will be measured the same for everyone. Employment Levels - The company and the union will talk at a national level after the split about employment levels. Strategic Councils - The company agreed to form regional councils made up of union reps from each local in the region and "The Policy Makers" for the company, i.e. top level management. These councils would be a non-formal forum to share timely information, register concerns of the parties, and jointly act to address problems, foster working relationships and grow the company and the union. The meetings will start no later than April 16th and will be held at least quarterly. Lost time wages and expenses for one representative from each local shall be paid by the company. There will also be quarterly meeting between company officials and union officials at the national level. Health Care - At the union's request, the company is willing to set up talks to arrive at a national understanding on health care plan design. Neutrality/card check/expedited elections - The union requested this nationally and the company is not willing to agree to these concepts. Increased advance notification of labor relations issues relevant to our members - The company agrees this is generally desirable and would request reciprocal treatment of the company by CWA. We believe we can work together on this effort. The union, with the agreement by the company on these issues will be pulling its opposition to the split at the regulatory level. These items are big accomplishments and show what some of the things are that our national union is doing on a daily basis to support us. On Feb. 9th there was a union meeting in Hood River at the Charburger. The above topics were the primary source of discussion along with the fact that the reps are getting very tired of the mandatory overtime. We will be discussing the O.T. issue at the next union /management meeting. We talked briefly about the early out of a Gorge C.O. Tech and the C.O. support position. The Yakima Valley is losing 3 positions, Service Tech in Toppenish, Business Service Tech in Sunnyside and Central Office Tech in Toppenish. That is 5 more people out of our bargaining unit to add to the many over the past 5 years. None of these positions are being replaced and it is getting critical. Overtime is on the rise and we are doing more and more work with less. None of these 5 people were union members but they are still bargaining unit positions we have lost. We will be meeting this week on the contracting grievance that speaks to some of these issues. Please feel free to contact us with any questions on this information and if you would like more frequent updated information please sign up for the email list by sending an email to biciward@hotmail.com and requesting to be added. You can also submit inquiries from this site. In Solidarity; Your Local Officers

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