CHIEF-LEADER TELLS US WHY THE CABLE STRIKE MATTERS TO ALL OF US

The Chief Leader is the New York City civil service newspaper. Their articles are usually behind a paywall but yesterday they sent out a lengthy piece on public employee unions supporting the 1,800 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3 who are on strike against Charter-Spectrum (formerly Time Warner Cable). The workers have been out on strike since March and management seems to be blowing them off.

Here is a excerpt from the Chief piece on how we are all impacted:

Public-union labor leaders say the stakes are high. They maintain that how the strike plays out will have national ramifications, because it involves the nation’s fastest-growing cable company with a presence already in 41 states. Their concern is that if Charter Spectrum can break Local 3, in what has been traditionally one of the nation’s most pro-labor cities, labor’s hand will be diminished around the nation as it faces a growing anti-union, right-to-work movement. Today 28 states, including once-union-friendly bastions like Michigan, have enacted some form of right-to-work legislation.

I can't see the stakes being much higher than that for everyone. The union cannot afford to lose here.

What is labor doing?

A broad coalition of public-employee unions, concerned about the toll taken by the five-month strike against cable provider Charter Spectrum by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3, has stepped up to provide the beleaguered union with public and behind-the-scenes support.

The group is replenishing Local 3’s strike fund, participating in picket lines and lobbying elected officials as well as Charter Spectrum’s corporate leadership, all with the goal of getting the union’s 1,800 members back to work with a fair contract. The cable company is the owner of NY-1, the city’s dominant local cable-news provider.

Local 3 and the contributing unions declined to disclose the amount of the cash infusion for tactical reasons.

UFA Threatens Boycott

Uniformed Firefighters Association President Gerard Fitzgerald warned the cable giant that if the company failed to sign a fair deal with its striking workers, the UFA would appeal to its 8,500 members “to seek alternatives to your services for their cable and internet services.”

The admonition came in a letter written last month by Mr. Fitzgerald to Thomas Rutledge, Charter’s Chairman and CEO. “At a time when living expenses throughout the city have risen exponentially and unions have been continually targeted unfairly by employers, your company has continued to enjoy success and profits including an over-30-percent increase in the value of Charter’s stock in the last 12 months,” Mr. Fitzgerald wrote. “Given that the success of Charter cannot be independent of its employees, we urge you to do the right thing by the members of Local 3 and provide them with a fair contract.”

Uniformed Fire Officers Association President Jake Le­monda said his union was also coordinating with the CLC to up the amperage on the Local 3 campaign. “I never had to walk a picket line,” said Mr. Lemonda, whose union by law can’t strike. “But can you imagine going five months without a paycheck? We are very active on social media and part of the AFL-CIO. We are ready to assist them in any way we can.”

Further down in the Chief article, we hear from TWU Local 100 and New York City Central Labor Council leaders:

“There can be no distinction between the public- and private-union sectors, because this has to be one unified labor movement,” said John Samuelsen, president of both Transport Workers Union Local 100 and the union’s International. “I am in contact with the Central Labor Council about supporting Local 3 and there is always room for us to do more, and there will be more to come.”

Mr. Samuelsen said his union was able to play a major role in last year’s successful CWA-Verizon strike in large part because of the close proximity between Local 100’s office and Verizon’s main picket line at its Brooklyn headquarters. “The officers, rank and file, everybody was down there because the logistics were so great,” he recalled.

The AFL-CIO New York City Central Labor Council, which represents 1.3 million workers in 300 unions, confirmed it is the central point of contact for the mutual aid being directed to Local 3. “We are continuing to educate union members and elected officials on the outrageous position Charter/Spectrum has taken in attacking the traditional pension and benefit funds paid for by these dedicated workers,” CLC President Vinnie Alvarez, said in an email.

The strike still does not seem to be on the public radar. This blog's IBEW strike pieces don't get nearly the same number of hits compared to if we are writing about ATRs or teacher salaries or parking permits.

The Chief asked about the lack of public awareness:

Labor historian Jane Latour said the length of the Local 3 strike was troubling. “We are talking about IBEW Local 3, historically a powerhouse of the skilled trades,” she said. “It is a mystery as to why we have not yet seen the kind of push-back and fight back you need to support these workers. I have been out interviewing rank-and-file union members from both public and private sectors and I only found two who knew about Local 3’s strike.”

How about the UFT doing our part? Teachers are mentioned by the Chief but not our Union. The UFT Executive Board, at our urging, did pass a resolution to support the IBEW strike this summer.

Now how about some action?

How about a text to all of our members telling them about the strike and warning us about unqualified scabs doing jobs of union technicians in our homes? I wouldn't let the Charter-Spectrum salesman into my house because of the strike. I am sure many of our members are Charter-Spectrum customers or potential customers.

Labor can have a real impact here but rank and file members need to be aware of what is occurring and be urged to take action.