CWA members and their families are encouraged to apply now for scholarships that can help them attend college or pursue a distance-learning degree in the 2010-11 academic year.

An annual scholarship from CWA's Joe Beirne Foundation provides 15 students up to $3,000 toward their college tuition, an award that can be renewed for a second year if winners have a satisfactory academic record.

The deadline for the Beirne scholarship, named for CWA's founding president, is March 31. CWA members, spouses, children, grandchildren and dependents of active, retired, laid-off or deceased members are eligible. Winners will be chosen from a lottery of eligible applicants.

Applications are available online only at: www.cwa-union.org/members/beirne.

The second scholarship, named for CWA's President Emeritus Morton Bahr, covers full tuition and fees for college courses offered by Empire State College's Center for Distance Learning.

CWA members, their families and domestic partners are eligible to apply. Scholarship winners can continue to receive funding as long as they make satisfactory academic progress and enroll in four to eight credits at least two terms per year.

The Bahr deadline is May 15. Forms are available online at www.esc.edu/bahr. To request an application by mail, e-mail special.programs@esc.edu or call (800) 847-3000, ext. 2492.

 The complete Surplus, by Title and FAA is listed below.

   

Surplus Title	FAA 1	FAA 2	FAA 3	FAA 4	FAA 5	FAA 6	Grand Total
Accounting Financial Clerk	14	3	1	3			21
Accounting Operations Clerk		47	4	10			61
Administrative Assistant	70	32	8	15	18	4	147
Apparatus Servicer	1						1
Back Tap Assignor	1						1
Building Mechanic	9	2					11
Building Service Attendant	4						4
Building Servicer	16						16
Cable Splicer Technician Helper	1						1
Central Office Technician	390	172	84	70	58	20	794
Coin Box Sealer	1						1
Coin Telephone Collector	7	2	1				10
Conduit Worker	1						1
Construction Coordinator		2	3	1	3	2	11
Customer Service Administrator	67	30		26	9		132
Drafter	6	1	10				17
Driver A		3		1			4
Driver B	4	14	2		1		21
Elevator Mechanic	10						10
Engineering Drafter	2	1					3
Facilities Assistant	1						1
Facilities Specialist	3						3
Fiber Customer Support Analyst					20		20
Fiber Network Technician				1	10		11
Field Technician	549	1047	391	12	9	13	2021
Frame Specialist	16	1					17
Materiel Attendant	1						1
Materiel Equipment Technician	13	1		1	4		19
Network Service Coordinator		1		9			10
Office Assistant	12	2	2	1			17
Operator			5	22	16	5	48
President's Helpline Representative	4						4
Reports & Records Associate		1					1
Representative	112	66	50	17	15	38	298
Senior Administrative Assistant	29	7	1	9	1	1	48
Senior Photographer		1	1				2
Service Assistant				1			1
Special Assistant	47	19	2	23	1		92
Special Representative	7	4		1	3		15
Storekeeper	3		2				5
Translations Administrator	26	4				2	32
Trunk Assignor	5						5
Grand Total	1432	1463	567	223	168	85	3938

                                                    

In a campaign that has won support of New York state lawmakers, activists and unions, and Spanish-language organizations, EZ Pass workers in Staten Island, members of CWA Local 1102, are refusing to handle Spanish-language calls because they are paid less than co-workers who handle calls in English.

The 300 EZ Pass workers won CWA representation last May. Immediately after the election, Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), the company that operates EZ Pass for the Metropolitan Transit Authority, Port Authority and Thruway Authority, illegally implemented a sweatshop-like "piece-rate" pay system that punishes workers for doing their jobs. ACS also has refused to recognize the workers' union.

The regional NLRB office has issued a complaint against ACS for refusing to bargain with the workers over the pay system. But the case can't go forward because the full NLRB only has two members.

Under the piece work pay system, workers get paid based on the number of calls handled. More calls mean higher pay. But Spanish calls take longer because of the differences between languages, and that means lower pay for the 16 workers handling the calls.

The workers' campaign for fair pay has won positive public attention and resulted in charges of discrimination being made by state lawmakers. State Senator Diane Savino (D- Staten Island/Brooklyn) who will join the workers at a news conference outside the call center next week said the company's actions "will not be tolerated in a company that is doing business with the State of New York."

"Paying people per call is like piecework in a sweatshop," said District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton. "The MTA, Port Authority and Thruway Authority are responsible for their for-profit contractor's outrageous and illegal actions. They cannot allow ACS to discriminate against Spanish-speaking workers and customers.

CWA is continuing to press for NLRB nominees Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to be confirmed as soon as possible, with a recess appointment from President Obama if necessary.

With just two active members now on the NLRB, "thousands of fired workers can get no justice and hundreds of thousands have no bargaining rights as every critical case at the national level is frozen," said CWA President Larry Cohen. (The EZ Pass story in this issue is just one example of how workplace justice has been blocked.)

Presidents routinely make appointments during the Senate recess, especially when lawmakers have refused to confirm nominees to critical positions. Ronald Reagan made 243 recess appointments, George W. Bush made 171, Bill Clinton made 140 and George H.W. Bush made 77.

Help stop the merger!

Wall Street executives don't want you to read this. Hearings have begun on Capitol Hill over the proposed Comcast-NBC merger.

The merger would give Comcast unprecedented control of not just your television, but also all forms of online media.

What makes things worse? Comcast has a long history of trampling on the rights of workers. When Comcast merged with AT&T Broadband in 2002, it launched a deliberate campaign to purge itself of the existing unions.

The same can happen to NBC/Universal employees unless we speak out now.

Take a moment and sign this petition to the U.S. House and Senate Committees who will be hosting the hearings and tell them why this merger is a bad investment for America:

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/comcastnbc/une7g3rr7dedk56

CWA used the FCC's last request for public comment before the release of the national broadband plan to issue a public notice laying out what they consider to be top priorities for the plan.

In the notice, CWA commends the Federal Communications Commission for moving forward on its national broadband plan and recommends several specific proposals, including but not limited to:

• Develop a transition plan that protects consumers and workers in the IP world.
• Launch an inquiry into employment in the communications industry and explore policy options to create and maintain good jobs.
• Close the digital divide by ensuring that most people in the United States have access and competitive choices for high-speed broadband.
• Bring U.S. networks to world-class standards by setting ambitious, but achievable goals, with an immediate goal of 10 megabits per second downstream and 1 megabit per second up; and 50 megabits down and 20 up to 80 percent of the population by 2015.
• Implement broadband truth-in-labeling that provides consumers with information about actual and advertised speeds, reliability, latency, price, fees, traffic management policies, service limits and guarantees, legal and privacy policies, and contract terms.
• The FCC and government agencies should include a speed test on websites for consumers and data collection on actual speeds.
• Reform the Universal Service Fund to support broadband in rural areas and subsidies to low-income households.
• Ensure E-Rate program of subsidies to schools, libraries, and rural health centers and support network upgrades to provide minimum speeds to these institutions.
• Establish a national Digital Ambassadors community-based digital outreach and literacy program.
• Promote no child offline with a national program of subsidized computer distribution to low-income families with children.
• Encourage and leverage public programs to promote broadband solutions to meet the nation's challenges in health care, education, job training, energy conservation, economic development, civic engagement, public safety and cyber security, among others.

The FCC's National Broadband Plan will be presented to Congress in March in accordance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

•   Half payment of $75 is required before week 1. Deadline is Wed March 10, 2010
•   Full payment of $150 is required before week 26. Deadline is Wed Sept 1, 2010
   
  ·         2 parties with food and drink
•    Half way party will be an outdoor picnic in September 2010
•  Final party will be an indoor soiree in March 2011

•   52 weekly cash prizes of $100 will be determined by the Thursday evening NY Lottery daily number (therefore each number will have an additional 4 numbers associated with it. For example, 000,200,400,600,800 or 115,315,515,715,915 and so on.
•    Bonus drawings:

•    Grand Prize of $10,000 cash which will be given at the final party
•    Additional cash prizes will be given at the 2 parties

•    Members must abide by the payment schedule or they will be excluded from the club

•   Winners do not have to be present to collect.
•    Parties are free to 200Club members. All guests and others will have to pay a fee.
•    You may purchase up to 2 spots. 
•    Please keep payments to either 1 full payment of $150 or 2 payments of $75.
•    Don’t drop out!!!! The club runs on everyone’s commitment (money) to the club.  

CWA Reviews Health Care Amidst Uncertainty

Reps. Joe Courtney, D-CT, and Jan Schakowsky, D-IL, stood for us and fought the Senate proposal to tax our workers’ health care benefits. Courtney helped publicize a series of CWA reports on the excise tax and Schakowsky circulated a “Dear Member” letter to House members, warning of the tax’s discriminatory impact on women.

The election of Republican Scott Brown in yesterday's Massachusetts Senate special election to fill Ted Kennedy's seat has thrown final passage of any health care legislation into some doubt, as the election leaves Democrats one vote short of overcoming a Republican filibuster. Over the next several days, CWA will continue to work with our coalition partners, other labor unions, and our friends in the House of Representatives to determine the best path for moving forward on any legislation. CWA remains opposed to the Senate bill as it currently stands and will continue the work we have been engaged in over the past several weeks to ensure that any legislation addresses our members concerns. Until we determine the best course of action, our many grassroots programs around the issue have been put on hold. 

CWA President Larry Cohen and Executive Vice President Annie Hill are discussing the available strategic options with the Congressional leaders who have championed our issues. Any new proposal or strategy will be evaluated carefully to ensure our members' interests are best served.

Visit healthcarevoices.org for further updates.