As promised I went to Local 104s mtg for CSRs in Tempe and so here I am. First, For agents in Rno I was advised mtgs will be set up for this week or the week after, contact your stewards for dates and spread the word. I asked about field stations and was advised you need to contact your local for info and to request mtgs. Please be persistant, vocal and advise all to try to attend. Knowlege is power. Dan Smith and the negotiating team were in attendance but I was disappointed with the number of CSRs, although other mtgs did have a higher attendance, this mtg had only a handful. The reason for the association was that two different unions would have had to have had a vote and each would have needed 50 percnet plus 1 to hold the union certificate. IBT agents approx 3500 and CWA approx 5500 agents. Not included are approx 4000 furloughed agents with voting rights. Not voting is considered a "no vote" and it was considered close to impossible to obtain current addresses and fons for these furloughed agents. The end result would have been neither side winning and the agents having no representation. I asked why did the company agree to the association because they would have benefited from this scenario. Answer, the company needed seamless service and this was to their benefit. It was not communicated to CSRs that the agreed upon association would displace any vote. Dan Smith agreed it was not and advised he was sorry for this-(not sure whether they knew this) but based on the above scenario it was still better than a run off, resulting in possible no representation. That said IBT will not vote on final transition agreements. Please, give negotiators your opinion. It will be your only way to have your say. Dues, no one knows when dues will need to be paid-to be determined. Fencing for west side begins 31Jan06. Company date of hire will stand for agents in a CSR capacity prior to this date. That said, the next item on the agenda is seniority integration. A list is being compiled of current CSRs and seniority. It will be avail and you must make sure your seniority is correct-forms for disputes will be mailed. The transition agreement states no stapling of workgroups, therefore, IBT and CWA will be mtg to work out the seniority integration. Both sides want the best for their membership but agree there needs to be a compromise. Someone will not be happy, again, its a compromise situation. Basically, many issues have not been addressed yet and are still on the table. It was explained to me while Dan was holding a 2 inch thick copy of CWA agreement they are going to meet with CWA and company to go thru every paragraph, agree or try to change what they dislike. Alot of work still needs to be done. We were advised there is profitsharing(LOL) but no one was clear on what that entailed(I am keeping a list of items to ask in the future.) The trade issue is still not resolved, again will try to get answers as soon as I can. They did state although these issues have not been resolved, there are no changes to vacation, trades, etc until 2008. Grandfathering CSRs with 3 weeks of vacation after 5 yrs vs CWA 10yrs will not happen. CWA contract has more floating holidays and it looks like this will be the final result. A loss for some agents. Part time agents may receive sick pay-still on table. Currently, west side has none so anything would be a plus. Part time is eligible for family medical benefits per CWA contract but they had nothing concrete on cost and heard it was astronomical-will look into that(any west side answers?) There is nothing that requires HP to schedule all part time CSRS 5 days a week currently. If they create new bid with these hours, it would be for operational need only. IMO, its to try to get rid of senior agents that would make more money in the future. A cost saving for the company, but employees again are not valued. This can be ammended in the contract and if this affects you let Dan Smith and team know how you feel. Once all of these areas have been negotiated anything not agreed upon will go to an arbitrator, I believe in June. A hard copy of final contract will be distributed when it is all resolved. Certification pay for Rez agents will be discontinued. Flight Fund, and DST(net support desk) will receive pay based on years of service. Not sure about RA(QM), I believe they was given up in the bk contract. How the company will try to entice agents to these groups with all the extra work and less flexibility is beyond me. Some will move for the challenge or boredom but I dont think it will be enough agents to keep the desks manned properly. I wonder about that. I hope this gives you an insight into the negotiations, if I am wrong or you feel things need to be clarified please post. Some things were a little legalese(?) and I dont want to mislead anyone, there is alot in these contracts and stil alot be be negotiated. I think that is why communication has been slow. Still not excusable, but as things are finalized more information will be forthcoming. Drifterreno will pm directly re your situation. As always thanx for all that you do and to our VFF thanks for your continued support!
