05/16/2008 - 2:31pm
Union leaders from the IBEW & CWA have agreed to begin early negotiations – again – with Verizon.
The start date for the talks has been set for May 27 in New York. Bargaining committees from both unions will attend.
Union leaders hope that an accelerated schedule for bargaining could lead to progress on major issues like health care and job security that members are most concerned about.
05/15/2008 - 7:57am
Rally for Health Care for All, Not Cuts in Health Insurance Benefits!
One May 22, thousands of workers and community activists will wear stickers, hold rallies and do other creative actions to promote health care reforms that will cover everyone, control costs, and improve the quality of care.
IBEW and CWA members at Verizon facilities across Massachusetts and Rhode Island have invited all labor activists and supporters of health care reform to join them at events for Health Care Action Day.
Verizon is just one of many companies attempting to pressure its employees to pay more for the cost of their health insurance. But shifting premium costs to employees is not a solution. It won't hold down skyrocketing health care costs or improve the quality of care. It only lets employers avoid their responsibility to work for real solutions.
05/02/2008 - 8:24am
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IBEW 2222 Business Manager Myles Calvey addresses the crowd in Boston...
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...while IBEW Local 2222 Business Agent & Mobilization Director Dave Reardon addresses union members at the Shareholders Meeting in Nebraska |
Local 2222 members rallied in Boston and around the country as IBEW and CWA members delivered thousands of shareholder votes of "no confidence" in Verizon's top management and protested Verizon's divisive approach to managing employees at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Prior to the meeting, union members and community supporters leafleted shareholders and top executives with a message of concern about the divisive direction that CEO Ivan Seidenberg is taking the company. Verizon's top executives have created an artificial wall separating its wireless and large business operations from wireline, which includes FiOS, too often resulting in dissatisfied or confused customers. Verizon workers are especially concerned about how management is aggressively interfering in the freedom of workers in the Verizon Wireless and Verizon Business segments to unite in the IBEW and CWA for the good jobs our communities need.
Please CLICK HERE for more photos
05/01/2008 - 7:19am
Health Care for all RallyOn Monday, April 28, 2008 supporters of health care reform rallied on the Boston Common for a "Medicare for All" approach to achieving affordable health care for all. The rally was sponsored by American Patients for Universal Healthcare, Boston Health Liberation Group, HealthCare-Now!, MassCare, Massachusetts Jobs with Justice, Massachusetts Senior Action Council, National Nurses Organizing Committee and Physicians for a National Health Program. Local 2222 Steward John Horgan, pictured at left with 2222 Business Manager Myles Calvey, helped organize the event. Nice job John!
To view more pictures Please Click Here
04/24/2008 - 2:07pm
100 Days to Contract Rally
April 24, 2008 marks 100 days until our contract with Verizon Expires on August 2, 2008. Local 2222 members marked the day with a Noon time rally in front of Verizon New England Headquarters at 185 Franklin Street in Boston, as well as at garage locations across the local.
Local 2222 President Ed Fitzpatrick addressed the crowd, reminding us that nothing comes free, that everything we have we fought long and hard for and we are willing to fight again. Fitzy fired up the crowd before leading them in Informational Picketing around the building.
For more pictures Please Click Here
Click Here for a message from Myles
04/17/2008 - 9:42am
Myles Calvey
April 17, 2008
We are fast approaching the 100 day mark before our contract with Verizon expires.
Let me make some things very clear for everyone about where things stand with management.
· We have NO agreement on any contract issues.
· We are not currently in negotiations or any early bargaining.
I don't have to remind anyone about how management is treating employees. Forced overtime, surveillance, excessive discipline, unreasonable productively standards, harassment, discrimination, lack of regard for safety and health, etc etc.
04/11/2008 - 8:46am
IBEW Local 2222 will be hosting two major fundraisers in the coming months.
The Jack O'Shea Golf Tournament, benefitting the 2222 Benevolent Fund, will be held on Friday, May 16 2008. To register, please click on the Golf Logo on the left of this page.
The Families First Fund, benefitting the families of members in need, will be holding a fundraiser on June 22, 2008 at IBEW Local 103, Freepeort Street, Dorchester. For more information please click HERE
There are raffle tickets circulating for both events. If you need more information please contact the union office at 617-929-6000
04/17/2008 - 6:13am
Case highlights unsafe conditions at Verizon
After a five-month investigation into the death of a Verizon technician in Plymouth, MA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued three citations and proposed $13,500 in fines for "serious" violations of federal occupational safety and health laws.
Gary Gibbons, a 53 year-old splice service technician was killed on the job last October while attempting to repair a problem on Verizon lines. Gibbons was electrocuted while working in an elevated bucket near high voltage electrical wires. He was a member of IBEW Local 2322 in Middleboro, MA and had worked 34 years for Verizon.
Gibbons' death -- the fifth Verizon workplace fatality in 2 years -- unfortunately epitomizes persistent safety concerns raised by workers at the huge telecommunications company. Two of the fatalities were in Massachusetts and one was in Rhode Island.
04/11/2008 - 12:29pm
In a recent letter to the Wall Street Journal Ted Kennedy, (D Mass.) wrote:
Kimberley Strassel's Potomac Watch column, "The Union Agenda" (April 4) contains a glaring misrepresentation about the Employee Free Choice Act now pending in Congress. It's not that the bill "would outlaw secret ballots in union organizing elections." The Employee Free Choice Act does not abolish Board elections. That process would still be available. Instead, it gives workers -- not employers -- the choice about how to choose union representation: either by having an election or by using employee-signed cards, known as majority sign-up.
It's important for workers to have this choice. Today, they're forced to accept their employer's unilateral decision to invoke a process, in which workers and unions have no right to express support for the union, but employers can, and often do, intimidate, harass, and discriminate against union supporters. Majority sign-up is a fair and simple alternative that's been used lawfully as long as union elections. Many fair-minded employers have chosen majority sign-up, and have found that it greatly reduces workplace conflicts.
It makes sense for employees to have the final say in the important decision on whether to have union representation. The Employee Free Choice Act is about giving workers a real choice -- not taking it away.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy
(D. Mass.)
Washington
04/10/2008 - 9:36am
The total and complete disregard for our contract with Verizon on the part of management is beyond frustrating. The company has created an atmosphere of disrespect and intimidation, while at the same time they're asking for our cooperation in various projects, including Sell One More. The company is also asking us to turn to our many political friends for help obtaining franchise agreements.
IBEW Local 2222 Business Manager and TCC-2 Chairman Myles Calvey sent a letter to Ivan telling him the IBEW nationwide will no longer cooperate with the company.
Every member of this local needs to make it their personal responsibility to stay informed and get mobilized. The job you save will absolutely be your own.
To view a copy of the letter Myles sent to Ivan Please Click Here.
