Recommendation on Contract Ratification

October 1, 2020

Brothers and Sisters

I have been a union member now for 29+ years (about a month shy of 30) and for every contract ratification vote that I have had the opportunity to vote on during this time, my recollection of past contract ratification votes the Local President has always given a recommendation on whether to vote it up (yes vote) or to vote it down (no vote).  This ratification vote however, could possibly be on of the most consequential.  Because of this the Bargaining Team and Local Presidents worked hard to ensure the members had the information available to them.  This was accomplished by providing the members with a Final Bargaining Report with highlights of the “Nokia Effects Agreement” and the “Goodman Contract”, Documented Questions and Answers, a copy of the “Goodman Contract”, a Contract Explanation Meeting for the members, and a opportunity for members to ask questions to the Bargaining Team and myself.   And I have heard arguments for and against this contract ratification from many members from our local and other locals, as well as officers from our local and other locals.

As a fellow union member, I too question what the future is going to look like either way this vote goes.  Also, as President of the Local, I must take many other things into consideration.  But before I get to some of my considerations, I have some questions thank I think each single member should ask themselves before they vote.  Early on in bargaining, back in June of 2018, the members were asked to mobilize.  Some of my question below are centered around some of the specific thing’s members were asked to do as “mobilization activities” by the officers of this local and some are concerning union dues;

1)      Did I request a copy of my weekly ISTAR Time Ticket on a weekly basis?

2)      Did I request my manager to review my personnel file with me? And did this review happen?

3)      Did I perform daily safety inspections on my company vehicle?

4)      Did I review my 1421 with my manager? And did I request a copy?

5)      Did I wear a “Union T-Shirt” every Thursday for the last 2 ½ years”?  The Local provided red union t-shirt to each of its union members well before contract negotiations.  However the E-Board of this Local also recognized the fact that you may not want to wear red in particular areas of large metropolitan cities within the “Locals Jurisdiction” because of safety concerns about gang activity and wearing a particular color t-shirt could be hazardous to your safety.

6)      Did I file and present grievances that I thought were contract violations the affected me personally?  According to the By-Laws of CWA Local 7590 it is the individual members duty to do this.  It is also the duty of CWA Local 7590’s Officers, particularly the Vice Presidents and the Presidents duty to file and present grievances that affect the bargained for employees. Over the last 2 ½ years the “Local” did file grievances that affected the bargained for employees; grievances on cross transfers were filed and presented multiple times, grievances for discrimination bargained for employees were filed and presented.  Some of these grievances have been settled in favor of the bargained for employees, and some of them management is dragging their feet on. 

7)      Did I refuse to work overtime and only work 40 hours a week?  Or did I tell my “union rep” that I am working on a cell site and once the site is down, I can’t leave the site until it is up?  Did I listen when my “union rep” when it was recommended that you tell your manager to double shift these sites that had to be turned down so that you could try to only work 40 hours a week?

8)      Did I pay my monthly dues each month, and every month to the local when the company stopped automatic dues deductions?  Or did I allow myself to become delinquent a month or two? Or did I become in default and get a letter from the President of the local? 

Most of the above questions were about mobilization activities, however I ask are you willing to continue to fight and do some of these easer mobilization activities and possibly do some that will be more difficult? Like going out on strike or getting locked out and “forced to strike”?

As I stated before, as a Local President I must consider what is best for the local, its members, and its retirees.  One of these considerations is “If the worst happens with Nokia and we are all essentially forced to retire from Nokia because of impasse and the Installation Bargaining Unit becomes a thing of the past, am I prepared to take this local into receivership with the CWA National and be the last President of the Local”?  “If this is ratified, am I prepared to take this Local into its next chapter”?  I can answer both as yes, I am prepared either way.  I will do what it takes to continue to try and represent members to the best of my ability either way it goes.  “If I recommend a no vote, will I be able to look at a retiree in the eye and say I told the members not to extend your retiree health care”? The answer to this is no, no I can’t in good conscience do that.  As President I must take into consideration the current retirees, after all they are the ones that have got us what we have by fighting for it.   I also must take into consideration “Do I trust the Bargaining Team as President of the local”?  Well for the last 2 ½ years they have provided us with bargaining updates on a consistent basis to keep us informed as to what is happening with bargaining.  They have also been fighting hard on our behalf with the aid of a legal team and research team and have kept us informed of the legal actions against the company.  I have known each one of them for years (much longer than we have been in bargaining) and none of them have ever done anything to betray my trust in them.  All three of them have been very helpful to me over the years in addressing many issues with management and our members as I try to fulfill the duties of Local President.  Yes, I do as President of the local trust the bargaining team.  “I have taken into consideration the members that may want to retire soon, the members that may want to work until they are Social Security eligible, the members that want us to maintain and possibly get a contract with Nokia”?  I have lost sleep thinking about this, I have listened to and read many of the concerns.  I have heard and thought about the “what ifs” about our future.  Yes, either way this vote goes our future is uncertain.  However, the reality has been and always been our future is uncertain.  I have almost 30 years with the company (AT&T Network Systems, Lucent Technologies, Alcatel- Lucent, and now Nokia), I got this many years’ service one “Union Contract” at a time, most have been three years with the exception of one that was negotiated for seven and lasted ten because of extensions.  Under each of those contracts there was no guarantee that I would get 40 hours a week, or that I couldn’t be laid off.  In fact, I was laid off, and subsequently was re-called.  Under each of these contracts there was no guarantee the company would not “Spin Us Off” or “Sell Us to Another Company”.  But here it is, almost 30 years later, and I still have CWA (all of us as a whole), and in that time we have demonstrated that that we care about our retirees, that we care about seniority, that we care about protecting our jobs, that we care for those that have less seniority by getting them seniority one contract at a time.  And it is with this that I as President of CWA Local 7590 recommend that we ratify this “contract”.

And even though I recommend the ratification of this “contract”, it is still up to you as individual members to decide what is best for you and cast your vote accordingly.

In Unity,

R.K Ferdinandsen

President

CWA Local 7590