I just returned from a well needed vacation. Well needed because
before I left for vacation, I was feeling pretty beat down. But now I am
back and ready to fight for a fair and good contract. We are in the sixth
month of bargaining and still no contract. Three other districts have a
contract. District 4 and 9 have already voted on their contract. The
Legacy group (the old at&t) has a tentative agreement. I believe they
should have gone along with the deal no one signs until we all have a
contract, but it did not worked out that way. I do not know why they settled
for those contracts; the members of those districts will have to explain
why. However, that does not mean that we have to settle for what they got.
We deserve better than their contracts and need to continue the fight. Our
bargaining committee is not ready to concede. They have made a commitment to
continue bargaining until they feel they have the best contract they can.
We have a lot of members that might be feeling like there is no sense to
continue fighting. Think about it, we have not yet begun to fight! Are
we really ready to throw in the towel when all we have really done is wear
colored shirts and pass out a few fliers? No one has lost any money, and we
are continuing to work under a better contract than the other districts
settled for. We need to show the other districts that we are union strong,
and we will do what has to be done. We should also be strong enough to fight
to keep what previous members fought to get us. Wages and benefits were not
just handed to us; someone sacrificed for us to have them. They were gained
through hard work and strikes in 1944, 1947, 1955, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973,
1975, 1983, and 2004. How many were you a part of? Most of our members would
have to say one in 2004. That strike was the second shortest ever.
Most of them were for several weeks, and a few lasted months. If we are
going to give up wages and benefits that so many fought and sacrificed for,
let us at least say we put up a good fight. Our company is making record
profits paying our wages and benefits. I do not think they need to
treat us like second class citizens so that they can pocket a few million
more! The company has done a good job of divide and conquer in this round of
negotiations. We need to band together! I want to keep my wages,
benefits, pensions, and job securities! We should all be on board with
that. If someone feels that we do not deserve these, there are other jobs
where you can get what you think you are worth.
REMEMBER...
