News

  • CWA Calls on FCC to Investigate Harmful Corporate Sales Practices in Telecom Industry
    Read the full filing.  The Communications Workers of America called on the Federal Communications Commission to more fully investigate the causes of unethical sale practices that result in cramming and slamming – a serious problem across the telecommunications industry. This is a critical step in developing effective consumer protections that apply to all voice communications providers, whether traditional landline, interconnected VoIP or wireless, CWA said. CWA submitted comments today in response to the FCC’s proposed rulemaking on methods to protect consumers from unauthorized changes and charges, to empower consumers to take action against slammers and crammers and to deter carriers from unethical sales practices. CWA knows that good consumer and good employment practices go hand in hand. That’s why this union works hard to promote fair compensation practices and working conditions for frontline employees as the key to ensuring quality customer service. It is critical that the FCC fully investigate the relationship between sales quotas, incentives, performance management systems and unauthorized and fraudulent charges on bills. These unscrupulous sales practices, including unrealistic sales incentive structures and punitive performance management systems, force frontline employees to meet unrealistically high sales quotas and benchmarks or face the loss of compensation and their jobs, CWA said.  There is clear evidence to show that companies that impose unrealistically high sales quotas on sales and service representatives are responsible for driving unethical sales practices. That was the conclusion reached by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in its investigation of Wells Fargo Bank’s fraudulent account scandal, which resulted in some 3.5 million services being fraudulently added to customers’ accounts. CWA, with the Committee for Better Banks, a coalition of frontline bank workers and community groups, was a driving force in spotlighting the ways that Wells Fargo’s extreme and unrealistic sales quotas and incentive structures forced some employees to cram unauthorized services and products onto customer accounts.    As part of its $100 million enforcement action against Wells Fargo, the CFPB recommended that the bank hire an independent consultant to review its procedures, including the bank’s performance measurements and sales quotas. Following that review, Wells Fargo eliminated sales goals and implemented a new compensation structure that emphasizes customer satisfaction, the CWA filing noted. CWA believes that the FCC should look to frontline workers to learn about the real world dynamics driving unethical sales practices in the telecommunications industry. Similar to the Wells Fargo case, unreasonable sales policies have been adopted by many telecommunications carriers, CWA wrote, citing “unrealistically high sales quotas, incentive pay compensation plans, and performance management systems that force sales and service representatives to engage in unethical sales practices in order to meet the quotas or earn sales incentives.  Aggressive performance management systems discipline sales employees for failure to make the monthly sales quota and revenue benchmarks. Typically, failure to meet sales quotas for three time periods can lead to termination. The resulting high turnover impacts customer service, as new hires often lack the experience to provide quality service to customers. The constant pressure to sell also privileges sales over attention to quality customer service,” the filing stated. The wireless industry is a major source of cramming complaints, yet “the Commission has paid insufficient attention to anti-consumer practices by wireless carriers,” CWA pointed out. A complaint filed by the labor federation Change to Win, updated in June 2017, called on the FCC to investigate T-Mobile US for “a pattern of fraudulent enrollment practices that result in unanticipated charges for customers.” The request was based on extensive research into T-Mobile sales practices as well as interviews with T-Mobile sales representatives. The Commission has not acted on this request. “These kinds of employer sales and compensation policies that incent unethical sales practices are particularly acute at call centers operated by vendors under contract with communications companies and the authorized retail stores operated by independent owners selling the telecommunications carriers’ brand. The employees working at contract call centers or authorized dealers typically earn significantly lower pay than corporate employees,” CWA said. The FCC has determined that carriers are responsible for the conduct of third parties acting on their behalf. That rule should be reinforced across the industry, the filing noted. It is clear that Commission action is needed to protect customers from cramming. That means strong rules that apply to all voice service providers, including traditional landline, wireless and interconnected VoIP providers, CWA concluded, calling on the Commission to take these steps:                1. Convene a workshop to gather information on the impact of telecommunications companies’ sales policies and performance management practices on cramming and slamming of unauthorized charges on customers’ bills. The workshop should include representatives of frontline sales and service employees and telecommunications companies. The Commission must ensure strong whistleblower protections for frontline sales and service employees. 2. Issue a report on its findings, with the goal of determining the best way to relieve the pressures caused by unrealistic quotas, to the benefit of workers and consumers. 3. Respond to the Change to Win request for an investigation of T-Mobile and its alleged unfair practices towards customers, including fraudulent enrollment practices. 4. Require that voice carriers receive a customer’s express consent -- documented in writing -- before adding any charges to a customer’s account, and adopt procedures to allow consumers to block all third-party charges.   ### CWA represents 700,000 working men and women in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, public service and manufacturing. — Oct 13
  • Bargaining Update
    AT&T Mobility A piece highlighting elected officials' support for AT&T Mobility workers who are fighting for a fair contract appeared in Fortune: So far, 255 state and local politicians have sent letters to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson backing the workers, the Communications Workers of America union says. Among the senders are six Democratic senators and numerous members of California’s delegation in the House of Representatives. "While we are aware of the changes that have taken place in the telecommunications industry, we know that AT&T wireless workers are the driving force behind your most profitable division," 12 members of the Arizona House of Representatives wrote to Stephenson in one recent letter. "They deserve to share in the company's success and growth." Read the full piece here. ### Frontier Communications CWA members in West Virginia and Virginia are keeping the heat on Frontier Communications as bargaining continues. The contract extension expires on Nov. 4. Read the latest bargaining reports here. Left: Elected Bargaining Committee members show they're CWA STRONG. (From left) Ken Williams, President, Local 2001; Rick McKinney, President, Local 2007; and Shannon Fink, President Local 2009. Right, members of Local 2001 turn out for informational picketing.   — Oct 12
  • Organizing Update
    The Los Angeles Times Employees at the L.A. Times are working to join together in the NewsGuild-CWA to improve working conditions, raise pay, improve benefits, and improve worker protections. The newspaper's parent company, Tronc, has responded to the efforts by distributing anti-union flyers and holding meetings to try to persuade workers not to organize. The L.A. Times Guild organizing committee writes on its newly-launched website: "Tronc has no argument for why Los Angeles Times journalists should not enjoy the same Guild representation – the same voice in our futures – as our peers at other major news organizations. So Tronc is instructing newsroom managers to tell us scary stories about pay cuts, layoffs, strikes, dues and that old standby, that the union is an outsider. The union is, in fact, the creation of a grassroots committee of journalists from the newsroom determined to address years of mistreatment by an out-of-touch corporation." Read more here. — Oct 12
  • CWA Runaway Inequality Training Aims to Stop Corporate Power Grab
    CWA's Runaway Inequality program has trained hundreds of CWA members – and now a growing number of allies – about the expanding power of corporate America, how that power has harmed working families and resulted in greater economic and racial inequality, and what we can do to upend this power grab. For decades, corporations and Wall Street have been lobbying to cut taxes on the rich and corporations, eliminate government regulations for the financial sector, and try to damage the power of working people and unions. Through the Take On Wall Street campaign, CWA and allies are fighting back to get rid of tax breaks for companies that offshore jobs and profits, eliminate the CEO bonus loophole, and make sure that Wall Street pays its fair share. The Runaway Inequality education program got underway in 2016, and in that first year, 32 CWA activists from New York, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, and Missouri became member-educators, and have led 42 workshops for 629 CWAers. This year, the program has expanded into Wisconsin, North Carolina, Indiana, Arizona, and Washington. In 2017, CWA member-educators led 27 Runaway Inequality workshops for 416 participants, and more workshops will be held by the end of the year. Recent CWA training sessions have been held in Indianapolis, Buffalo, Rochester, and New York City. The program is being expanded to allies across the country. In New York, Michigan, North Carolina, and Minnesota, CWA member-educators have run workshops for participants from allied organizations, including the UAW and other unions, Jobs with Justice, and community groups. CWA's Michigan Legislative-Political Coordinator, Mike Schulte, organized train-the-trainer sessions for 25 activists from labor, community, faith-based, and progressive organizations from the Detroit area. Most of the participants were members of South East Jobs with Justice Committee; their goal is to educate 800 new activists. On Staten Island, N.Y., Runaway Inequality CWA Local 1102 member-educators Joe Tarulli and Ray Ragucci have led workshops for over 100 participants and are expanding those sessions to community allies. Local 1102 is part of the Sustainable Staten coalition, a group that grew out of the successful Verizon strike in 2016. In Massachusetts, CWA Runaway Inequality trainers Sarah Buckley and Deborah Timmons, Local 1168; Ray Ragucci, 1102; Sonji-Ann Roseborough, 1106; Dennis Dunn, 1108; and Elijah Zimmerman, 1109, held workshops for 120 UAW participants. From top left: Participants from Locals 1102, 1106, 1109, 1180 at the New York City training; members and leaders from Locals 7200, 87140, 7304, and 7250 in Minneapolis; members of Local 1168 in Buffalo, and left, participants from Local 1170 in Rochester; CWAers at Indianapolis training session, and CWA trainers with UAW participants in Massachusetts (bottom two photos). — Oct 12
  • Union Supports Workers as Hurricane Recovery Continues
    Kristie Veit, president of CWA Local 6137, wrote a piece for the Caller-Times (Corpus Christi, Tex.) about how union members are helping Texans in the wake of Hurricane Harvey: As president of the local communication workers union, CWA Local 6137, and the Coastal Bend Labor Council, I was especially moved by the stories of those who worked around the clock — even through the storm — to secure and repair our electric and communications systems. Electricians like Brent Falwell, Kevin Martinez, and Stuart Diegel left their families at home while they worked all day leading up to the hurricane on back-up power plans for the hospital. In the evening, they moved outside, standing guard all through the storm, to monitor power poles that feed electricity to the hospital. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for them to leave their families behind to weather the hurricane while they went out to do their jobs for the greater good of the patients in the hospital. And when the winds died down, union members did not let up, even as they needed relief of their own. We may be a month out from when Harvey hit, but there is still so much more that needs to be done before working families in the Corpus Christi area can truly recover. Union members like Richard Rock volunteered to help temporarily restore water to a Rockport resident even as he had lived without power in his own home for weeks. This is the very belief that drives the labor movement: We are all in this together. Read the full piece here. — Oct 12