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Local 21 Targets Organizing Campaign At Chicagos AT&T Broadband

February 6, 2002

The largest telecommunications local in the IBEW is taking aim at Chicago-area workers in an aggressive two-state organizing push.

This campaign is among several launched by IBEW locals across the country to establish a bigger presence in the telecommunications industry. It follows a two-day meeting in Washington, D.C. last month where IBEW local leaders gathered to learn and strategize.

More than 2,000 workers at AT&T Broadband in Illinois and northwestern Indiana are eligible for IBEW membership. The region is AT&Ts third-largest market in the United States.

Despite a neutrality agreement, AT&T Broadband (a division of AT&T) has been actively working against the IBEW in the Chicago region, said Local 21 organizer Thomas Hopper.

"Generally they have taken full advantage of the deregulation of the telecom industry to undermine the workers right to organize," Hopper said, citing the companys hiring of union-busting consultants, refusing to address unhealthy and unsafe working conditions and engaging in race and gender discrimination. "Its like weve gone back 100 years in time."

The broadband, or high-speed cable, industry has been suffering in recent years, as increasing competition has forced some companies out of business as others consolidated. Strict adherence to the bottom line has translated into poor service and a smaller, less experienced workforce, Hopper said.

To stay competitive and compete with regional telephone companies, AT&T Broadband is using a less skilled workforce toiling for lower wages, resulting in a high turnover rate. "With little to no training, its hard to have the stable workforce necessary to provide good quality service," Hopper said.

The organizing campaign is striving for outreach to municipal leaders and community members as well as the targeted workers. IBEW organizers are participating in public forums and trying to raise the issue of AT&T Broadbands violations of workers right to organize, Hopper said. And as advocates for consumers and workers, the IBEW is getting involved with local government cable commissions that must approve a proposed merger of AT&T Broadband and Comcast.

Who wins this organizing drive will have industry-wide implications, Hopper said. "AT&T is leading the way to de-unionize the telecom industry. We plan to maintain our footing here. Were up for it."