*****BREAKING NEWS*****
YOUR NEW CONTRACT WAS RATIFIED WITH A STRONG TURNOUT OF VOTING MEMBERS. BALLOTS WERE COUNTED AROUND 7:15PM TONIGHT (June 2nd, 2009) AT THE DRYDOCK RESTAURANT IN SILER CITY. YOU ALL DESERVE A PAT ON THE BACK FOR SUCH A LARGE TURNOUT TO VOTE AS WELL AS THE NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE WHO, I THINK, DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB. YOU NOW HAVE IN PLACE A THREE YEAR AGREEMENT THAT DOES NOT REALLY TAKE AWAY ANYTHING BUT INCLUDES SOME NICE GAINS. THIS IS RARE IN THIS DAY AND TIME.
TO TOP IT ALL OFF THE PEOPLE WHO MANNED THE BALLOT BOXES WERE ABLE TO RECRUIT 8 NEW MEMBERS.
Updated 05-25-2009
The Union and the Company have reached a tentative agreement. There wil be a special meeting to present the tentative agreement on Thursday, May 28th, at 7:00pm at the Drydock restaurant in Siler City. Voting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 2nd. Ballot boxes will open from 7:30am until 4:30pm in the following locations:
Siler City CO
Kernersville CO
Southern Pines Workcenter
Fuquay Workcenter
May 24th, 2009
RE: Tentative Agreement & Contract Ratification Meeting
Thursday, May 28th 2009 at the Dry Dock Restaurant, Siler City, NC at 7:00 P.M
Brothers and Sisters,
This is to advise, that we have reached a tentative agreement
with the Company on May 22nd, 2009. We began negotiations on May 18th and negotiated hard over many important issues and believe that we have the best contract that we could get given the economic conditions that we face today. I would like to thank the negotiating committee of Vice President, Richard Hallman, Roger McCarley and IBEW International Representative, Benny Hunnicutt. Benny Hunnicutt has been a great asset to us through the years along with the legal team at the IBEW International Office. As with all agreements, there will be parts that you will not embrace and some that you will. The Company presented 32 proposals and we were successful in fighting back the great majority of those proposals that would have had a major adverse impact on our local for years to come.
During the next few days you will be able to review a “Summary” of the changes and the body of those changes in order to have a clear understanding of the content of the new agreement. Please check our web site at http://www.ibewlocal1912.com/ for details. I will also send out to the membership the “Summary” along with all of the affected articles for your review and consideration. The committee will present the changes to the membership on Thursday, May 28th and will vote on ratification on Tuesday, June 2nd. I believe that the membership should have adequate time to consider those changes which will affect all of our careers as we go forward under a new company. Please review all of the changes and feel free to call me, Richard Hallman or Roger McCarley for any questions or concerns. I will summarize below the changes for consideration.
Memorandum of Agreement
Between
Carolina Telephone and Telegraph Company, D/B/A as Embarq
And
IBEW Local 1912
Southern Pines, NC
Date: 5-22-09
As a result of these negotiations, all terms and conditions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement are carried forth except as modified herein. The provisions of this Collective Bargaining Agreement will be effective upon ratification except as noted otherwise and will expire on May 31, 2012.
If this offer is not accepted and ratified by the membership it will be withdrawn and there will be no retroactivity for wages, benefits, or other contractual provisions.
The wages represent a 2% annual increase for each year of the agreement.
1. Change references of Sprint to Embarq and Table of Content and Index changes have been tentatively agreed to.
2. Definitions for Tour Differential have been tentatively agreed. Hours were changed for shifts between 6:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M. and differential increased to $1.50.
3. Preamble-change date and name has been tentatively agreed to.
4. Grievance procedure 4A has been tentatively agreed to. Grievance procedure shortened to speed up process.
5. Arbitration proposal 5A has been tentatively agreed to. The arbitration procedure was reworked. The negative of this is that overtime will not be paid in the settlement. The arbitration procedure is so tight now for suspensions and terminations, that they will be heard and settled within a year. This issue was debated every day, but the Company would not budge on this.
6. Seniority proposal 6A section (c) and (i) has been tentatively agreed to. Seniority on same day hire by SS#.
7. Hours of Work – deletion of Section 12.07 has been tentatively agreed to.
8. Hours of Work – add new Section 12.07 has been tentatively agreed to. Add new section adding Rest Period.
9. Differentials – Change Section 17.01 and 17.02 has been tentatively agreed to. Both differentials were increased to $1.50 per hour.
10. Pay day and Pay Methods- Section 21.02 has been tentatively agreed to. Direct deposit required.
11. Paid Time Off proposal 13A, has been tentatively agreed. Carry over is extended until December 31st of the following year. PTO scheduler required. Employee must use all available PTO hours before non paid time can be used.
12. Leaves of Absence Section 24.01 has been tentatively agreed to. Domestic Partner added. This was not a Union proposal. The Company is afraid of lawsuits against them.
13. Pension Agreement proposal 15A has been tentatively agreed to. Name and date change only.
14. Savings Plan Agreement proposal 16A has been tentatively agreed to. Employee contribution changed to 6%.Company contribution set at 25%.
15. Voluntary Benefits Proposal 18 has been tentatively agreed to Name change only.
16. Sick Leave Proposal 19B has been tentatively agreed to. The 13 week refresh period was deleted. We fought hard against losing this option, but all other Unions having negotiated so far, including the Carolina Tel CWA locals lost this as well.
17. Flexible Benefits Proposal 20 has been tentatively agreed to Name change only.
18. Flexible Benefits Proposal 21-Retiree Medical Plan has been tentatively agreed to Name change only.
19. Equipment- Safety Shoes has been tentatively agreed to. The safety shoe allowance was increased to $100.00.
20. Supplemental Income Protection Proposal 25A – has been tentatively agreed to. SIPP payments increased to $600.00 per month and $28,800 maximum.
21. Amendment and Duration Proposal 26 – 3 year agreement has been tentatively agreed to.
22. Work Jurisdiction Proposal 27A – name change has been tentatively agreed to. Changed to read “Company”.
23. Incentive/Recognition Proposal 28 has been tentatively agreed to.
24. Signature Page Proposal 29A has been tentatively agreed to.
25. Deletion of MOA for Short Term Incentive Proposal 30 has been tentativelyagreedto.
26. Add new Section 41.08 – VEBA Plan has been tentatively agreed to. Voluntary Employee Benefits Association pays upon death of an active or retired employee to the surviving spouse an amount equal to the base salary of the previous full year worked. This benefit is only for Carolina Telephone IBEW 1912 and CWA locals. The benefit will not be available to any new hires, rehires or transfers as of June 1st, 2009. The Company tried to take this away, but we were successful in retaining the benefit and having it put into the body of the Contract.
27. Pension Bands will be based on the new wages and calculated using the existing pension formula. In this terrible economy we are being offered a 2% per year wage increase. This was our most important issue but the Company would not budge. No one has received more than 2%.
28. Savings Plan increases are provided based on the new wages.
Although we did not get everything that we wanted, we believe that we were able to get the best contract that was possible.
We bargained hard and used all the resources that were available to us. The negotiating committee is recommending ratification of the contract.
__________________________________________
Joseph A. Basile Thomas R. Holder
Manager Labor Relations President IBEW Local 1912
May 22, 2009