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Official Publication of Local 6215 Communications Workers of America—AFL-CIO
Volume 50, Number 1
February 2014
Your Union is Important to You and Your Family
by: Bret StClair, President
I have talked to several past Presidents of the Teamsters, CWA, IBEW, etc. They all had the same
message: “We have to educate the younger work force and get our message out to the public, our
local community, members and even our non-members.”
It’s a proven fact, if you forget the past, you are doomed to repeat it.
Most people in this country are the poor and working class. Fact is,
we pay most of the taxes and this country cannot survive without us.
So why is it we suffer the most? Why is it so hard to get healthcare?
Why is it hard to get our fair share? All these questions can be answered through voting!
We need the backing of our Senators, Governors, State Representatives and Congressmen. And how do we get that? Through electing
the right people into office, someone who supports labor and working
families.
For instance, Wendy Davis supports our issues in Texas. We need a
Governor to support Unions. UNION = a collection of people who
join in unity to fight for fair and equal justice for all people. So we can
fight against unjust laws, child labor, etc. We can have a say at our
work locations, for safety, fair pay and some business decisions to help everybody as a whole.
One other simple fact: I’d like to ask each of you to work on signing up the non-members and please,
remember to vote! To get better contracts, the ideal solution would be to get our membership back
to 100% strong in all contracts so we can do more for our members as a whole. The company and
the politicians will know how strong we are and they will come to us for their support.
If any members want to see any improvements within our local, let me hear from you. Feedback from
you, the member, is what I need.
Voting is very important.
We have to support people who
will support labor.
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Local 6215
Communications
Workers of America
Affiliated
With AFL-CIO
President
Brett St Clair
Executive Vice President
Nancy Hall
Vice President
Bonnie Mathias
Secretary
Mary Linhart
Treasurer
Nancy Lee
—————————————————
Editor
Connie Orms
[email protected]
If you have changed
your address, please contact:
Connie Orms, Editor
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1408 N. Washington, Suite 300
Dallas, TX 75204
http://www.cwa6215.org/
214-826-6215
Contents
Bret StClair………….…………..…..1
Are you Moving?….……………..….2
Nancy Hall………….…………..3 & 4
Bonnie Mathias……….………….….5
Mary Linhart…………………….…..6
Early Voting Rally……………….….7
Herb Keener………………….……...8
Anita Learned……………….……….9
Charlie Donihoo………………..9 &10
AFL-CIO Recommendations….…...10
2013 Christmas Dinner Photos….….11
More Christmas Photos…..…...…....12
From the Editor
by: Connie Orms
Are you a CWA retiree?
Are you about to retire soon from CWA?
Did you know there is a club for you?
It’s called the Retired Members Council (RMC)
If you are a retired member of CWA in good standing, you are invited to come to a meeting and find out what is going on with retirees and senior issues. The membership dues are only $15.00 a year.
That’s just $1.25 per month.
It’s a chance to visit with fellow retirees you perhaps knew through
work, and it is a great opportunity to meet some new ones. If you
know someone who is retired, bring them along. The meetings are
held on the first Thursday of each month at 2:00 PM. You could
meet your friends for lunch close by and then head to the meeting
afterwards. The meetings are held in the auditorium of the CWA
Union Hall.
So, see you there, I hope.
Dallas RMC Meeting
First Thursday of Each Month
2 PM
Local 6215 Union Hall
1408 N. Washington Ave.
Dallas, Texas 75204
FYI
If you have moved, or will be moving
in the future, let the Union know. It
is very important to keep your home
address current so that you will receive all the mail you are supposed to
get at your correct address. This is
especially important at election time,
and this IS an election year.
Call Judy or Shelby 214-826-6215.
They will be glad to take your new address and update your
mailing address so you’re include in all the mailouts.
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2014 Elections - It’s That Time Already
by: Nancy Hall, Executive Vice-President and Legislative Director
Early voting starts February 18th and ends on the 28th. Your Union is here to keep you informed and
give recommendations on candidates that we believe support working families. There are several things
you need to do to make sure our candidates are successful.
Be registered to vote. New voter ID law: requires that a voters name on a VALID photo ID
must exactly match the name listed in the voter registration database.
Volunteer your time; block walk, phone bank, leafing,
and participate in rallies.
Get to know your candidates.
The Most Important Thing We All Must Do Is Vote!
It has taken years for all Americans to have this right. Let us
look down memory lane and see how long it took for all of us to
get this right.
When the Constitution was written, only white male property
owners (about 10 to 16 percent of the nation's population) had the
vote. Over the past two centuries, though, the term, ’government
by the people,’ has become a reality. During the early 1800s,
states gradually dropped property requirements for voting. Later,
groups that had been excluded previously gained the right to vote.
Other reforms made the process fairer and easier.
Nancy Hall and Gubernatorial
Candidate Wendy Davis
1960 In Gomillion v. Lightfoot (Alabama) the Court outlaws "gerrymandering."
1961 The 23rd Amendment allows voters of the District of Columbia to participate in presidential
elections.
1964 The 24th Amendment bans the poll tax as a requirement for voting in federal elections.
1965 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., mounts a voter registration drive in Selma, Alabama, to
draw national attention to African-American voting rights.
1965 The Voting Rights Act protects the rights of minority voters and eliminates voting barriers such as
the literacy test. The Act is expanded and renewed in 1970, 1975, and 1982. 1790 Only white male adult
property-owners have the right to vote.
1810 Last religious prerequisite for voting is eliminated.
1850 Property ownership and tax requirements eliminated by 1850. Almost all adult white males could
vote.
1855 Connecticut adopts the nation's first literacy test for voting. Massachusetts follows suit in 1857.
The tests were implemented to discriminate against Irish-Catholic immigrants.
1870 The 15th Amendment is passed. It gives former slaves the right to vote and protects the voting
rights of adult male citizens of any race.
1889 Florida adopts a poll tax. Ten other southern states will implement poll taxes.
(2014 Elections continued on page 4)
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(2014 Elections continued from page 3)
1890 Mississippi adopts a literacy test to keep African Americans from voting. Numerous other states—
not just in the south—also establish literacy tests. However, the tests also exclude many whites from
voting. To get around this, states add grandfather clauses that allow those who could vote before
1870, or their descendants, to vote regardless of literacy or tax qualifications.
1913 The 17th Amendment calls for members of the U.S. Senate to be elected directly by the
people instead of State Legislatures.
1915 Oklahoma was the last state to append a grandfather clause to its literacy requirement (1910).
In Guinn v. United States the Supreme Court rules that the clause is in conflict with the 15th Amendment, thereby outlawing literacy tests for federal elections.
1920 The 19th Amendment guarantees women's suffrage.
1924 Indian Citizenship Act grants all Native Americans the rights of citizenship, including the right to
vote in federal elections.
1944 The Supreme Court outlaws "white primaries" in Smith v. Allwright (Texas). In Texas, and other
states, primaries were conducted by private associations, which, by definion, could exclude whomever
they chose. The Court declares the nomination process to be a public process bound by the terms of 15th
Amendment.
1957 The first law to implement the 15th amendment, the Civil Rights Act, is passed. The Act set up the
Civil Rights Commission—among its duties is to investigate voter discrimination.
1966 The Supreme Court, in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, eliminates the poll tax as a qualification
for voting in any election. A poll tax was still in use in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia.
1966 The Court upholds the Voting Rights Act in South Carolina v. Katzenbach.
1970 Literacy requirements are banned for five years by the 1970 renewal of the Voting Rights Act. At the
time, eighteen states still have a literacy requirement in place. In Oregon v. Mitchell, the Court upholds the
ban on literacy tests, which is made permanent in 1975. Judge Hugo Black, writing the court's opinion, cited the "long history of the discriminatory use of literacy tests to disenfranchise voters on account of
their race" as the reason for their decision.
1971 The 26th amendment sets the minimum voting age at 18.
1972 In Dunn v. Blumstein, the Supreme Court declares that lengthy residence requirements for
voting in state and local elections is unconstitutional and suggests that 30 days is an ample period.
1995 The Federal "Motor Voter Law" takes effect, making it easier to register to vote.
2003 Federal Voting Standards and Procedures Act requires states to streamline registration, voting, and
other election procedures.
Read more: U.S. Voting Rights | infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/timelines/voting.html#ixzz2sI2MiROK
Finally, please check www.cwa6215.org for a complete list of all endorsed Candidates.
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The Myth of the Texas Economic Miracle kinds of situations. Single mothers, families, veterans, neighbors with mental and physical challenges
and Other Musings
live there together and make it work. I encourage
you to donate, volunteer and shop to support
It is true that there have been real gains in emCitySquare.
ployment in Texas in the past several years. BUT,
Brothers and Sisters, our middle class way of life
Texas is tied with Mississippi for the highest
is under attack. Take a look at your paystub, the
percentage of minimum wage jobs.
gross income, and compare it to the median inThanks to low regulations and low taxes, Texas
comes mentioned in the first paragraph. Now look
has created hundreds of thousands of service indus- at the deductions for health insurance, 401(k), Untry jobs – waitresses, busboys, janitorial staff – low ion dues, Social Security, Medicare and taxes. Imwage and minimum wage
agine what your life would
jobs. In 2010 Texas median
be like without all that.
wage ranked 7% less than
Now all that to say this…
the national median. The
We are ONE!
most common occupations
Working families, that is
were office workers with a
what we all are. Whether you
median income of $24K.
work at AT&T or Burger
Food service workers earn a
King, retired or active, we
median income of less than
are all working families!
$18K. This is for the lucky
Make friends with your
few workers getting 40
neighbors and do something
hours a week from one emin your community or help
ployer. Most do not get 40
someone at church. Heck…
hours from one employer so
just hold the door for somethey have to work 2 or 3 low
one. We must treat each othwage, part-time jobs just to make the median iner with respect and dignity. We are all on this
come! These workers make up one third of Texas’ skateboard together and we all need to be moving
workforce. The majority of these people are not
in the same direction – moving forward, that is
immigrants; they are people just like you and me.
PROGRESS.
They want a better life for themselves and their
After all...
family!
If the 99% VOTE, then the other 1%
I’ll bet a lot of you reading this have driven by the
doesn’t matter!
CitySquare Thrift Store just south of the Union
Please tune in to KNON - 89.3 FM every Saturday
Hall on Washington. It is more than just a thrift
morning from 9-10 for The Workers Beat
store…they help NEIGHBORS of ours every day.
With hosts Bonnie Mathias and Gene Lantz
NEIGHBORS…that is how the founder of
1213 N Washington Ave.
CitySquare, Larry James, refers to the people his
Dallas, TX 75204
organization helps every day. Abilene Christian
University has partnered with CitySquare to fight
poverty through hands on learning experiences.
They are introducing 2 graduate programs this fall
semester and have a satellite campus at 511 N.
Akard. That is one heckuva building! The first 3
floors house administrative offices and the ACU
campus, the penthouses help supplement the other
floors which house neighbors coming from all
by: Bonnie L. Mathias, Vice President
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2014 - Election Year
by: Mary Linhart, Secretary
We are voting for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and on down the
line, all the way to our local community leaders. And never forget your
candidates at the local level because really it all starts there. And regardless, make sure you understand who is running and who will be
supportive of the American workers here in your local communities
and in the state.
Almost ten years ago, I worked in California. And when I came to
Texas, I realized that people in this great state have been held back, not
by who they work for, but by who they do or do not vote into office.
Not by work codes, but by what legislation they do or do not vote for.
While we are tremendously lucky to have a Union and collective bargaining, we also need politicians and legislation that will protect and
enhance our lives.
The sister office to my Richardson work location is an office in California. I often heard fellow Union
Members ask how come the contract here in Texas was different than the one in California. But Internet
Services has a national contract. It is NOT different. What is different are the laws on behalf of the
working people of the State of California that have been passed by people like you and me educating
themselves, exercising their right to vote, and voting in candidates and legislation that will protect and
enhance the lives of the working class.
Here are some examples:

In California, state law mandates overtime is paid after 8 hrs per day.

In Texas, we have no state laws to mandate overtime, so the companies follow federal law which
states overtime is paid after 40 hrs worked in a 7-day week.

In California, workers have the Family-School Partnership Act which is a California law that allows
parents, grandparents, and guardians to take time off from work, up to 40 hours each year, to participate in their children's school or child care activities. These 40 hours are above and beyond your contractual time.

In Texas, the government is too busy cutting education funding to be concerned whether parents,
grandparents, and guardians can take time off to attend school or child care activities.
We here in Texas don’t just deserve the Union at the table. We deserve to have candidates in office who
are also concerned about our rights as workers and as citizens.
This is our Texas. We keep saying we don’t like the way it looks, but instead of unifying and acting as
responsible voting citizens, we say this too shall pass. Well, I
am here to tell you it is time for this stuff, for these politicians
who work against us, to move on. Our electorate should be
more reflective of who we are and what we care about. We need
to stop allowing ourselves to be sensitized. It is our responsibility, each and every one of us, to reflect what we want the electorate to be, how we want it to look like, and go after it by voting for candidates and legislation at every opportunity that support us, the workers.
GET OUT AND VOTE!!!
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Important Message From
Nancy Hall, Legislative Director
MARK YOUR
CALENDARS
FEBRUARY 18, 2014
EARLY VOTING RALLY
11:00 A.M.--- 12:00 P.M.
509 MAIN ST.
PLEASE MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND
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Fair Trade Not Free Trade
by: Herb Keener, Chief Steward, Jurisdiction 6
On 01-31-2014 a massive coalition of groups
converged on Downtown
Dallas to March to the Dallas Regional Chamber of
Commerce to protest the
Trans Pacific Partnership
(TPP). The coalition consisted of Texas Alliance of
Retired Americans, Texas
Organizing Project, Jobs
with Justice, Dallas Sierra
club, Teamsters Local 745,
numerous other groups,
and our own CWA-Local
6215.
The event started with a
press conference at Klyde
Warren Park then the march to the chamber. Once
we reached the chamber, the speakers drove home
why the TPP is so bad. But CWA’s own Claude
Cummings summed it up best:
“I do appreciate you all coming out but this is
just the start. You need to take this message home,
to your work place, and to the place where you
worship, because if we don’t get our neighbors
fired up and taking action, we will not be able to
stop the TPP.”
So folks take up the call and go the website:
http://stoptpp.org/
If you do not understand the issue there is
plenty of documentation there. Also call
your member of congress at
1-877-750-7411
This number will get you to your member
of congress even if you do not know who
they are. You say, “But I have already
called.” Well I can assure you that call was
probably registered just as a stroke tally! So
call again.
Call every day till this is defeated.
Photos taken by Herb Keener
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10 Illness Days
by: Anita Learned, Chief Steward, Jurisdiction 12
Nothing has changed
as far as FMLA is concerned, if you miss
work and it’s not protected by FMLA, then
you are subject to discipline. For those of
you in CORE, starting
in 2014 we only get paid
for 10 illness days in a
year.
There seems to be a
lot of misunderstanding
of what this means. These are not ‘sick days’ that
some companies offer, where you can take a ‘sick
day’ if you want to go fishing. If you’re sick,
you’re sick, but the company is only going to pay
you 10 days a year of sickness. (You need to get
FMLA approval so they can’t take disciplinary
action on you).
The people this will affect
the most are those with
chronic conditions that
might miss multiple days
each month.
Here’s an example:
1. Employee A has a chronic condition and has
FMLA pre-approval to miss up to 3 days each
month. If this employee misses 3 days each month
of the year, then after the 1st day missed in April,
the employee would no longer get paid when they
called in ill. As long as it’s approved, of course
they can miss as much as needed, this only affects
pay.
2. If Employee A leaves work a couple of hours
early one day, then the 10 days will be counted in
hours. Sometimes a few hours are all a person
needs.
3. If Employee A goes on disability, and it’s approved, they they’ll start drawing pay on day 8.
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Your disability pay didn’t change; however,
disability pay doesn’t start until day 8. The 1st 7
days are considered incidental (illness) – normally,
2 of those 7 days are your SN days, (day off), so
the other 5 count toward your 10.
If you have 2 approved disabilities in a calendar
year, you would get paid for the entire thing
(excluding those that have a waiting period, the
waiting period isn’t counted toward your 10 days).
If you didn’t exceed 5 illness days in the previous
year, you can carry over 5 days that can only be
used as incidental days that lead into a disability.
See your Chief Steward if you have questions.
On Time - Fix the Simple Stuff
by: Charlie Donihoo, Job Steward, Jurisdiction 11
I’m seeing a number of folks getting in trouble for
something that can be easily fixed.
Being tardy!
It’s a shame to see someone stepped up the ladder
of discipline all the way
to termination because of
15 minutes here and 20
minutes there. Heck, even
7 or 8 minutes here and
there can cause you big
problems. The company’s viewpoint is if you
aren’t following that one
directive, then what other directives are you not
following?
A retired Director, Jim Winfrey used to say, “If
you’re 15 minutes early, then you’re never late.”
This was a standard he was given when he was
hired and expected his management to follow his
lead. The company doesn’t dictate where you live.
So, naturally, they don’t care how many bridges
you have to cross, how much traffic you have to
drive through and whether you have electricity at
home to plug an alarm clock in to…bottom line,
they want you at work when you’re assigned to be
there.
I highly encourage you to always arrive early. It’ll
(On Time continued on page 10)
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(On Time continued from page 9)
give you a chance to enjoy a cup of coffee, read a book,
gossip with your co-workers, improve your score on Angry
Birds – whatever you want. Just make sure you’re there
when you’re supposed to be!
I know one fellow that used to get to work around 6am, but
his shift didn’t start until 8am. He didn’t like/trust heavy
morning traffic. He’d set the alarm on his phone, lay the
seat of his truck back and take a nice nap until 5 or 10
minutes before he had to be in the building.
I have over 17 years of service and I’ve been late to work twice, once because of ice on the road and
once when I got rear-ended.
Things are going to happen out of your control on “occasion,” but those “occasions” better be few
and far in between or they’re going to cause you major trouble.
AFL-CIO
Recommendations
After a rigorous process of questionnaires and interviews, the
Texas AFL-CIO approved these statewide and local candidates:
Governor - Wendy Davis
Lieutenant Governor - Leticia Van de Putte
U.S. Senate - No endorsement
Attorney General - Sam Houston
Comptroller - Mike Collier
Land Commissioner - John Cook
Agriculture Commissioner - Hugh Fitzsimons
Texas Railroad Commission, Place 2 - Steve Brown
Please check www.cwa6215.org for a complete list of all the AFL-CIO endorsements.
Primary Election - March 4, 2014
General Election - November 4, 2014
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Pictures From the 2013 Annual Christmas Dinner
Photos
courtesy
of
Herb
Keener
Communication
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Workers of
America
AFL-CIO - Local 6215
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1408 N. Washington, Suite 300
Dallas, TX 75204
Photos courtesy of Herb Keener