Communications Workers of America
Watch Membership Meetings
at Youtube: 4501 CWA
June/July 2015
“Like” us on Facebook
& join us at
27 Euclid Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43201 Phone: (614) 294-5265 Fax: (614) 294-6562
www.cwa4501.org
OSU MAIN CAMPUS, WOOSTER, LIMA, MANSFIELD, NEWARK, MARION, PUT-IN BAY, FACULTY CLUB, SECRETARY OF
STATE’S OFFICE, PICKAWAY COUNTY JOBS AND FAMILY SERVICES, FRANKLIN COUNTY VETERAN’S COMMISSION
President: Kevin Kee
Executive Vice President: Jason Lacey
Secretary: E. Mae Adams:
Treasurer, Christal Harris
Vice President: (SOS) Amy Stumbo
Michael Secrest [email protected]. Editor/Contributor. Writes all
articles not specifically attributed to others.
Sheila Collins keeps our Facebook current and serves with Lolita Thomas,
Lee Paul, Cynthia Stewart and Michael Secrest ,chair, on the Communications
Committee.
Board Members: Anthony Brown, Wayne Crawford, Lisa Frew,
Mericle Long, Darlene Sunderland, Anthony Tutt
The election is over, OUR work just beginning...
way in union busting to benefit corporations at workers’ expense. Thanks to economic policies that led to foreclosures or
that leave homeowners owing more than
their houses are worth. Thanks to governments on all levels passing laws that give
owners of large corporations more ways to
hold onto their money so they can spend it
overseas. And to governments refusing to
implement projects that help the working
class (ie. infrastructure). In short, thanks
to everything the Conservatives have had
us believing for the last 35 years.
I know we’d fight back if someone
tried to take our homes or our cars. We
gave all we could to get them and we’d
give all we can to keep them. If we sit
idle and let our standard of living slip
away we will lose our homes and our cars.
They are winning the battles, but
we must win the war! We must strengthen our alliances to speak with the force of
a united voice or our needs will be neither
heard nor met. Look around.
Our work is more than our jobs: help the working class survive!
Spring, a time for new beginnings
Printed in house by Local 4501 CWA Communications Team
please stay involved. We need an active
workforce to move all of us forward.
The greatest struggle of our time is
happening all around us, and working
people cannot afford to sit back and
watch that struggle lost.
Conservatives have had us convinced
for 35 years that their ways are best. They
have convinced us that the more money
rich people accumulate, the better off we
all are. This was called the “trickle down
theory” by President Reagan. I personally
agree with Whoopie Goldberg, who said
“It’s called the ‘trickle down theory’ because poor people get pissed on”. And
guess what, people! Under these policies,
all but the very rich are getting poorer.
Look around you.
Since the Great Recession of 2008,
many
good jobs have been lost and reIt is important that I start this letter by
placed
with minimum wage jobs. Thanks
expressing my gratitude to all the memto
NAFTA
and the like (TPP fastbers who voted for me and to anyone who
tracking)
shipping
our best jobs overseas.
participated in any way. Please, please,
Thanks to President Reagan leading the
President:
Kevin Kee
• Executive Vice
President:
Jason Lacey
• Secretary:
Mae Adams
President Kee
• Treasurer:
Christal Harris
• VP Secretary of State:
Amy Stumbo
• Executive Board at Large:
Tony Brown
Wayne Crawford
Lisa Frew
Mericle Long
Darlene Sunderland
Anthony Tutt
•
Union History:
1830s
Be thankful for those who died for your rights. And remember, those
who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it
Lowell Mill Women
In the 1830s, half a century beCreate First Union of an [sic] display," one fumed.
Working Women
fore the better-known mass move"A spirit of evil omen has
ments for workers' rights in the Unitprevailed." And they detered States, the Lowell Mill women organized, mined to crack down on the mill girls.
went on strike and mobilized in politics when
A showdown came and the
women couldn't even vote—and created the bosses won. Management had enough power
first union of working women in American
and resources to crush the strike. Within a
history.
week, the mills were operating nearly at full
The Lowell, Mass., textile mills where
capacity. A second strike in 1836—also
they worked were widely admired. But for
sparked by wage cuts—was better organized
the young women from around New England and made a bigger dent in the mills' operawho made the mills run, they were a living
tion. But in the end, the results were the
hell. A mill worker named Amelia—we don't same.
know her full name—wrote that mill girls
Those were hard defeats, but the mill girls
worked an average of nearly 13 hours a day. refused to give up. In the 1840s, they shifted
It was worse than "the poor peasant of Ireto a different strategy: political action. They
land or the Russian serf who labors from sun organized the Lowell Female Labor Reform
to sun." Lucy Larcom started as a doffer of
Association to press for reducing the workbobbins when she was only 12 and "hated the day to 10 hours. Women couldn't vote in
confinement, noise, and lint-filled air, and
Massachusetts or anywhere else in the counregretted the time lost to education," accord- try, but that didn't stop the mill girls. They
ing to one historian.
organized huge petition campaigns—2,000
In 1834, when their bosses decided to cut signers on an 1845 petition and more than
their wages, the mill girls had enough: They double that on a petition the following
organized and fought back. The mill girls
year—asking the Massachusetts state legisla"turned out"—in other words, went on
ture to cap the work day in the mills at 10
strike—to protest. They marched to several
hours.
mills to encourage others to join them, gath- They didn't stop there. They organized chapered at an outdoor rally and signed a petition ters in other mill towns in Massachusetts and
saying, "We will not go back into the mills to New Hampshire. They published "Factory
work unless our wages are continued."
Tracts" to expose the wretched conditions in
No one had ever seen anything like this.
the mills. They testified before a state legislaBut if the mill girls were exuberant, manag- tive committee.
ers and owners were horrified. "An amizoni- What's more, they campaigned against a state
representative who was one of their strongest
opponents and handily defeated him.
So what did the Lowell mill girls really
win? In the short term, not much. That's how
it often is with the first pioneers in social
justice movements. Both of their strikes were
crushed. And the only victory they won in
their 10-hour workday campaign was pretty
hollow. In 1847, New Hampshire became the
first state to pass a 10-hour workday law—
but it wasn't enforceable.
That was in the short term. But in the
long term, the Lowell mill girls started something that transformed this country. No one
told them how to do it. But they showed that
working women didn't have to put up with
injustice in the workplace. They got fed up,
joined together, supported each other and
fought for what they knew was right.
One of the mill girls put it this way:
"They have at last learnt the lesson which a
bitter experience teaches, not to those who
style themselves their 'natural protectors' are
they to look for the needful help, but to the
strong and resolute of their own sex."
Today, millions of women in unions who
teach our kids, fight our fires, build our
homes and nurse us back to health owe a
debt to the Lowell mill girls. They taught
America a powerful lesson about ordinary
women doing extraordinary things.
Copied from the AFL-CIO website
Now there once was a UNION MAID, she never was afraid of the goons and the ginks and the company finks and the deputy sheriffs who made
the raid.. She went to the union hall where a meeting it was called, and when the National Guard came ‘round she always stood her ground.
Saying “You can’t scare me, I’m sticking with the Union”…...... UNION MAID Lyrics by Woody Guthrie
Labor Fightback Network, a slow train and we’d better get on board soon……...
(1) The July 25 Million People’s March Against Police Brutality, Racial Injustice and Economic Inequality in Newark, N.J.
The Labor Fightback Conference will actively build the July 25 Million People’s March Against Police Brutality, Racial Injustice and Economic Inequality. This march will take place in Newark, N.J., at the initiative of the People’s
Organization for Progress (POP) and a broad list of Black community organizations. The conference urges its supporters nationwide to take this action to our unions, in particular, for endorsement and active participation.
………...To find out how go to Enough is enough, Labor Fightback Conference
(2) The Fight Against the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Under Any Guise
Anyone who thinks that Fast Track and TPP have been defeated, think again.
Less than 72 hours after the Senate voted down Fast Track, surprising all political pundits who expected the Senate to support Fast Track and the House of Representatives to oppose it, the Senate did an about-face, with a majority of Senators now saying they could support Fast Track.
Michael Ervin, 4501 CWA Local leader, dies at age 82.
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate,
to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Michael Ervin, a life well lived
For those of you not fortunate
enough to have known Mr. Ervin,
here is a condensed history, a history
as long and rich as Local 4501,
CWA. itself.
In 1953, Mr. Ervin started work at
OSU as an “at will” employee, called
an “Extra”. All employees were
called “Extras” except the bosses and
“They walked around like they were
kings”, said Mr. Ervin, in the You
Tube video CWA 4501 Story. “One
day everybody got tired of it.”
In 1967, he, along with 1500 other service and maintenance workers
walked off their jobs and formed the
picket lines at 15th and High (at that
time the main entry way to campus,
leading to the Administration Building). There was no union behind
them and their were no leaders.
1500 people simply got fed up with
how they were treated.
What they got for their efforts
was terminated. They fought that
IN MEMORY
decision and continued to shine the
light of public attention on the injustices at this powerful institution.
Mr. Ervin said “Pretty soon I saw
about 10 paddy wagons… Columbus Police Officers and I said ‘Oh
My God, we’re going to go to jail.’”
He said that the students were
angry with the strikers until some of
the students got arrested for throwing
snowballs and “That evening the students joined us, and we got a union”.
When the dust settled, all those
brave pioneers got was their jobs
back and the right to stay united to
have a voice in their own futures. A
major victory we take for granted.
And what we got was a voice in
our futures and a tireless fighter for
the rights and dignity of all working people. We lost a fighter, but
we don’t have to lose the fight.
Mr. Ervin’s 50 years with our
union helped all of us in more ways
than I can possibly recount, beginning with something as simple as
regular paydays. (See CWA 4501
Story)
There was not a contract article
Mr. Ervin did not positively affect to
help his fellow members. He helped
improve our insurance coverage and
expand it to include dental and vision coverage. His input advanced
our vacation and sick leave periods.
He was instrumental in developing
the Sick Leave Conversion Program.
He helped develop the Corrective
Action language that provided protections for members from wrongminded bosses.
Michael’s concern for his fellow
members caused him to recognize
the need for additional educational
opportunities.. He approached William Schwartz, Director of Student
Life at the time, and they created the
Reach One program.
Working again with Mr.
Schwartz, Michael was the first
CWA 4501 Lead Chief Steward,
developing the position and creating
the powerful Local 4501 representatives they are today.
Michael also helped create an
expedited arbitration process and,
with the strength of our membership
behind him, helped create hundreds
of other advances that will benefit
workers not even born yet, unless we
continue to sit back and let it all slip
through our fingers.
Give them rest with the devout and the just, in the place of the pasture of rest and
refreshment, of waters in the paradise of delight; whence grief and pain and sighing have fled away.
Since our last printing
Beverly Timson, Patient Transporter at OSU Wexner Medical Center, lost her father–in-law Robert Timson
Norma Davis-Odom, Patient Transporter at OSU Wexner Medical Center, lost her brother Herman Davis
Dominique Bailey, Environmental Services, OSU Wexner Medical Center lost her father Craig Daniels
John Kuhn, Patient Transporter at OSU Wexner Medical Center, lost his father-in-law Mark Ornsby
Latoia Thompson, Environmental Services at James Cancer Center lost her grandmother Jackie Harris
Henry Dover, Environmental Services at OSU Wexner Medical Center lost his mother Sarah Dover
Akilah King, Central Sterile Supply at OSU Wexner Medical Center lost her mother Denise Milner in late
May
Prayer for the grieved: “May the LORD bless you and keep you; May the LORD make His face shine
upon you, and be gracious to you; may the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26
GOT AN O.U.C.H.? Remember to think “Our Union Can Help”
OSU MAIN CAMPUS, WOOSTER, LIMA, MANSFIELD, NEWARK, MARION, PUTIN BAY, FACULTY CLUB, SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE, PICKAWAY COUNTY
JOBS AND FAMILY SERVICES, FRANKLIN COUNTY VETERAN’S COMMISSION,
FOD, OSUWMC, STUDENT LIFE, BUSINESS AND FINANCE NO EXCUSES
WE WANT TO HELP!!
In the past we have posted
the many avenues we have
created for you to communicate with us. We want
to know what is on your
mind. What is relevant in
your area or branch or department? What, in your
opinion, should we put in
the newsletter for your fellow workers to read about?
What can you share to help
employees in other areas?
Also, please let us know
of any events in your area;
events to celebrate
(marriage, birth) or to
mourn (death, illness)
All of you with information to share, please let
us know what’s on your
minds so we can share and
help.
Stewards and officers,
it is part of your duties to
let us know what is going
SECOND LEVEL GRIEVANCE/RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES ROSTER
DEPT
STEWARD
ARTICLE / ISSUE
HRNG
DECISION
CWA ACTION
FOD
Lacey
8; 11 Inconsistence rule enforcement
Dec 11
Denied
Arb Listed*
OSUWMC
Long/Newman
Unfair DCC
Dec 18
Denied
Arb Listed*
BUS/FIN
Long
8; 21 Unfair P3
Dec 18
Affirmed
NFA
Bus/Fin
Davis
Article 8 Unfair DCC
Jan 15
Denied
Arb Listed*
OSUWMC
Brown/Newman
Area assignment
Jan 22
Denied
Arb Listed*
OSUWMC
Long/Brown
12 Overtime Distribution
Mar 10
Denied
Arb Listed*
OSUWMC
Long
2;4;8;12;13 Overtime/flextime
Mar 10
Denied
Arb Listed*
OSUWMC
Long
8; 15 Reduction in hours
Mar 12
Denied
Arb Listed*
BUS/FIN
Stewart/Quinn
7; 8; 11 Wrongful DCC
Apr 02
Denied
Arb Listed*
FOD
Lacey
8; 11 No DCC, Immediate 1st notice
Apr 02
Denied
Arb Listed*
FOD
Lacey
8; 14 Non promotion
Apr 07
AFFIRMED
NFA
OSUWMC
Long
8; 11 Removal DCC
Apr 08
Denied
NFA
OSUWMC
Long
29 Safety ie: no phone and untrained people doing CSS tech duties
Apr 17
Denied
Arb Listed*
OSUWMC
Long
14 Non promotion
May 15
Denied
Arb Listed*
*CONSIDERING FOR ARBITRATION
**NO FURTHER ACTION ***RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES #SEE O.U.C.H.