CWA Local 9400-News

CWA NEWS

What has my union done for me lately?

By Shelly Konopa, Area Steward

As we review what has happened over the last 8 years, a person has to really wonder what is going on with the economy. We are paying nearly $4.00 a gallon for gas; groceries have skyrocketed, doubling costs in fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, etc. The activities that you used to enjoy every now and then; going to the movies or grabbing a bite to eat have truly become luxuries. "Do I really need this? Can we afford this right now? When is the house and car payment or insurance due? Most importantly, where the heck did all of our money go this month?" These are questions we all are asking ourselves more often.

Now imagine having to ask those questions, pay those bills and live your life with no bargained for vacation to blow off a little steam from time to time. Imagine a life where your health care eats up half of your check for a family of 4! That is if you are fortunate enough to have the benefit of health insurance at all. Imagine not knowing if you will have a job to come back to when you or a loved one gets really sick. Imagine working all your life for the same company. You are looking at your retirement years and pension as the supreme pay off for all those days of putting in a hard day’s work, the poof, its gone.

The company I work for already offers me all of these great benefits! The company I work for has a strong value on the stock exchange; they are a multibillion dollar company! They appreciate me as an employee and all that I do! Naturally, that is why I get all of this. Ummm.....NO! Why would bargaining for your contract then get to be so intense? Why doesn't the company just say you are doing a great job and here is another 4 year plus contract? It doesn't work that way and there is definitely a reason why.

My Union brothers and sisters it, is a really good time to pay attention to what is going on. People are stressed. You can see it in their faces. Imagine your life without decent wages, solid benefits and the comforts you go home to at the end of the day. Unlike so many other working people, your employer doesn't have the right to can you just because one of the bosses had a bad day.

Current Events--- Let's talk airlines because we all have been hearing so much in the news lately. The Chicago Tribune had reported that United Airlines is moving forward on plans to eliminate employee pension plans because no alternative to save the carrier the same amount of money had been found. Now are you ready for the scary part? That is what their CEO said back on April 11, 2005. Fast forward to now. The cost of fuel has skyrocketed even more, all of corporate America is complaining about labor costs yet not once have I seen or heard of the Board Members or CEO's (some making over $2,000.00 an hour) take a cut in their pay. Instead, corporations have been enabled to leave our great nation and take their jobs elsewhere. The current administration has given these corporations enormous tax breaks, some paying almost no federal taxes.

The National Labor Relations Board and Department of Labor continues to exclude large numbers of workers from their right to be union. This is not happening by accident. The current fight for the Employee Free Choice Act is just one example.

I have been enormously blessed in this lifetime to have a union job for the past 10 years. Before becoming a union steward I had never really paid attention to anything in life other than living and paying my bills. My local and its officers have expectations of their representatives; they challenge us to learn, ask questions and most importantly, speak up. In past years, we have, as stewards, learned to pay attention to what is going on. I would like to leave you with this: we have a very important year in front of us. The Presidential Election coming up will be monumental in determining the rights of working people. We cannot afford to sit along the sidelines and hope that everything will be o.k. What is the legacy you want to leave to your kids? The American Dream that we remember, or the corporate dream of workers without any rights? It is a good time to be involved. I have to tell you brothers and sisters....I look back on the last 10 years and I can't help thinking.....what would I have done lately without my union?