Dan Wagner

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I would like to give a report about the Holiday this coming Monday.  As we all know this Holiday is referred to as Labor Day.  I thought I would give a little History about how this Holiday formed, especially since our Brothers and Sisters in the Northeast are in Contract Negotiations.  As we all know both parties agreed to have the Members of IBEW and CWA return to work after two weeks of being out on strike. 

Labor Day was first observed as a Federal Holiday in September of 1894.  As we all know this Holiday is observed on the 1^st Monday in September.  This Holiday was formed after several workers died at the hands of the US Marshalls and Military during the “Pullman Strike”.  Therefore, President Grover Cleveland reconciled with the Labor Union and legislation was passed through Congress six days after the Strike ended.  This weekend while you are celebrating Labor Day, let not forget to take a moment and think of our Brothers and Sisters who fought for the benefits that we enjoy today. Especially those that gave up everything and by everything I was referring to their life, to fight for the good working conditions and benefits that workers enjoy today. 

Keep in mind that the IBEW TCC-2 has set up a Defense Fund that members can donate money to help support brothers and sisters that are standing up to the greedy corporations today and days to follow. If you can spare any money, you can write a check to the IBEW TCC-2 Defense Fund or you can go to the home page on this website and on the top left corner you can donate money through the PAYPAL account.

Not only are our Brothers and Sisters in the Northeast in negotiations but our Local 824 brothers and sisters in Supply are in bargaining also.  We started meeting with the Company on Monday and as usual the process is moving slowly, even though both parties said that they wanted to reach a quick, equitable and fair Agreement.  Let your brothers and sisters in Supply know that you will support them if needed as we are all in this together.

I hope that you and yours have a Safe and Happy Labor Day weekend!

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Hello Sisters and Brothers,

First off I would like to congratulate Danny Alfonso on his award for the Termination case that was held on April 7, 2011. We received the award early this week and the Arbitrator ruled in favor of the grievant. The grievant returned to work on July 6, 2011.

I have just received the transcripts for the Arbitration hearing that was held on June 21, 2011 and will start writing the brief sometime next week. Both parties have to submit their briefs to the Arbitrator no later than August 8, 2011. Therefore, we will not have the award until sometime in September. Once we receive the Award, we will let you know the outcome.

If there is anyone out there interested in assisting us with Organizing and being part of the Voluntary Organizing Committee (VOC), please give me a call or email me your information. We finally have a couple of targets that are interested in forming a Union, so we will be forming a VOC and setting up a training class for them. Here are some of the activities that the VOC may participate in: Hand-billing, Phone-banking, House-calling, and Picketing. Basically in a nut shell, they will be communicating what a Union does and the importance of forming a Union with non-union workers. If you have any questions on this please contact me anytime.

In regards to Logistics, there are a few changes that will be affecting us in the near future. From what we understand, the Vendor (CEVA) that is currently being utilized in Florida will have their work moved to Texas sometime towards the end of the year. From what we have been told there will no longer be materials stored here in the Florida area which means it may take longer to get the materials you need. They are going to try and increase storage at work locations to try and minimize the wait times. The company has told us that this will not reduce headcount because some of the work Ceva is now doing will be taken over by the Material Handlers currently at the warehouse. Also, we learned that Logistics may possibly reduce the amount of times they deliver materials to work locations to every other day instead of daily. We will let you know once we have more info on both of these items.

I hope that you all had a safe and Happy 4^th of July Holiday. With that I think it is at least important to remind everyone with the summer rains have begun and it is important that we all work and drive safely.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Hello Sisters and Brothers,

During the last month Ted Snyder, Scott Huffsmith and I met with the New Area Manager over the National Buried Service Wire Group and we discussed multiple items.  The first issue that we have resolved is the Company agreed to do away with the late shift in the NBSW Techs in the Upper Sun-coast area. If there are any Techs that would like to remain on the late shift the Company will accommodate them. It was also agreed that the Company will order “Squinchers” for the techs to use during the summer months to prevent dehydration. We also discussed cool down time, if you are getting over heated you must contact your Supervisor to let them know and you may sit in your truck to cool down. It is very important that you notify your supervisor beforehand to alleviate any discussion about excessive idle time. Please document who and when you spoke to them in case they forget. If you have any questions about these items please get with your Steward or call me at the Hall.

In the Logistics department we were able to resolve an issue with the Bidding process. The End result was all of the Material Handlers were able to Bid on the Location where they wanted to work. Also, the company changed all of the Drivers start time to 7 a.m. at the Madison Ave Location. All of the Material Handlers in the field start time changed as well and they start their tours at 6:30 a.m. now. In regards to GPS, we have 3 grievances filed for drivers that the company alleges were speeding in their vehicles. We will be fighting this through the Grievance procedure and we will let you know what the outcome is at that time. We have three new Stewards at Logistics and they are as follows: John Hickey, Mark Varela (drivers) and Danny McCamis (Material Handler). I would like to personally thank them for stepping up and becoming Stewards and wish them luck.

We have started Stewards training class at the Hall and we had our first one on April 29, 2011. Our next class will be scheduled in May. If you are interested in attending the Stewards training, please let me know so I can put your name down.

As you know we are partnering with Verizon on the “Feeding America Tampa Bay” food drive. This is a voluntary program, but we hope everyone participates. If you would like information on Hunger in America you can go to the following website: http://feedingamericatampabay.org.

We have some Targets that we are looking at for organizing purposes.  We will need as many volunteers as possible.  This is a great way for you to share your experience working as a Union member with employees that are undecided if they would like to stand together as one to form a Union for the purpose of Collective Bargaining.  If you are interested in serving on the Voluntary Organizing Committee (VOC), please let me know.  In the event that you do not have any experience but still wish to participate we can work together to help you with your fears.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Hello Sisters and Brothers,

First off, I would like to Thank Chris Fasting for standing up to become the Chief Steward at Range Rd. work center in Clearwater, FL.

We will be having a Stewards Training class starting at the end April for any Steward that is interested in learning more about Stewards Rights and Responsibilities during Investigatory Interviews and Grievance meetings.  If you are interested please call your Rep at the hall to get your name on the list.

There have been a lot of Security Investigations going on in the past couple of months in regarding Gas cards. If you drive a company vehicle and have a company gas card, please refrain from using it for personal use.  These cards are to be used for company vehicles only.  Also, remember to be where you are supposed to be, doing what you are paid to do.  This should always be in the back of your mind, but with the attacks on Unions nowadays, it is more important than ever to strive to best the best IBEW members that we can be.

Also, we were notified today that the company is going to be looking for some FNFT’s to go on-loan to different work-centers in the Upper Sun-coast area. They are as follows:

Seminole: 2 FNFT’s on Loan to New Port Richey, and 1 to Clearwater. 

Skyway: 3 FNFT’s on loan to Gandy

The Company will also be putting out an Expression of Interest to see if there are any Cable Splicers from the entire operating area to see if anyone is interested in becoming an FNFT.  Again, at this time it is just to see who may be interested in switching Job Classifications. Once we have more information we will share it with the membership.

In regards to the FSRC, we finally got the overtime settlement letters. The company has stated in the letters that Management representatives have re-affirmed their commitment to administer overtime assignments in accordance with Article V, Section 4, Paragraph 4.1 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Therefore those grievances have been resolved and closed.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Hello Sisters and Brothers,

I would like to start off by thanking D.W. Byrd for stepping up and becoming a Steward for Logistics and would also like to thank Danny Dukes for the time and effort he put in while he was a Chief Steward in Logistics.

We are still in the process of getting the first Arbitration scheduled for 2011.  Unfortunately, The Company keeps trying to delay the process.  Once we have it scheduled, I will be sure to let you know.

If you work in the National Buried Service Wire group in the Upper Sun-coast area, I have been assigned to you as your Rep.  I have spoken to Demetrius and left a message for Paul Jenkins to get a meeting scheduled with the Stewards so we can discuss any issues that you are having.  Please get with your Steward to discuss with them the issues you would like discussed during the meeting.  Once we have the meeting scheduled, I will notify the Stewards and we will begin preparing for the discussion. If you have any questions or concerns, please free to call me at 813-626-5136.

Also, we have had numerous discussions with Chiefs and Stewards about setting up another Steward training class. We are in the process of trying to get an International training class set up for those that have not been through it. We have several Verizon Business and Logistics members that would like to step up and become a Steward. We are also going to develop a Local Union training class to help give more knowledge of what to do during an Investigatory Interview and Grievance meetings. If you are interested in attending either class please call your Rep at the Hall and Let them know.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Happy New Year Brothers and Sisters,

I would like to welcome our new members from the group formerly known as Verizon Business.  During our last round of Bargaining we were successful in obtaining them as part of the Bargaining Unit.  Last month Robert and I traveled around the state to meet with them for the purposes of Union Orientation.  There are a total of 66 techs and we met with 59 of them. Some were on Lay-day, Vacation, etc. Out of the total 66, we have received membership applications from 57 of them. There have been a lot of issues in regards to the transition and we are working through as many of them as quickly as possible.  We will be appointing Stewards for this group and we will be setting up a Stewards Training class at the Hall in the near future.

In regards to Arbitration, we had one scheduled for January 31, 2011. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to postpone the termination Arbitration for that former employee.  We have demanded Arbitration on a different Termination case through the AAA (American Arbitration Association) and received a panel of 5 Arbitrators. We will begin researching the 5 Arbitrators and will then get with the company for the selection process. At this time we hope to have the Arbitration scheduled sometime in February.

I hope that you and yours have a Safe a Happy 2011.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Sisters and Brothers,

It has been a pretty busy month with all the ISP talks and I’m sure you will all be glad to know who gets to go in the next round. I will report on the ISP at the Western Unit meeting which will be held on Tuesday November 9^th, 2010 and at the Northwestern Unit meeting which will be held on Thursday November 11^th, 2010. If you would like to know if you got the ISP or have any questions pertaining to the ISP please come to one of the Unit meetings.

         Over the last few months we have been working on a grievance review here at the Hall to see if we can clean up the back log of open grievances. We have found a bunch of open grievances for people that haven’t worked here for quite a few years and have been able to get settlement letters on those. Also, we have found a significant number of grievances that were still open even though discipline has been removed from the employees file, so we were able to settle those as well. We finally got our next Arbitration scheduled and it will be held on January 31^st, 2011. Danny and I will be working together on the Termination case and I will report on it once we get the decision back from the Arbitrator.

         As you all know the Largo Work Center has been sold. I met with Scott, Joe and Jim to discuss what they were going to do with the CZT II’s. Originally they wanted 4 to move to Seminole, 5 to move to Clearwater and 2 in the Gandy/ Skyway area. Everyone got their first choice until we got to the bottom 2 employees and the company was going to require them to move to Clearwater since that is where the openings were. After much discussion all of the CZT II’s were awarded their first choice. The end result will have 5 techs moving to Seminole, 3 moving to Skyway/ Gandy, and 3 moving to Clearwater.

We have the Safety Rodeo coming up on November 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th for Outside Plant in the Upper Sun-coast. It will be held at the Largo Work Center. Please remember to clean the cabs of your trucks out and have all of your Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in a location that you are familiar with. If you don’t have some of your PPE then they will take the information down to order you the replacements immediately. I will try to be there for some of the days so I hope to see you there.

In the SRC there have been some Overtime issues with them forcing by skill-set instead of by inverse Seniority as the Contract reads in Article 5, Section 4, Paragraph 4.1. Robert, Sue and I met with Labor and Val 2 weeks ago to discuss this, Sue and I met with Val and Labor again on Thursday Nov. 4, 2010 to finish up the discussion. We believe that this issue has been resolved, but will have to wait until we have it in writing. We will update you once we have it confirmed. Also, the Day after Thanksgiving holiday bid had 105 people working and Sue, Rachel and I met with Val, Dee Dee and Cynthia to discuss this. Out of 105, only 41 people volunteered to work the holiday, both parties agreed to only have the 41 Reps that volunteered, work the Holiday. If you have any questions, please free to call me at the Hall.

I hope that you all have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving holiday and hope to see you soon.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Hello Sisters and Brothers,

The Month of May was again a busy month.  We have been preparing for Arbitrations and also writing post hearing briefs.  I explained last month how the Arbitration process works.  The best advice I could give any member is please take a Steward or Chief Steward with you during any and all Investigatory meetings, Disciplinary meetings, or conversations with management that could possibly lead to your being disciplined.  Don’t forget, as Union Members you have rights and those rights are called “Weingarten Rights”.  Please make sure that you utilize those rights.  It will help you in the long run, in the unfortunate event that something negative happens to you during work.

We have also been preparing for the upcoming Contract Negotiations that will start June 28^th, 2010.  We already have some proposals written and are researching information to write other proposals based on the entire memberships Survey forms.  We will be discussing proposals during the General Meeting in July.  Just as a reminder the General Meeting in July will be held on the second Friday of the Month and that date is July 9^th, 2010.  Don’t forget to wear Red on Thursdays and Black on Fridays to show signs of Solidarity.

Just as a reminder, the first 180 days of the year is almost here which means that people on loan to other areas should be going back to their regular position.  If you know of anyone that has been on loan since January 1^st, please let your Rep at the hall know if they have not returned to their normal Job duties as of July 1^st so we can address this issue.

If you have applied for one of the positions in another state and have yet received a call from staffing, we were notified that all of the positions have been filled and if you haven’t heard anything, you did not get the position.  If you have any questions, please call me at the Hall.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Hello Sisters and Brothers,

         April was a busy month for me. We had two Arbitrations scheduled for the month of April, One was for a Termination of an employee and the other was a Language dispute. After a lot of preparation for both Arbitrations there was a settlement offered to the employee in regards to the Termination and the employee accepted the offer. The Language dispute Arbitration was heard on April 21^st and it was in regards to the National Buried Service Wire Techs performing job functions of the Fiber Network Field Technicians. We have just received the Transcripts from the Court Reporter and both parties will be writing a brief and submitting to the Arbitrator no later than June 7^th. After the Arbitrator receives the Briefs from both parties, he will have 30 days to give his decision otherwise known as an Award. Once we get the Award we will let the membership know. As far as other Arbitrations go we are still working with the company to schedule 2 more Arbitrations, both being Termination Grievances. More information will follow after it becomes available.

         Last month the Chief Stewards and I met with the new Area Manager of the CZTII classification for meet and greet purposes and to discuss issues that are arising in the Upper Sun-coast Areas. One concern that was addressed was THC’s and On-Loan for 180 days. Rudy gave us his commitment that after 180 days employees that are On-Loan or THC’ing will go back to their respective work group. We also discussed some of the issues with vehicles, overtime, tools, etc. I will be getting with Rudy in the near future to schedule an additional meeting for the second quarter.

          At the end of April, Sue Jerome, Rachel Brougham, a grievant and I met with the company to discuss and go over the TPI results as a settlement for a grievance. We also had a full day of 3^rd Step Grievances in mid April at the FSRC. I would like to thank the Stewards and Chiefs for their participation and preparation for those grievance meetings.

         I would like to end my report with Congratulations to a Member in the Upper Sun-coast area. She is a member in the FSRC who has been a member of our Local since Mid 1998, and she received the “Lance London” Award at the General Meeting on Friday night May 7^th, 2010. The “Lance London” award is an award that is presented to one member per year that communicates with as many members as possible on issues that arise in the workplace. Tina has assisted me and Robert Prunn on setting up and presenting the Membership Training, She is involved with our Solidarity Committee, and has assisted many members with FMLA issues. Congratulations Tina Tyler.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

Last Month I reported on the Equalization of Overtime agreement between the Company and the Union. Unfortunately, after reviewing the Overtime rosters in each yard we discovered that there are a lot of issues with the equalization process.  The Chiefs and I have met with Paul Jenkins regarding these issues and were able to clarify a lot of questions that the LCOM’s and Stewards had regarding this plan.  As of right now we have a meeting scheduled to meet with Paul on March 16^th, to see if any progress has been made since our last meeting.  John Glye and I will be meeting with Ron Corgan next week to discuss issues and possible solutions to the problems that are happening all over the company on the Equalization process. Once the discussions are over we will notify the Chiefs and send out an email update.

If you are not receiving the email updates from our web site please go back to the main page and on the left side you will see a menu.  Towards the bottom of the menu you will see an Update Contact info link.  Click on that and fill out the necessary information then you can start getting updated every time there is a change to the website.

Your Bargaining committee has begun going through the 2010 Survey forms, if you have not filled out your survey form you can still do so by going back to the main page and on the left side you will see a menu.   Towards the bottom of the menu you will see a 2010 Survey Form link.  Click on that link and fill out the form and we will be able to see what is most important to you during the upcoming Bargaining session.  Remember it is your contract so your information is not only important to you but to the Bargaining Committee as well.

So far this year I have had Parking lot meetings at the following work centers: New Port Richie, Tarpon Springs, Range Rd, and Skyway.  I will be getting with the Chiefs to set up Parking Lot meetings at the following work centers in the near future: Largo, Seminole, Gandy, Supply and both APC locations.

This is an important year for getting information so please try to attend the General Meeting, which is held the First Friday of the month at the Union Hall or the Unit meeting in your area.  Last month both of the Unit Meeting in the Upper Sun-coast area voted on a time change for the meetings. The Western Unit meeting time was changed from 7:30 to 7:00pm and the North Western Unit meeting time was changed from 7:30 to 6:30pm. Both times were changed in an effort to make it easier for members to attend the meetings.  We will try it out and see if it works, if not times can be changed back if a motion is made under New Business.  The Executive Board approved the time changes therefore the time changes will go into effect for the March meetings.

I hope that you all have a safe month and look forward to seeing you at one of the above-mentioned meetings.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner