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

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

During the last month we have met with the company on multiple days to discuss Overtime issues and ways to improve the Equalization of Overtime.  Hopefully, by now Management has talked to you about the process.  There should be a Steward working with the clerks in Outside Plant at each work center a minimum of once a week to make sure that the hours worked and refused are entered into the system correctly.  The company has committed to doing everything that they can to make sure that the overtime is equalized in each work group.  The Overtime rosters should be posted weekly, as stated in Article V, Section 4, Paragraph 4.1.5. Just an FYI the rosters will be two weeks behind.  The goal is to have all employees on said roster to be within 25% from low to high.  Article V, Section 4, Paragraph 4.1 in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between IBEW LU 824 and Verizon on page 13 states the following: 

Work resulting in overtime compensation shall be reasonably and impartially rotated in the particular work group, by classification, among those employees who have completed twenty-four (24) months’ seniority and/or thirty-six (36) months on their wage progression schedules in the work classification, and who possess the skills necessary to perform the required work, in an endeavor to maintain overtime within a reasonable balance on a quarterly basis during a one (1) year period.

I will be contacting the Chiefs and Stewards in my area to provide me a copy of the Overtime Roster that includes the week ending January 30^th, 2010 so I can look at them to see if we have any issues that need to be addressed.  We need to do everything we can to reduce the amount of problems that we have had in the past with Overtime. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact the Chiefs and Stewards in your yard or you may contact me by phone 813-626-5136 or email me at dwagneribew824 [dot] org.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Happy New Year Brothers and Sisters,

I hope that each and every one of you had a Safe and Happy Holidays. We are now into a new year and it will probably be a very busy one. We all need to remember to do our job better than anyone else because we are trained IBEW members. We have a lot to look forward to this year, especially since we will be in Contract Negotiations before you know it. The negotiating team was announced to the membership in attendance at the General meeting Friday January 8^th, 2010. However, if you would like to know who is on the Committee, please read the Business Managers report since Robert has already posted it there. I am proud to represent each and every one of you and I feel that we have a great team. The committee will begin their first meeting sometime later this month and we will put together a Survey to find out what issues are most important to our membership. Please take the time to fill it out since we will review each and every one of them.

This is the most important time for you to keep informed on issues that arise and where we stand in Bargaining so please make every effort to attend as many General and Unit meetings that you can. Remember U are the Union. Everything we achieve depends on each and every member doing their part, since the committee is only your voice.

Membership Training has started up again and we will have our first class for 2010 on January 14^th. If you or someone you know would like to attend please contact me or your Business Representative at the hall.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Dear Brothers and sisters,

I hope that everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. We have just completed our 11 Membership Training class here at the hall and so far we have had approximately 400 members come through the class. We have discontinued the classes for the remainder of this year, however if you or someone you know would like to attend a class please contact a Rep at the Hall since we will be scheduling more during the beginning of 2010.

One of the main points of the class is to come together and bring SOLIDARITY back to the membership. This is a subject that has been brought up by many members in the different classes to bring us back together as a family like we once were. From these suggestions, Robert has put together a Solidarity Committee and they will begin meeting this month. If you are interested in participating or have any ideas please contact a Rep.

I hope that each and every member has a Safe and Happy Holiday season and try to remember that you and your brothers and sisters as well as the fore members of this Local Union are the reason that you enjoy the benefits that we have today. Please try to spread the word that you are a proud Union member of IBEW LU 824 this season, especially when you are talking about the benefits that we all enjoy.

Unfortunately, unemployment is at an all time high so keep that in mind this season, while doing your holiday shopping please try to buy Union-American made products as it will help keep jobs in America. If you are unsure of where to buy Union Made products you can go to www.unionlabel.org to learn more.

Please have a safe and Happy Holiday and I look forward to seeing you at a meeting soon.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I would like to remind everyone that we have Membership Training going on here at the hall weekly. Hopefully someone in your work location has attended and has shared their experience with you. If you would like to attend please send me an email with your name, Job title, work location and a phone number so we may contact you to schedule a date for you to attend. Remember you are the Union and together we can accomplish a lot. Please email at dwagneribew824 [dot] org (dwagneribew824 [dot] org) if you are interested in attending or would like to learn more about the training session.

We are going through some tough times at the Logistics department. They are moving the supply warehouse from the Adamo Drive location to a non-union warehouse, and we were recently notified that they plan on using the non-union contractors to load the trucks for our Drivers. The problem with this is that our drivers have always taken pride in making sure that the orders are correct before they load the material into the trailers and deliver them. Once the company implements this we will be filing a grievance to get this work back since it has always been the drivers work and it belongs to them. Of course, like everything else the company is trying to use efficiency as the goal for this decision, but how many changes have they made that actually help you to be more efficient on the job.

On a more positive note, the Union negotiated a wage increase with the Company for the Service Representatives because of the increase in work that the Florida Solutions Response Center has obtained during this past year. They will go from D1 to the D1-1 wage schedule. The increase will take effect on November 8^th, 2009. In the event that you don’t see the increase on your payroll checks, don’t worry about it the Company will back pay the difference to the payroll period beginning November 8^th, 2009.

I hope that each and every one of you has a Happy Thanksgiving and hope to see you soon.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

During the last month we have had some highs and lows.  As I’m sure you are aware, the Pub Com (Coin) department has been sold, Verizon Logistics will be moving to a new location, we will see 34 FNFT’s (Fios Techs) leave the property in the Tampa area on Friday October 9^th, 2009 and we were notified that the APC group (Assignment) in both the Clearwater and Westside locations will be moving to the Verizon East area sometime in the first three quarters in 2010.

In the SRC (what used to be known as the St. Pete Offline Center) new work has been brought into the center which will not add more jobs, but will save current positions, since a part of their work will be leaving due to the sale of Verizon properties in other states to Frontier. Training has begun for some employees and all employees will be trained on the new work as soon as they finish training all of the Reps on Fiber, which is scheduled to take place at the beginning of December. Also, the involuntary surplus of the 42 remaining Cable Splicer’s company-wide has been called off due to the amount of contractors on property.

In the past four weeks we have had approximately 160 members out at the Hall for Membership Training. The purposes of the classes are to give members a brief history of the IBEW and our Local. We also discuss ways to improve solidarity at each work location to prepare for negotiations next year. It doesn’t matter if you were hired on recently or 30 years ago, we want members of all seniority to attend.  Thus far, we have had a positive response from the members that have attended.  We have classes scheduled through the end of October and will schedule more in November and December as well as next year.  If you are interested in attending a class, please get with a Steward, Chief Steward or call your Business Representative at the hall or email me at dwagneribew824 [dot] org.

On page 2 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement under Article II (Company-Union relations), Section 1, Paragraph 1.2 it states the following:

The Brotherhood agrees that the members of the Local Union will use their best endeavors to protect the interest of the Company, to preserve its property and to furnish the highest quality of service. The Brotherhood and the Local Union will cooperate with the Company in promoting the welfare and the advancement of the industry.

These times are tough and we need to make sure that we are doing quality work in order to make sure that Verizon’s customers are happy with the service that we, the trained Union members of IBEW LU 824, give them. Please make sure that you not only give quality service, but also do it safely. The job you help save could be your own.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner

Hello Brothers and Sisters

I would personally like to thank each and every member for the warm welcome that I have received while going around to different work locations. I have seen quite a few people that I have worked with and represented in the past and it was great seeing all of you. Also, I have met a lot of great people during this process as well. I know that there were some issues during the campaign and I believe that everyone has decided to put those things behind, as we are all moving forward.

Robert and I have not been able to make it to all of the areas that I represent, however we will make every effort to get there before the end of this year. So far we have been to St. Pete Offline (SRC), Supply, New Port Richey, Tarpon Springs, Clearwater, and Gandy work centers. We are scheduled to go to Skyway on September 16^th, and I will be getting with the Chiefs in Largo, Seminole, Clearwater Main, and Westside areas to set up meetings there. I know there are a lot of CO’s and other departments out there that have members scattered all over the Western and Northwestern areas and we will try to figure out the best way to meet with all of you as well.

During the last month Tina Tyler, Chief Steward in the SRC, and I have been working together to put together a Membership Training class. So far, I believe that we have put together a lot of excellent information relating to the History of the IBEW and our Local. This class will also help members understand the benefits of being a Union member, as well as the importance of following and enforcing our contract language. We will also discuss our “Weingarten Rights” and the protection that we have with them.

If you or someone you know would like to attend a training session, please call me at 813-626-5136 or e-mail me at dwagneribew824 [dot] org. If you email me please include your best contact number, job title and location as we are trying to have a mixture of Job classifications in the class. We believe that it is also a great way for members to interact and learn more about the different job responsibilities of the different work groups. I hope to see a lot of interest in this class, as it will only increase the solidarity in our Local Union. There is no cost from you to attend so please contact me so we can schedule a session for you to attend.

In Solidarity,

Dan Wagner