Business Rep Reports

Brothers & Sisters:

The trend of requiring FNFT's and CZT II's continues in Tampa. Most of the FNFT's on loan in Eastern to different work groups are being brought back due to FIOS activity increasing, or they have reached the end of their 180 temp. Work assignment. Eastern CZT II's are also being required even after canvassing for volunteers from other work groups. This is of course due to the recent bad weather we've experienced. Work activity associated with the School Board FIOS project in Polk and Hillsborough County is keeping Cable Splicer's busy as well. This splicing work should continue till the beginning of August. 

EVRC schedules are horrible. I've spoke with Aaron several times this month about issues specific to the schedules/tours. He did inform me that after July, they would stop the FSC training until further notice. This is partially due to the decreased interest in the training. He needs approx. 25-30 employees to schedule classes, but only has approx. 14 employees asking to go at this time.

In the NDC we had an issue with the Overtime rosters not being up to date, but management is now working with the Union Stewards to update the roster with the correct amount of hours.

BZT's continue to stay busy with Transfers. The "Spinco" transfers have finally finished, but now they have several groups moving from both 301 and the Temple Terrace complex to the West Side C.O. Unfortunately due to asbestos at the West Side location, the APC group will have to relocate to Temple Terrace while the asbestos is removed. Then after the removal, everyone will begin to relocate to West Side.

Hope everyone remembers we are in bargaining, and to check the website for updates.

In Solidarity,

John Glye Jr.

 Brothers and Sisters,

On June 16^th the Stress Committee set up a table in the EAX lobby. We provided information to approximately 400 members with EAP/VZ Life information. IBEW824 and the Company donated items for door-prizes. This was a great success. Our next stop will be the Main building in September.

Zaida Menendez, Chief Steward in the CSSC and I continue our weekly meeting with management. According to the company the pitch and save rates are up, the close rates have shown great improvement. Attendance has gone down to about 12%. Please remember that if you are called into an investigation or meeting it us up to YOU to request a steward it is NOT up to management to provide you one.

Sherry Waters, Chief Steward in E-Commerce, Felicia Archie, Steward Charlotte Smith and I met with management to start our monthly partnership meetings. The attendance rate in E-Commerce is about 7.5%. The morale in the center is a greater concern. We discussed ways to improve these issues. Management was very impressed with the awesome job that was done by the members with extending the hours and Saturday coverage. The move from the 3 floor to the 9^th floor should be complete within 6 weeks.

Dora Mulis, Chief Steward at the 301 Complex, Joy Teague, Peaches Caldwell, Rhonda Gilbert, Alice Kunder, and I met with management to start our monthly partnership meetings. We discussed several safety issues that were taken as action items for our next month meeting. We covered several process concerns that will reduce handling time and order processing for the BSSS in the customer care/VCC Department. Management advised that the last Business 101 training class is scheduled for July 19^th.  

In Solidarity,

Michelle Agne  

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

Brothers and Sisters,

   In the month of May I had the opportunity of attending the IBEW safety caucus with Felicia Archie and Noah Kaaa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In case you were wondering, it was just as hot and humid there as it is here. Felicia and Noah have both volunteered to work on our union safety committee.

     This was a 2-day caucus, which was kicked off by Kristine Sexter who spoke on the generational differences in the workplace. This was a very informative discussion to help understand why each generation thinks, reacts and communicates the way they do. Understanding these differences is applicable in everything from safety to simply communicating across those generation gaps.

   Next up was Lou Boulanger who explained the use of a job hazard analysis. We will be discussing this in more detail with our joint union/company safety committee. The short version of a job hazard analysis is a mindset. If we are aware of everything that can go wrong we will diminish the possibility of being injured.

   Carl Potter continued the caucus with the theme that “NOBODY GETS HURT”. This should be the goal for us all. There were 2 specific things that we all should be able to do. The first was that we all commit to wearing seatbelts. Not only is it mandatory if you drive a company vehicle but it is a federal law. In his words, it is hard for a steward to file a grievance for someone who gets written up for not wearing a seatbelt when it is violation of the law. The second thing was backing accidents. Please make sure before you put the vehicle in reverse that there is nothing behind you.

   The last speaker at the conference was David Wald. He was with OSHA and spoke on recording keeping and inspections. He stressed the importance of reporting and injuries, fatalities or work related illnesses. Unfortunately, every day in this country alone, 14 workers die in workplace preventable accidents. That is almost 100 workers per week. That was an eye opener for me and hopefully for you as well.

     For outside plant we have a joint union/company safety meeting scheduled for June 16^th.  If you have a safety issue that needs to be addressed at this meeting please call or email me as soon as possible so we can get it on the agenda. As for inside plant, I am still trying to get a date set for last months meeting which had to be postponed. As soon as it is set I will be contacting the inside plant committee.

  In Solidarity,

      Danny

Brothers and Sisters,

The Stress Committee is ready to start meeting with members to provide information on the EAP/VZ Life. Our first stop will be the EAX building. We will have a table in the lobby on June 16^th from 7:30am until 1:00pm.

Our goal is to start forming sub-committees. If you are interested in being on one of these please let me know.

Zaida Menendez, Chief Steward in the CSSC and I continue to meet with management. I have gotten some positive feedback from the changes that have taken place in the CSSC. Management will continue meeting with representative to get more ideas on what will help improve moral. According to the company the pitch rates are up but, close rates are down. The attendance rate continues to be at about 14%.  Please remember that if you are called into an investigation or meeting it is up to YOU to request a steward, it is not up to management to provide you one. If you get written up and want to file a grievance it must be done within 10 calendar days. Please contact your steward as soon as possible.

Robert, Jim Brading (Steward) and I met with BSC management and the offline group to discuss the way that the work is being assigned and the rotation of work.

Dora Mulis, Chief Steward at the 301 Complex, Melissa Braswell and I met with Roxy Parker to discuss forming an environmental committee. We will start these next month.

Sherry Waters, Chief Steward in E-Commerce and I met with Karen Provost and we will also form an environmental committee. We will start these next month.

In Solidarity,

Michelle Agne  

Brothers & Sisters:

Tampa continues to stay busy, especially for the FNFT's, Cable Splicer's, and anyone else working on the School Board Fiber project. Eastern activity for FNFT's remain slow. Work Order activity in Eastern has picked up, but we do have a lot of FNFT's on loan to Construction so it doesn't seem as busy as Tampa.

EVRC continues to train employees for the FSC. This is creating scheduling issues, so please plan ahead for Floaters, Vacations, etc. It will probably get worse before it gets better during the summer due to storm activity and the amount of employees taking Vacation.

BZT I's are staying busy with PBX transfers throughout the area, especially in Tampa. We also have some BZT I's going on loan to the C.O.'s for the LET project.

Temple Terrace will see more work groups leave in the next couple of months, but it's mostly quiet right now.

In Solidarity,

John Glye Jr.

Brothers and Sisters,

     The month of April was busy but productive. In the FSC, a meeting was held concerning the Dispatch Out checklist. The issue was with the last statement where it was asking for an electronic signature that stated you have answered the questions to the best of your knowledge “truthfully”. The problem was that in order for some tickets to be dispatched out our FSC reps had to lie on the checklist in order to get the ticket dispatched out to our FNFT’s. After some discussion with management, this statement has been removed completely from the DO checklist. With that said, please be sure to follow proper procedures on the checklist to ensure the highest quality service for each customer.

  Also in April another outside plant safety meeting was held. This meeting unfortunately started with a review of preventable accidents. Most of the vehicle accidents were from following too closely. Please remember to use the 3 second rule while driving. The other vehicle accidents were hitting fixed objects and backing accidents. Doing a circle check before moving the vehicle could possibly have prevented these accidents. In order to prevent damage to the ladder racks on your van, do not use the drive through windows at any restaurants. This is a new company policy. Please visit the safety tab from our home page for any new safety updates. If you have any safety concerns, please contact me so we can get it addressed at the next safety meeting. There was an inside plant safety meeting that was scheduled for May but had to be postponed due to a scheduling conflict with Kevin Cantero. I will inform our safety advocates as soon as this is rescheduled.

    In the VPSC things are going really well. That department has done a great job of not only keeping their work, but has actually taken additional work in from other states. Their goal is to be a national center. The good news is that through their hard work, there are 12 new positions up for bid in the VPSC. These jobs include Business Response Specialist (7openings) and Design Technician (5 openings). The bid will close on May 13 2009, so if you are interested, please go on line to apply. Great job! Keep up the good work.

  In solidarity,

    Danny

Brothers and Sisters,

Zaida Menendez, Chief Steward in the CSSC and I continue to meet with management on a weekly basis. We continue to discuss ways to improve morale in the CSSC.  The bathroom and break rooms have been given some attention. Stavros Maglis has been meeting with representative individually to get a better idea of what the issues are and he has been making efforts to be seen on the sales floor more. We were told that the new Sales Coordinator would be starting sales focus groups. Get involved. We hope that you have noticed some changes in your center. We can do a lot more but, we need your input. The attendance rate has stayed at about 13%. Sales were at about 103% and attainment is good.  Please remember that YOU have to ask for a steward if you are called into an investigation or being given a write up.

Dora Mulis, Chief Steward at the 301 Complex, Melissa Braswell and I met with Roxy Parker last month. As a result of this meeting a tentative Business 101 class has been set for May 15, 2010 for 10 of the 20 remaining BSSS’S. We are working on getting grievances heard.

There have been some changes in the way that Verizon processes FMLA. Please look at the Verizon home page for these updates. If you have any questions or need assistance please feel free to call Melissa Braswell or myself.

I will continue to spend each Thursday in the front of the EAX building. It has been a pleasure meeting and visiting with members.

In Solidarity,

Michelle Agne 

Brothers & Sisters:

April arrived with cold, heat, and lots of Pollen! It was a horrible month for outside techs since it was in 40's at the beginning of the month, and near 90 at the end. Summer is almost here…hopefully all of our Union Safety advocates are getting with their managers to schedule training on dealing with the heat this summer. We want everyone to know the dangers/signs of heat exhaustion, etc. so please schedule training as soon as possible. Danny Alfonso and I met with Joe Lombrana and Kwame Trotman on the overtime issues and in most areas it's improving. The big issues continue to be; asking for tentative overtime and making sure that the refused overtime is put on the rosters.

EVRC Reps. still continue to have scheduling issues due to the FSC training. It will hopefully improve in the next 4-6 weeks according to the Manager. Robert and I met with Aaron over the issue with one of the "trainers" for the FSC. The meeting was productive and Aaron agreed to allow the employees who were not properly trained in the night class to retake the class beginning on May 3, 2010.

NDC is still using members from the RCMAC on temporary work assignments. I had a meeting scheduled with Mr. Welford, but it was canceled at that the last minute. Hope to have a meeting soon to discuss what the permanent plans are for both of these work groups.

Cable Splicers continue to stay busy, especially with the Hillsborough County School Board project. This project should keep us busy through the next couple of months. We also had several large cable cuts in Tampa this month, which created a lot of overtime for some of our Cable Splicers. I met with Misty Wise last month to try and get the damaged cables brought back to the CZT II's, but we agreed to disagree and moved the grievance on to the next step.

FNFT's in Eastern are still reporting limited order activity. We still have techs on loan to Construction doing TAC work. In Tampa, things are busier. In fact, the company has offered some overtime on lay days in both the North and the South.

In Solidarity,

John Glye Jr.

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