About CWA Local 1031

The New Jersey State workers organized in 1981 and won the right to negotiate with the State Of New Jersey.  Communications Workers of America won the right to represent four bargaining units; Administrative/Clerical, Professional, Supervisory and Higher Level Supervisory.

CWA currently represents over 34.000 State workers.  The National Union aligned these workers into groups either by agency or by geographic location. Local 1031 was created in order to represent the State Colleges and Universities and this representation extends to the College of New Jersey, Kean University, Montclair University, New Jersey City University, Ramapo College, Rowan University, Stockton College, Thomas Edison State College and William Paterson University.  Because Local 1031 is known as the Higher Education Local, we also represent the State workers for the Commission on Higher Education, the Office of Student Assistance as well as other public workers such as the Supervisors at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) and the Maplewood Township employees.  In addition, we represent the following libraries: Bloomfield, Cranford, Elizabeth, Irvington, Library of the Chathams, Maplewood, Millburn, Nutley, Orange and South Brunswick.

Organizing

CWA Local 1031 represents primarily employees associated with higher education and although the libraries we represent are not directly connected with higher education, they are linked to education and have the same titles that we represent in the State Colleges and Universities.

In 1994, CWA Local 1031 was approached by a small Local representing five libraries looking to merge into Local 1031.  This seemed to be a natural fit and the merger was completed. Since that time we have organized five additional libraries and we are speaking with other libraries about being represented by CWA Local 1031.

 CWA Local 1031 is in the process of speaking to the Administrative and Supervisory employees at Rutgers University.  This is also a perfect and natural fit since we already represent the same titles at all the State Colleges and Universities as well as UMDNJ.  The fact that we represent UMDNJ is important because these employees are public workers just as the Rutgers University employees are.  In addition, and this is a very important point, both John Rose, President and Kathleen Hernandez, Executive Vice President of Local 1031 are involved in the Governor’s Steering Committee which discusses issues affected by the proposed merger between Rutgers, NJIT and UMDNJ.

Lastly, CWA local 1031 is in the process of organizing a group of employees who work for the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission.  While this specific group is not directly aligned with our other employees, Ramapo College and Kean University both perform research with the wetlands at this site.

The CWA Triangle

CWA is a Union that puts a large emphasis on organizing and knows  the only way to organize is to abide by three major programs.

The triangle symbolizes the three major programs of the union: representation, organizing, and community/political action. None can stand alone. If the triangle is broken on any side, sooner or later it will be broken on every side. CWA's founding President, Joseph Beirne, called this the "triple threat."

Representation, day-to-day contract administration and collective bargaining, is the base of the triangle. Yet the other two sides - organizing and community and political action - are just as critical to our strength. Unless we build our union through effective organizing inside existing bargaining units, and by organizing unorganized workers and adding new units, we will continue to be disappointed at the bargaining table. Similarly, unless we have effective community and political action programs, we will not have the kind of popular and legislative support we need to bargain effectively.

The founding President of CWA, Joseph Beirne, called this triangle the "triple threat." As we enter the 21st century, we need to return to our roots and rebuild the triangle in order to defend the rights of our members and their families.

Organizing

Since 1970, organizing in the U.S., particularly in the private sector, has drastically declined. The percentage of the U.S. workforce which is organized has dropped from 30% to 12%. Meanwhile, in Canada, union strength has increased from 30% to 36%.  In other industrial countries, the percentage of organized workers is even higher. This data demonstrates that technology and the shift from manufacturing to a service-based economy are not responsible for the decline of unionization in the U.S.

The percentage of organized workers will grow only if our members are actively involved in building their union. Our members must realize the connection between organizing and their families' well-being if we are to reverse this downward trend. Organizing cannot be viewed as a separate activity, but as a key link that increases the power of working men and women and their families.

CWA's organizing strategy relies upon strong local organizing committees who are supported by staff and resources from the international union. Each of us must take on the task of bringing new members into our union. If we are to reverse the decline of the labor movement in the U.S., organizing must be more than a slogan.

Community and Political Action

Organizing in our workplaces must also lead to increased organizing in our communities. Our fundamental goals - job security, an improving standard of living for our families, and real protection for the right to organize - require increased political power as well as more workplace organizing.

Improving our chances of electing candidates who share our vision means that we must align ourselves with family members, members of other unions, and unorganized workers who support our goals. We also increase our political power by building coalitions for better legislation with other labor organizations and also with community-based groups who share a similar outlook.

For example, without political power, healthcare for our families will never be a right guaranteed to all. Instead we will continually struggle to protect our right to healthcare with every contract we bargain, often sacrificing other bargaining goals when healthcare costs rise. Multinational corporations will continue to erode our job security under the guise of deregulation and competition unless we have the political power to restore our rights as workers.

Representation

Many of us came to join the union solely for better representation on the job. In fact, that is the primary purpose of the union and remains the base of our triangle. Yet, representation on the job depends heavily on our ability to increase our power through organizing and effective political action.

Bargaining contracts during a time when union membership is decreasing will be increasingly disappointing. It is as if unorganized workers in the same company, industry, or community are sitting on the other side of the bargaining table with management. They are pitted against us as management argues for lower wages and benefits and eliminates job security in the name of efficiency.

Similarly, if our political power is waning, there will be fewer safeguards not only for the right to organize, but also for the right to strike if necessary. The law will increasingly work against us when we try to mobilize our members and our allies in the fight for justice at the bargaining table. As we attempt to improve our working conditions and bargain new contracts, we all need to enlist new volunteers for organizing and political action.

What can we do?

How we organize and what happens once we win an election

When organizing, CWA Local 1031 has relied on our Staff, Members and the Organizers from the National assigned to our Local.  CWA Local 1031 currently employs Chief Organizer René Garzón, who is assisted by the National, all of the Local 1031 staff and  many of our members, to get information, set up meetings, put information on the web site, make phone calls, send out mailings… If a campaign is moving toward an election, additional resources from the National and other Locals are available to Local 1031.  Our staffs as well as the staff of the National, other Locals and their members have been known to assist in picketing, leafleting, house visits and phone banking when needed.  CWA will provide as many resources as it needs.

Once an election is won, what happens?

CWA Local 1031 assigns a Staff Representative to a group that has been organized. In 1993, when Local 1031 Organized UMDNJ, our current EVP Kathleen  Hernandez was hired as a Staff Representative to represent the members in that bargaining unit.  As the number of libraries we represent increased, Local 1031 hired Staff Representative Phyllis Haefner who worked as a Librarian solely to represent the libraries. Depending on the group size and the needs, Local 1031 may employ additional staff to ensure those needs are met.

Negotiating a contract

When negotiating a contract, four things must happen; a negotiating team needs to be formed of employees working in that unit.  Surveys need to be sent out to determine what issues need to appear on the contract.  Based on meetings and the surveys, CWA then formulates a contract which is then reviewed by the bargaining team.  Once the proposed contract is approved by the bargaining team, it is presented to the management team when negotiations begin.

In order to present a viable first contract, a great deal of preparation is required.  CWA will review other contracts held by the employer, the employee handbook, policies of the employer, job titles, areas, hours of work, salaries, and compensation.  For smaller contracts and successor contracts, CWA Local 1031 usually does the groundwork, however, when dealing with larger contracts, Local 1031 will bring in a National Staff Representative to assist.

Once the contract is ratified by the members, Local 1031 will seek volunteers from the membership to become Shop Stewards and be trained on the new contract.  In addition to stewards, the members need to elect a Branch President(s) who will run meetings for the members and most importantly, handle, with assistance from the Local’s Staff Representative, any problems at the worksite.

CWA Local 1031 negotiated contract for UMDNJ

History

Supervisors at UMDNJ approached CWA in 1993 and sought Union representation.  This was a hard battle and took a long time to make significant strides.  The first contract is always the hardest.  While we seek to gain wage increases, a grievance process and job security in our initial contracts, the language is only the beginning of building blocks.  It has taken the State workers 20 years to really improve certain areas of the contract.  UMDNJ is in the middle of their fourth contract and there’s a lot of room for improvement.

With this stated, here is some information regarding UMDNJ and its progress. During the organizing process, UMDNJ ran an anti-union campaign trying to avert CWA from coming in and helping the supervisors at UMDNJ gain a voice at the workplace  This was unheard of in the public sector up until Governor Whitman’s era in New Jersey.  It was very clear from the outset that UMDNJ did not want to deal with CWA.  However, the supervisors at UMDNJ won and negotiations began.  Our first contract was an especially tough one.  We could not reach agreement on several key issues and a Factfinder was brought in.  In the public sector, a Factfinder is a neutral third party who listens to the differences and makes a recommendation to both parties.  Unlike arbitration, the recommendation is not binding.  Prior to using the Factfinder, CWA and UMDNJ agreed to abide by the Factfinder’s recommendations regarding the Supervisory unit.

One of the key issues brought by UMDNJ before the Factfinder was the desire for the University to cease with the steps system and to implement a pay for performance system.  The Factfinder found in favor of UMDNJ and the supervisors pay system was forever changed.

Although on paper, pay for performance sounds good, in practice it has been found to be a failure.  UMDNJ supervisors experienced upper management changing evaluation ratings, the push to evaluate all employees as average, ratings constraints tied to budgets, amounts of bonuses varying and a system where if one employee is rated high, another employee then needs to be rated low making favoritism common practice.

After several years of trying different approaches to correct this system, and with the positive changes at the upper management level, CWA and UMDNJ seemed to have worked out a new balance between the supervisors and upper management.  A balance that looks very promising.

In the current contract beginning November 2002, CWA was able to achieve an across–the-board increase of 2.5% for the supervisors each year of the contract (Remember they had not seen across-the-board increases in 10 years!)  Moreover, the workers will receive an increase that is tied to their evaluation and is added to their base pay.  This merit system is different and addresses a lot of the problems mentioned above.  It divides employees into operating units.  These units are often schools i.e.: The School of Dentistry, The Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine and Central Administration.

A system was worked out where the University calculates 1% of the entire supervisors’ salaries from one operating unit and that sum of money must be spent for the merit bonuses.  The university will not save any money by giving out low evaluations because all the money allocated to that unit must be spent.  The following example will demonstrate how the merit system is calculated:

Step 1:    Determination of “share” value

The merit system will rate all employees on a 1 through 5 point system 1 being the lowest rating, 3 being average rating and 5 being the highest rating.

A “share” of the merit pool shall be determined as follows:

(a)     The performance rating number (3, 4 or 5) shall be multiplied by the number of        people in the operating unit receiving that rating.

            Example:

                        10 people receive 5                  10 X 5 = 50

                        20 people receive 4                  20 X 4 = 80

                        50 people receive 3                  50 X 3 = 150

            Add the total number of “points” of resulting calculation:

                        50 + 80 + 150 = 280 points

(b)        Divide the merit pool by the total number of “points” to determine the value of the “share”

            Example:          1% of operating unit payroll = $45,000

                        $45,000 divided by 280 = @160

                        One (1) “share” = $160

Step 2: Distribute merit pool by performance rating, as follows:

(a)        Employees receiving a rating of “5” shall receive a merit adjustment of one share multiplied by (5):

Example:                      5 X $160 = $800

All employees in the operating unit receiving a rating of 5 would receive a merit adjustment of $800

(b)               Employees receiving a rating of 4 shall receive a merit adjustment of one share multiplied by (4):

Example                       4 X $160 = $640

All employees in the operating unit receiving a rating of 4 would receive a merit adjustment of $640

(c)        Employees receiving a rating of 3 shall receive a merit adjustment of one share multiplied by (3)

            Example:                      3 X $160 = $480

            All employees in the operating unit receiving a rating of 3 would receive a merit        adjustment of $480

Note: As previously stated, merit adjustment is added to the base salary in addition to the across-the-board increases.  This amounts to an average of 3.5% per year.

Rutgers/UMDNJ/NJIT Merger

Governor McGreevey commissioned a study to look into the restructuring of the three public institutions in New Jersey and have them become one University.  The Study recommended that the restructuring of the three Universities would benefit the State of New Jersey and it would yield more research dollars for the University. This will translate into more jobs as well as jobs for students graduating from the University.  Furthermore, a Steering Committee was set up to determine what needs to happen for this restructuring to take place.  In addition to the Steering Committee, an Advisory Committee which is made up of students, alumni, doctors, clergy, as well as several Unions, was created to discuss numerous topics dealing with the proposed merger as well as to facilitate the process.  AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech approached Governor McGreevy to obtain CWA seats on the Advisory Committee.  Governor McGreevey agreed and allowed both Local 1031’s President and Executive Vice President to fill those seats.  While allowing CWA to occupy these seats, the Governor promised that Union members would not suffer.

The Steering Committee has also set up several small subcommittees to study specific areas.  One of these areas was Human Resource issues.  All of the unions who take part in the Advisory Committee meet and discuss critical union issues such as...What happens when University employees with the same titles are being represented by more than one Union? While the unions did not agree to the details of a resolution, the premise that no union will raid another was agreed upon.  The HR subcommittee met in August and asked the participants to submit “white papers” detailing areas of concern and this information was shared with all the participants.  A follow up meeting was schedule but due to Hurricane Isabel the meeting was postponed and rescheduled for October.

CWA Local 1031 holds an active seat that looks into the issues that will affect Rutgers University, UMDNJ and NJIT should the restructuring go through. 

Legislation may be introduced in the next six months that will enable the restructuring to happen.  If this is the case, CWA Local 1031 is already to deal with any possible issues that may arise.

Dues

CWA Union dues for the State and Public employees are 1.15%.  In the private sector these dues amount to 1.30%.

Benefits of being a CWA member

These are some of the advantage points the Colleges, Universities, and UMDNJ gained after joining CWA.