We stand together or fall alone - CWA Local 1180

Communique
July/August 2011
A union is a way of doing something together you can’t do alone. Utah Phillips (1935-2008)
Local 1180, Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO
We stand together or
fall alone
See Cheliotes page 9
Front: Shirley Gallop and Mirta DeJesus.
Rear: James Monaghan, Desiree Waters, Denise Gilliam, Debra Harley.
Gary Schoichet

Gary schoichet Gary schoichet
Gary schoichet
2 J u l y /Au g u s t ’11
C o m m u n i q u e
roving reporter Asks...
I just gave you
$1million. What
are you going to
do with it?
Arlene White
Health and
Hospitals
Corporation,
Coney Island
Hospital,
Coordinating
Manager.
First I’d bank it and help my kids so
they don’t keep coming to me. I’d give
money to charities because I know
other people need help. If I have it, I
can give it and help people with AIDS,
with diabetes, with autism.
And I’d do a week’s worth of soaking
in the bath and full body massages.
Ava George
Department of
Environmental
Protection,
Principal
Administrative
Associate.
With my million
dollars I’m going back to my islands,
St. Vincents and the Grenadines,
and being the mother of a child with
autism, I would build a residence
and school for children with autism.
People in the islands are not trained
to deal with children with disabilities.
I’d want to make the kids independent
and self-sufficient.
I will, however, need more than $1
million. Maybe once I get started
people will help.
Natasha Lee
NYS Unified
Court System,
Administrative
Services Clerk.
I’d build a youth
center so that
teenagers in
trouble can have a place to go. There
would be counseling, recreation
facilities, scholarships for college, and
whatever else was needed.
And I would travel to Egypt to see the
pyramids along the Nile; and to Peru
to see its indigenous populations and
Machu Picchu, which is a pre-Columbian
Inca site built in the mountains more
than a mile above sea level.
Gary Schoichet is the Roving Reporter
By Gary Schoichet
Carmen Carter
Principal Administrative
Associate, Department of Citywide
Administrative Services
“
Even though when I
looked into the heart of
that water I was afraid, I
was determined, I knew
that I was going in and learning
how to swim,” said Carmen Carter,
steward at the Department of
Citywide Administrative Services
(DCAS), Division of Real Estate
Services. She grew up in inner-city,
inner Brooklyn far from the ocean
and even city pools. “We played
street games, tag, scully, hopscotch,
street shuffleboard (I really
Gary schoichet
Civil Service in her bones
loved that game), and other kinds
of running activities,” she said. “So
now I’m 50 plus and I see the Y near
my house and I go in and I have to
be friendly with the water. I will do
it until I get it right.”
She is learning to swim because
the exercise will help stimulate the
poor circulation in her legs, legs she
needs to stand on for hours at rallies
or subway stations giving out
leaflets to her fellow citizens; legs
she needs to walk around her shop
and talk to the members about
their issues. “Walking and rallying
Walking and rallying is good for my legs.
Sometimes it hurts, but I keep doing it.
is good for my legs. Sometimes it
hurts but I keep doing it.”
It is that same determination to
walk, to swim, to overcome, that
motivates her as a shop steward.
“We have to build our shop. Some
people are real low-key about
being union members. They want
to be approached. I like to talk with
union proud
people one-on-one, confidentially,
building trust,” Carter said. “We
have people who are victims of
domestic violence. Why don’t we
Carmen Carter handing out “Myths about City Workers” flyers at the Bowling Green subway station.
have a domestic violence committee
to help our members? It’s
something that interests me and I’m
ready to do something about it.”
Child care is another issue affecting
members in her shop. Single
parents can’t always find the time
to do union work outside their regular
work hours. “Why can’t we do
something about that?” she asked.
“Find a solution.”
Carter was a single parent raising
a son in a Brooklyn project. He
is currently a correction officer. “I
thank God every day that he ended
up on the right side of the prison
gates.” She has encouraged him to
be active in his union. He reads his
contract, knows his rights. “Maybe
one day he’ll be president of his
union,” she said.
Her family was and is civil service:
Mom was with MABSTOA
(Manhattan and Bronx Surface
Transit Operating Authority)
and then with the Department of
Employment; a sister is a 911 operator;
a niece is a school teacher.
“I was in a banking job for 15
years and took a job with the City
because I needed more money.
When I came into the City in 1991
David Dinkins was mayor and there
were massive layoffs. I then realized
I wanted to take tests. Until then
I didn’t know about provisional
titles. I learned,” she said.
Her first union was Local 1549
at District Council 37. “I asked a lot
of questions at 1549.” She became
active and her mantra was, is,
“before you say the union doesn’t
do anything, get involved.” That’s
what she did and she thinks it was a
very good choice.

By Lorraine Gamble-Lofton
In 2008 when it became clear
those who understood what
they had done to those who
did not look like them; and
that Barack Hussein Obama was
going to be the 44th president of
the United States of America, for
real, they started to shake in their
boots. Clearly, his winning was a
fluke of some sort; there is no way
that a black boy, even if his mother
is white, is supposed to become the
one you call “Mr. President.” Obama
was supposed to run, yes, but just
because he speaks well and unlike
some presidents past knows how to
spell potato, does not mean that he
is suppose to win. Oh hell no!
As the reality that life, as they
had lived it until now, could be
deeply impacted (and not in a good
way) started to settle into their
minds, they began to scramble, rubbing
their eyes, trying to wake up
from this nightmare, so that they
could figure out just how they could
rectify this egregious fault in our
system of government that would
allow a male of the Negro persuasion
to have the ultimate dominion
over their lives as president.
It’s called disrespect
Fear will pull people together,
quickly, and galvanize them for the
purpose of defeating the ghost they
fear. A black man being president
was the ghost, and to their minds,
the formulation of the Tea Party
and the louder, stupider, but less
insidious, birthers was the answer
to defeating their fears. According to
Wikipedia, a birther is a believer in
one or more of the conspiracy theories
holding that President Barack
Obama is not a “natural-born” citizen
of the United States, and therefore
ineligible for the presidency.
Donald Trump is the poster boy
for the birthers and after-birthers.
After-birthers are the ones who,
like Donald, and Sarah Palin, just
will not let it go no matter how
many birth certificates he presents,
short or long, because finding out
the truth is not their mission. As
regards Trump, entertainer John
Legend said, “He needs to stop
saying that racist bullshit birther
shit. Quote me, please. He should
be ashamed of himself.” Trump’s
birther shuffle on the morning
news-show circuit caused celebrities
like Bill Cosby to tell Trump
to “run or shut up.” As most of us
know, after all of the salt he kicked
about the president, Donald Trump,
decided not to run.
There is another point to make in
how they disrespect the President
that I want to bring up; the way
that they continue to go after his
credentials. “I heard he was a terrible
student, terrible. How does
a bad student go to Columbia and
then to Harvard?” Trump said in
an interview with The Associated
Press. “I’m thinking about it, I’m certainly
looking into it. Let him show
his records.” My response to Dumb
Donald is, a terrible student doesn’t,
and you should know that. After all,
Obama was the first black president
of the Harvard Law Review; Trump
wants to act as though the president
is working on his GED. Also, not for
nothing, but aren’t the president’s
credentials checked and verified
before he gets in office?
C o m m u n i q u e
President Barack Hussein Obama
Not quite their cup of tea
pat arNow
The thing that really ticks me off
about how the President is treated
is that they, his detractors, seem
to think that because the President
is a black man, he is inherently
stupid and that they do not have to
respect him. They must. How else
could anyone with even a whisper
As a black man, just like with women,
he has to be 10 times as good to be
considered even half as good.
of intelligence possibly think that
he would take a chance on lying
about who he is when, if caught, he
might become “strange fruit.” Just
the thought that someone could
think that he could be that stupid is
disrespectful. After all, we all know
that as a black man, just like with
women, he has to be 10 times as
good to be considered even half as
good. I am far closer to 60 than I am
to 16 and I have never, ever, heard
of any presidential candidate’s citizenship,
education, religion, and
character questioned.
They feel as though they can
say what they feel like saying. On
September 9, 2009, President Obama
delivered a speech in which he
addressed health reform and undocumented
immigrants. In the speech
he says, “There are also those who
claim that our reform efforts would
J u l y /Au g u s t ’11 3
insure illegal immigrants. This too
is false—the reforms I’m proposing
would not apply to those who are
here illegally.”
“You lie,” jumps out of the mouth
of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C., 2nd
District). Wilson is an ardent social
and fiscal conservative, and a
strong supporter of the military.
He is a member of the Republican
Study Committee and now a
card-carrying member of the Tea
Party. In 2003, Wilson voted for
the Medicare Prescription Drug,
Improvement and Modernization
Act, including its Section 1011
authorizing $250,000 annually of
taxpayer money to reimburse hospitals
for treatment of illegal immigrants.
In 2009, Wilson changed
to his current position opposing
public funds for healthcare of illegal
immigrants.
He is the president
When I read about this incident
what popped in my mind was, ‘the
nerve of some people’s children!’
What gives him the audacity to call
the President of the United States
of America a liar? Is it because he
considers that Obama is a black boy
and the president and that he, Joe,
is a white man and is not the president?
Hmmm? I mean, I’m just sayin.’
Regardless of what some may feel
about there even being a first Black
President of the United States, at
the end of the day the reality is that
he does exist, and that his name is
Barack Hussein Obama, and he is
the President. Now run, tell that!
Question. What do they call a
black man with a Ph.D.?
NaMi walk
Every year the 1180
People With Disabilities
Committee takes part in
the National Alliance for
Mental Illness’ walk over
the Brooklyn Bridge and
back to raise awareness
and money for research
and treatment of mental
illness.

4 J u l y /Au g u s t ’11
C o m m u n i q u e
Wild, Wild Wall Street and the Old West
By Dan Cunningham
People of the Old West took
a real dim view of thievery,
fraud, pilfering, chicanery
and cheating. Why, Wyatt Earp
arrested men just for cheating at
cards. And what do you think Doc
Holliday did when he caught some
dirty polecat double dealing? Well,
suffice it to say that dead men tell
no tales. Nothing rankled folk more
than cheating and stealing. Those
cowboys, ranchers and prospectors
foolish enough to gamble hardearned
money would let loose with
lead if they got an inkling that the
game weren’t on the level.
As reckless, lawless, and violent as
things sometimes got back then, most
of the early settlers yearned for law,
justice, and a peaceful way of life. But
too often, the law was too far away
and too slow to respond when folks
needed protection. Those with the
fastest guns, or the most hired gunslingers,
usually got their way. Claim
jumpers, cattle rustlers, and horse
thieves abounded—killing, looting
and stealing. It was left to men like the
Earp brothers (and company) to keep
the peace. History will disclose that
the likes of the Earp brothers and Doc
Holliday were fatally flawed heroes,
but they lived by a code. They drew a
line in the sand; and when the likes of
the Clanton Gang and the Tombstone
desperadoes stepped too far over
that line, threatening innocent men,
women and children, they evened the
score with Colt .45 peacemakers and
sawed-off shotguns.
Wall Street outlaws
So the story goes. We’ve all heard
the tales of our bygone western
frontier, and seen the Hollywood
images of noble American cowboys
and maverick lawmen standing
against corrupt cattle barons. Even
if these frontier tales contain more
fabrication than fact , the image of
the cowboy, more than any other,
has been branded into the American
psyche as a symbol of what an
American should be—a self-reliant,
unregulated, free-spirited, rugged
individualist who abides by a strict
code of behavior. And since few history
books will dispute that western
frontier society skirted the line
between savagery and civilization,
far be it for me to debunk the image
of the great American cowboy
Today the lawlessness and recklessness
of the Old
West has been reincarnated
on Wall
Street. Big banks and
investment houses
encourage and reward
all manner of thievery,
larceny, cheating, piracy,
and perfidy. The
greed and gluttony
of over-the-counter
derivative traders,
subprime loan pushers,
and investment
firm executives run
rampant. They have
conned investors,
created a nation of
debtors, and cowed the regulatory
bodies responsible for keeping our
financial system on the level. The
Bank of America Gang, Goldman
Sachs Gang, JP Morgan Gang, et al,
have stolen our wealth, cheated us
out of our assets, and wreaked havoc
on the American economy. These
desperadoes don’t draw six-guns and
brandish repeating rifles to get their
way. Now the hired gunslingers come
from Ivy League business and law
schools. They carry out their banditry
with toxic financial products such
as collateral debt obligations, credit
default swaps, and exotic subprime
mortgages with artificially low interest
rates. Sound complicated?
Wild Wall Street didn’t evolve naturally
over the ages like the frontiers
of our own Wild West. It grew from
seeds planted only decades ago by
the high priests of deregulation,
mostly Republicans. Richard Nixon
and Ronald Reagan made gutting of
government oversight a constant
battle cry of their administrations.
Cultivated by greed, millions of dollars
in corporate campaign contributions
and chronic lobbying by Wall
Street and the big banks, the seeds
of lawlessness took root. Little by
little, the laws regulating banking
and Wall Street grew weaker and
weaker. Ironically, it was a Democrat
who helped open the floodgates and
set the stage for the largest-ever corporate
crime wave. Seduced by the
siren song of deregulation and battered
by a Republican majority in the
House, Bill Clinton signed into law
the Graham-Leach-Bliley Financial
Services Modernization Act in 1999.
With a stroke of his pen, he revoked
the safeguards of
the Glass Steagall
Act, obliterating the
dividing line between
banks and investment
firms.
And then there
was Bush, hog-tying
WALL
STREET
Elizabeth Warren: new sheriff?
the regulatory agencies,
and allowing the
financial barons to
take full control. They
stole billions from
the middle class and
created a counterfeit
economy based on
nothing but phony
financial products
designed to rope in new suckers to
keep the schemes going. Of course,
the fake Ponzi-scheme economics
failed, and the whole house came
crashing down in 2008.
A glimmer of hope
Even now, in the desert wasteland
they created, billionaire bankers
and Wall Street vultures are circling
low over the carcass of the very
middle class that bailed them out.
Having feasted on our very essence,
they want to suck the last bit of
meat from our bones: our pensions,
Social Security, health care, and
decent wages.
It’s “Solidarity Forever” and who is that guy in the middle?
Eventually, the Wild West got
tamed. Even the most murderous
and violent gangs—The Dooling-
Daltons, the Hole in the Wall Gang,
the Wild Bunch, Billy the Kid, and the
James Gang were broken up and rent
asunder—their members gunned
down, hung, stuck in the hoosegow,
or driven to parts unknown. Their
inevitable demise was no doubt hastened
by the fact that they committed
their larceny against banks, railroads
and stagecoach lines, people with
power, influence and money.
There is a glimmer of hope. From
across the far horizon a lone rider
on a pale horse approaches. Her
name is Elizabeth Warren and she
sits astride the new Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau, a
watchdog agency created to protect
against risky mortgages and unregulated
credit agreements. Tapped
by President Obama to set up the
new agency, she comes a-toting
the big-gun reputation of dogged
consumer advocate with a Harvard
Law professorship in her holster.
Time will tell if she will be the new
economic sheriff. The black hats on
Capitol Hill (Republicans, mostly)
are already laying an ambush, stalling
a vote on her nomination.
Time will tell whether she has the
right stuff to restore law and order
on this frontier, or if the efficacy of
American financial institutions will
bite the dust forever.
Labor Chorus at membership meeting
Gary schoichet

The American Taliban war
on women
By Gary Schoichet
The Taliban are here. They do
not wear robes, nor do they
carry AK47s, or bandoliers
loaded down with bullets. Business
suits, white faces, male, is the basic
description. They can be found sitting
in the halls of Congress and
statehouses countrywide where
they are waging a war on women
that would make their counterparts
in Afghanistan envious. They are
called Republicans. They want
to take decision making about
women’s health away from women
and give it to those who know best:
Republican men.
Although long in the making,
the current attack started with the
Tea Partyish freshman class (80
or so) in the House that said it was
dedicated to cutting the deficit and
creating jobs. To cut the deficit
they took aim at social welfare and
health programs that contribute
very little to the deficit—they
actually save enormous sums by
preventing catastrophic illnesses—but
greatly to preserving the
health and welfare of those in need.
Ideology, that blinding light that
sees only straight ahead, took over
and women and children also,
were directly in the sights of men
with fundamentalist fingers on
the trigger.
A little history
During the heady liberal times of
Richard Nixon, yes, the president
Richard Nixon, Title X was enacted
by the Congress. Public Law 91-572,
or Title X Family Planning Program,
also known as “Population Research
and Voluntary Family Planning
Programs” was enacted in 1970 as
part of the Public Health Service
Act. It was the first-ever national
program aimed at the health needs
of women.
The services provided by Title X
grantees include family planning
and provision of contraception,
education and counseling, breast
and pelvic exams, breast and cervical
cancer screening, screenings
and treatment for sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs) and Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV),
education about preventing STDs
and HIV and counseling for affected
patients, referrals to other health
care resources, pregnancy diagnosis,
and pregnancy
counseling.
Abortion services
are not part of Title
X and, in fact, it is
prohibited to spend
federal monies on abortion except
in cases of rape, incest, or preserving
a woman’s life. Republicans
introduced a bill that would change
the definition of rape to “forcible
rape” which would rule out statutory
rape, the rape of a minor that
might not be “forced.” Other types
of rapes that wouldn’t have been
covered are those in which the
woman was drugged or given excessive
amounts of alcohol, rapes of
women with limited mental capacity,
and many date rapes.
The outcry was so great that they
took it back.
So what are they doing
The Republicans’ aim is on the
almost 100-year old family planning
organization Planned Parenthood.
Only three percent of Planned
Parenthood’s budget goes towards
abortion. The remainder is spent on
the services provided by Title X.
What do they want to do?
Following is a compendium, ever
changing as the days pass: A 32
percent cut in international family
planning–and a note specifically
forbidding a cent of it from going to
the UNFPA, which provides reproductive
and maternal health care to
the developing world; $747 million
cut from the Women Infant Children
(WIC) program, which provides
food and nutrition for low-income
pregnant women, new mothers
and children under the age of five;
$110 million cut in teen-pregnancyprevention
community grants; $50
C o m m u n i q u e
million decrease in maternal and
child health block grants, which all
states receive; $1.83 billion cut in
Head Start programs, which double
as crucial pre-kindergarten childcare
for low-income
families.
Those were the
feds. In New York,
newly elected
Assembly member
Steve Katz, Republican and Tea
Party member, has proposed legislation
that would amend state law
to deny state funding to Planned
Parenthood or any organization
that performs abortions. What
will this mean to people who turn
to Planned Parenthood and other
women’s health organizations? In
In South Dakota it would be legal
to murder a doctor who provides
abortion care.
2010 Planned Parenthood provided
more than 350,000 women with
STD/HIV tests; more than 150,000
women with birth control; more
than 70,000 women with pap tests;
and more than 65,000 women with
breast exams.
From MoveOn comes some of
the more outlandish pieces of
proposed legislation. In Georgia,
a state legislator wants to change
the legal term for victims of rape,
stalking, and domestic violence to
“accuser.” Victims of other less gendered
crimes, like burglary, would
remain “victims.” In South Dakota it
would be legal to murder a doctor
who provides abortion care and
in Maryland, and this was passed,
all county money for low-income
pre-school was cut because women
should be home with the kids.
It’s all about women all the time
with these guys. The population
of the United States is a little more
than 307 million, 50.7 percent of
whom are women. The U.S. House
of Representatives has 74 women,
15 of whom are Republicans while
the Senate has 17 women, four of
whom are Republicans. How did
those 91 women vote?
J u l y /Au g u s t ’11 5
We [women] are being assaulted
everyday.
Diane Savino:
It’s all about
controlling women
It’s always been about controlling
women, ever since the Garden of
Eden. I don’t think they think it
though—it comes naturally.
There are 50 states and every level of
government with budget deficits and
look at what’s being cut: health care,
day care, education, and workfare
which essentially serves women. It is
all attacks on women. Women have
to wake up. We are being assaulted
every day economically and from a
policy perspective.
I couldn’t justify taking a vote that
would turn the clock back on women.
There has to be pushback. Why elect
more women if that’s how they act.
It doesn’t matter what level of society
you’re in, women still have the
responsibility of taking care of the
family. We [women] are never that far
from working at McDonalds, no matter
how much we’ve achieved in life.
Women have to make their own decisions
about our own lives. They go after
Planned Parenthood by saying they
want to stop taxpayer-funded abortions.
There are no tax-funded abortions; it’s
already written into law. They go after
Planned Parenthood to end end-of-term
abortions. There are none.
It’s all wrapped up in looking at, of
thinking that women are second-class
citizens. We are not good enough.
And what really drove them crazy was
when women started taking responsibility
for their own sexuality.
Diane Savino is a New York State senator
representing the 23rd Senatorial
District in Brooklyn and Staten Island.
Gary schoichet

6 J u l y /Au g u s t ’11
C o m m u n i q u e
Working on a problem to reach consensus.
A sample resolution on bullying in the workplace
Be it resolved that the social and
economic well-being of the State is
dependent upon healthy and productive
employees;
2. Be it resolved that surveys and studies
have documented that between 16
and 21 percent of employees directly
experience health-endangering workplace
bullying, abuse, and harassment,
and that this behavior is four times more
prevalent than sexual harassment alone;
3. Be it resolved that surveys and studies
have documented that abusive work
environments can have serious and
even devastating effects on targeted
Audrey Henderson and
Michael Priccoli in a role play.
employees, including feelings of shame
and humiliation, stress, loss of sleep, severe
anxiety, depression, post-traumatic
stress disorder, suicidal tendencies,
reduced immunity to infection, stressrelated
gastrointestinal disorders, hypertension,
and pathophysiologic changes
that increase the risk of cardiovascular
disease;
4. Be it resolved that surveys and
studies have documented that abusive
work environments have serious consequences
for employers, including reduced
employee productivity and morale,
higher turnover and absenteeism rates
The Shop Steward
By Gary Schoichet
A shop steward knocked at the heavenly gate His face was scared and old He
stood before the decider of his fate for admission to the fold. “What have you
done,” Saint Peter said, “To gain admission here?” “I’ve been a shop steward,
Sir, for many and many a year,” he said. The pearly gate swung open wide, St.
Peter touched the bell. “Come in and choose your harp”, he said. “You’ve had
your share of hell.”
Author unknown (but probably a shop steward)
It’s not that bad. While many
stewards have been known
to complain about the job,
the members, the time they
spend, the thanklessness
that goes with the position,
they also realize how important they
are in the functioning of the union.
A good steward, a well-trained steward
is the backbone of the organization.
Stewards are the link between
the leadership of the union and the
rank-and-file members.
In general, most union stewards
perform the following functions:
and significant increases in medical and
workers’ compensation claims;
5. Be it resolved that unless employees
have been subjected to abusive treatment
at work on the basis of race, color,
sex, national origin or age, they are unlikely
to have legal recourse to redress
such treatment;
6. Be it resolved that legal protection
from abusive work environments should
not be limited to behavior grounded in
protected class status such as that provided
for under employment discrimination
statutes; and,
Monitor and enforce the provisions
of the collective bargaining agreement;
ensure that the firm is in
compliance with all federal, state
and local laws and regulations; represents
workers through the grievance
procedure; communicate and
disseminate official union policy;
promote union consciousness and
values in the workplace.
Towards those ends and other
ends, Local 1180 invited a group of
stewards to a training to explore
how the union can counter the
attacks on public sector work-
7. Be it resolved that existing workers’
compensation plans and common-law
tort actions are inadequate to discourage
this behavior or to provide adequate
redress to employees who have been
harmed by abusive work environments.
8. Be it resolved that our union will address
workplace bullying through member
awareness, steward training, joint
labor/management committees, collective
bargaining and legislative initiatives.
Source: Yamada (2004). Adapted from
Healthy Workplace Bill: Findings and
Purposes
photos 6 & 7: Gary schoichet

ers and then engage in actions to
bring the message to the public.
Organizing members in the shops
to participate in actions, demonstrations,
leafleting, and the simple
act of wearing red on Thursdays as
a unifying tool was discussed.
Workplace issues shared the time
as did the subject of workplace
bullying.
Role-playing scenarios of workplace
situations (out of title work,
harassment, overtime situations)
taught stewards to think on their
feet. Issues were discussed in
groups, contracts were read, and
solutions agreed upon.
Bullying
The May/June 2010 issue of the
Communique (available online)
featured a story on bullying in the
workplace. For two hours stewards,
with the help of Cornell University
professor KC Wagner, talked about
C o m m u n i q u e
: Backbone of the union
all aspects of bullying, the obvious
and the not so obvious. Below is a
sample proposal to make the workplace
a safer place.
May Day and May 12
May 2011 was a month to put on a red shirt and join with members of Local 1180
and other unions and community groups and get out in the streets and holler and tell
the governor, the mayor, the Wall Street barons, and all the other powers that be that
the “change” being perpetrated on working people and the middle class was good for
no one, except, of course, the powers that be.
The May Day (born in the U.S.A.) rally called for upholding workers’ rights and
immigrants’ rights, and the creation of jobs. Foley Square was packed with people
and alive with music and speeches (too long, too many) and a rollicking spirit.
On May 12 it was feeder marches into the belly of the beast, Wall Street, calling
for the bankers and traders who took down the economy to pay their share of the
burden being imposed on the vanishing middle classes via the City budget. CWA’s
telephone contingent called on Verizon to use its $26 billion in profits to create jobs.
–GS
It’s not easy to tell your message in 30 seconds.
J u l y /Au g u s t ’11 7

8 J u l y /Au g u s t ’11
C o m m u n i q u e
Harold Williams:
40 years at HRA
It’s a lot of years and Harold is still
smiling. When the official ceremony
camera lost its juice and the
photograph had to be taken by the
Communique photographer, manager
Anna Butterfield (pictured) said,
“Thank God for the union.”
HRW. WOW! What a contract
Human Rights Watch contract a breath of life
What did they win at
Human Rights Watch?
Base salaries will rise
by three percent each
year, and incumbent employees will
get four percent each year. Fully
paid medical for all employees working
50 percent time (it had been 60
percent), and improved differentials
for education, prior work experience,
and foreign language fluency.
Also, improvements in overtime
(double time after 55 hours), on call
pay, paid parental leave, meal and
FMLA training
The negotiating committee: Kyle Knight, Valerie Kirkpatrick, Jake Scobey-Thal,
Brittany Mitchell, and Daniela Ramirez. Not in the photo is Adam Coogle.
car allowances for late-night work.
And agreement on side letters concerning
promotions and tightenedup
language on job descriptions.
There are no givebacks.
“It was about mutual respect,”
said NYC shop steward Kyle Knight,
“on both sides of the table. When
there was tension we joked about
settling issues by arm wrestling.”
The last contract at HRW was con-
More than 40 members and shop stewards took part in a Family and Medical
Leave Act training on June 4 led by Alan Goldblatt. “FMLA is the place of last
resort for people who have self and family illness and no time or leave left,” said
Department of Environmental Protection steward Dan Cunningham.
Administration for Children’s Services steward Bonnie Sanders added, “With
this training I’m better able to help our members at ACS, an agency that doesn’t
want to grant FMLA. ACS doesn’t help employees understand the process. They
say ‘read the instructions.’ I’ll be able to help people get around the obstacles set
up by Personnel.”
tentious. Neither side was interested
in repeating that history. Even
though most of those at the table
were not at the agency previously,
the power of anecdote was present.
Washington, D.C. shop steward
Valerie Kirkpatrick said that the
last negotiating committee had
“created packets for us that were
locked in file cabinets for this negotiation”
with research and issues
they had fought for but not won.
Those issues were still alive.
Arguing smart
Six months prior to negotiations
the committee began its research
and had data on all the jobs at HRW.
“We had completely legitimate
demands about working at HRW,”
said Knight. “We turned HRW methodology
on itself—our demands
reflected the reality of work at HRW.”
“We did really well,” said
Kirkpatrick, “crafting arguments
that were hard to say “no” to. We
argued smart, always keeping
things on target.
“Sometimes it was frustrating” she
said, “playing the game. I just wanted
to walk in and get what we wanted,
no haggling. We were frank and honest
with each other. We met at a place
close to our mutual bottom lines.”
Kirkpatrick would do it again: ”The
good time together, the camaraderie,
the connection with the others, and
being proud of the job we did.”
–GS
photos paGe 8: Gary schoichet

Let’s reclaim our country
“ We must all hang together,
or assuredly, we shall all
hang separately,” Benjamin
Franklin said at the signing of the
Declaration of Independence.
Those words are just as relevant
today as many of us wonder if our
jobs are secure, wonder if pay raises
will keep up with rising prices,
wonder if our benefits and pensions
will remain whole, worry about the
prospects for our children, many of
whom will graduate but stay home,
unable to find affordable housing
and unlikely to find a job that
offers benefits, a pension, and pays
enough to move out.
Most New Yorkers and Americans
who carry these burdens look at
them as private, personal issues
rather than as the broad systemic
problems they are. Millions of
Americans were aggressively
sold loans and investments filled
with what Elizabeth Warren,
President Obama’s choice to run
the Consumer Affairs Agency—and
Republicans’ nemesis—describes
as “tricks and traps.” She pointed
T
he jobs numbers for May are
out, and but for a minor blip
in 2011, we have suffered
through a steady unemployment
rate exceeding 9% for a solid two
years. We can rail all we want about
how President Barack Obama has
not been bold enough, has not led
forcefully enough around a progressive
agenda, has made needless
compromises with the Republicans
and the “Republican lights” in his
own party on healthcare reform,
the extension of the Bush tax cuts
for the rich, and stimulus.
We can realize that this President
was never the progressive that some
hoped he would be and that his
anti-Iraq war stance really meant
a pro-Afghanistan war footing. We
can criticize him for not using his
political muscle to aggressively promote
labor law reform through the
Employee Free Choice Act
We can do all those things, sit on
the sidelines and sulk about the
great disappointment that has thus
far been the hallmark of the Obama
out that consumers have more legal
protections when buying a toaster
than they do a financial product
like a student loan, credit card, or
mortgage.
We must organize
How did this happen? Our corporate
masters have hijacked our
political process and are dismantling
our democracy. Over the last
30 years, they told us to be good
consumers. Forget about being
good citizens. Business rules.
What’s good for us is good for you.
We’re rich and know what’s good
for you.
They told us the freedom to shop
is our most important freedom, that
presidency and sit on our hands,
undermining his chances for a second
term.
But we would be wrong.
Instead, we ought to be putting
forward our own working-class
agenda. Local 1180 has led among
unions in the labor movement
advocating for such things as peace
and a Medicare-for-all single payer
health care system. And this is not
to advocate that we should abandon
those important principles. But
if we cannot successfully push this
president and the Democrats to
do something meaningful and dramatic
about the jobs crisis, we open
the doors for more Scott Walkers,
C o m m u n i q u e
president’s column
by Arthur cheliotes acheliotes@cwa1180.org
It is foolish to think that we
can all engage in our individual
fights and survive for long.
shopping is patriotic. So get government
off our backs! Liberate the
banks and Wall Street so they are
free to make more loans. Cut taxes
and government spending; private
industry can do it cheaper.
After 2008 most of us now understand
that they are frauds and
criminals. The freedom to shop
is servitude to impulse and selfishness.
Yet we remain a divided
nation unable to understand the
common struggles we all face
because we are manipulated by the
media they control, which creates
phony issues that diverts our attention
from the tremendous burden
the elite rich have placed on our
nation and society.
Let’s make Barack Obama all that he can be
2 nd vice president’s column
by Bill Henning bhenning@cwa1180.org
Putting people to work should
be lawmakers’ top priority.
John Boehners, and Chris Christies
to dominate the political discourse
in 2012 and beyond.
Protecting the already dangerously
fraying safety nets of Social Security,
Medicare, and Medicaid looms as
our immediate priority. Fortunately,
the Democrats got a view of how
winning a strategy that can be with
the upset by their candidate Kathy
Hochul in the special election in the
seemingly safe Republican enclave
of the 26th Congressional District in
upstate New York. Fighting cuts and
crippling privatization of these most
successful and popular government
programs can launch the defense of a
new New Deal.
J u l y /Au g u s t ’11 9
We cannot fight the rich as individuals.
We must organize. Nor
can individual unions fight alone.
We must come together as a labor
movement to rebuild our nation,
to rebuild the middle class, and
reclaim our democracy. We are not
servile consumers. We are citizens
who can shape the course of our
city, state, and nation when we
stand together. Like Ben Franklin
and the signers of the Declaration
of Independence understood in
1776 and the people of Wisconsin
understand now, when working
people are organized, we have
power. When private sector workers
locked arms with public sector
workers to fight for collective bargaining
in Wisconsin, the journey
back to government by and for the
people started once again.
The labor movement in New York
must do the same. It is foolish to
think that we can all engage in our
individual fights and survive for
long. It is not just about our wages,
benefits, and pensions. It is about
our democracy.
How much more effective might
it be if we prod these lawmakers
to make putting people to work
their top priority. Not only will it
be a welcome relief to those unemployed,
many of whom have been
jobless for more than six months,
but the spending generated would
further stimulate the private sector
jobs activity.
The federal deficit be damned.
It is not important. We need an
immediate jump start from the
federal government to states and
localities that are lashed to budgets
which cannot legally be in deficit
(unlike the federal government).
Preventing further job erosion in
the government sector will go a
long way toward turning this jobless
ship around.
And maybe—just maybe—we can
see if our movement can be galvanized
to make Obama the leader of
hope and change in 2012 that we
hoped would surface earlier.
But we’ll never do it as spectators
or armchair critics.

10 J u l y /Au g u s t ’11
C o m m u n i q u e
executive BoArd meeting minutes
WednesdAy, April 20, 2011
Meeting called to order at 6:15 pm.
Present: Arthur Cheliotes, Linda Jenkins, Bill
Henning, Gloria Middleton, Gerald Brown,
Charles Garcia, Alan Goldblatt, Michael Lamb,
Lenora Smith, Gina Strickland, and Hazel Worley.
Absent: Gwen Richardson, Harlan Reid, and
Clarona Williams.
Guests: Venus Williams, Steve Ferrer, and Nadya
Stevens
Reading of the minutes from the March 9th meeting.
Motion was made and carried to accept the
minutes with the necessary corrections.
PRESIDEnT’S REPORT
Arthur reported that he attended the World
Federation meeting in Athens, Greece in April
’11 and there were 900 people registered from
around the world. Arthur feels there needs to
be a broader connection of unions throughout
the world. Also, he feels some common ground
has to be found for working people to stop the
concentration of wealth by the rich which is
getting out of hand. He is troubled and disappointed
that the notion of democracy is on the
way out.
Discussed the need for a mobilization build up
for the May 12th Rally.
There will be an email blast as well as a robo call
to remind members to wear red on Thursday. In
addition, there will be pictures on the web-site
showing members wearing red on Thursdays.
Discussed the Local’s new publication of “In
the Public Interest.” It will be mailed to every
member.
Requested Executive Board approval for a
$10,000 annual contribution to the Fiscal Policy
Institute. Motion was made and carried.
Motion was moved and carried to accept the
President’s report.
Arthur deferred to Alan Goldblatt.
Alan Goldblatt
Alan submitted the following resolution
which was written by Shirley
Littman and Edward Yood on April 6,
2011.
Resolved, that CWA Local 1180
Committee for People with Disabilities
recommend to the CWA Local 1180
Executive Board at its next meeting that CWA
Local 1180 immediately become an endorser
of Parents to Improve School Transportation
(P.I.S.T.)’s attached “School Bus Bill of Rights,”
and be so listed as such on P.I.S.T.’s literature in
order to better assist the Officers and members
in our common goal of promoting the status and
careers of disabled persons in the workplace,
the union, and society.
Specifically our Local’s endorsement of P.I.S.T.’s
School Bus Bill of Rights is necessary because
the children with disabilities and special needs
whose rights P.I.S.T., with NYC trade union support,
is advocating for, could very well be the
children of not only millions of New Yorkers but
also members’ very own daughters and sons.
Their education and future is threatened by the
government’s anti-disabled transportation and
education cutbacks.
In this period when poor working people, especially
women and people of color, are asked to
become government’s lambs to be sacrificed
in the name of the economic crisis, we should
heed the slogan of a time of greater fight back
and struggle to seek to become part of the solution
and not part of the problem.
Motion was made to adopt the resolution
in support of “Parents to Improve School
Transportation.” Motion carried.
Alan asked to be excused from the balance of
the meeting and was excused by the President.
FIRST VICE PRESIDEnT’S REPORT
OCB
HHC titles Asst. Dir. Hospitals and Assoc. Dir.
Hospitals
Hearings were held on March 22 and April 7. The
next hearing date is May 3, 2011. At that time we
will have one person from East NY to testify and
start hearing from people from Kings County
Hospital. There are 127 people in the titles at KCH
but at this time the HHC attorney does not know
how many they will call to testify. We have the following
dates scheduled: May 3; June 1, 14, 23, 28;
July 12, 28; August 9, 23; September 12, 22; October
19; November 3, 9, 21; December 1, 14, 19.
PERB
Administrative Manager: NYCTA – Our attorney
has withdrawn our original petition for
Hay level managers. We are still organizing the
Administrative Managers appointed from the
Adm. Mgr. List. We have collected 24 signed
PERB cards and continue to recruit others.
School Computer Technology Specialist:
DOE
We withdrew our intervention in this case.
Civil Service Committee
The committee is working to develop Civil
Service Fact Sheets. The next meeting is on
Tuesday, April 26.
Education Committee
The committee is planning a Labor History
Program for the May Membership Meeting.
Bernadette Sullivan will do a presentation
on labor history and the New York City Labor
Chorus will perform. The next Book Club meeting
is Wednesday, April 27, 2011.
SECOnD VICE PRESIDEnT’S REPORT
The next bargaining at Amnesty International,
USA is scheduled for Friday, April 22 and there
will be several sessions after that. Hopefully we
will then be able to wrap it up.
The contract at Human Rights Watch ends in
June. The bargaining committee is in place and
sessions have been scheduled.
Unified Court System is faced with massive budget
cuts and proposed layoffs system wide.
Attended CWA PHERN meeting in
Memphis, Tenn. Among the things discussed
were A) Agenda for the CWA
Public Worker Conference, B) The
attacks on Public Workers: Florida
now has forbidden dues check-off, C)
Various States are considering annual
recertification status for representation.
Motion was made and carried to accept Second
Vice President’s Report.
Report from Bill Henning
Following the report from the Executive Board
Audit Committee at the March meeting, I undertook
to view a limited sample of expenditure
from January, February and March. There were
some red flags that should concern us all as the
governing body with fiduciary responsibility for
Local 1180.
Limousine Service
From 12/30/10-3/9/11, there were total expenditures
by Local 1180 in the amount of $1,428.15
for 18 trips solely for commutation, that is, taking
Gloria Middleton and/or Gwen Richardson
home. Leaving aside for a moment the propriety
of approving these types of expenditures under
any circumstances, they do not meet the criteria
in the undated “policy” we were shown last
month. If there were legitimate business expenses
(which I emphasize they were not). Gloria
gets $400 a month and Gwen gets $900. These
expenditures were over and above the amount
we have approved for unvouchered expenses.
Also as I assume you all know, this is not a tax
exempt business expense. It implicates Local
1180 and the members of the Board in authorizing
improper expenses and possible tax
problems. I would also note that we apparently
authorized a staff member to use the limousine
service to pick up cakes in the middle of the day
for another staff member’s party, at the cost to
the Local of $144.14.
American Express
Several expenditures on the union’s credit
card appear to lack proper documentation. For
example, there are a variety of relatively small
charges for local restaurants that were explained
as merely as “lunch for staff” without notations
as to which staff and why, other than to say they
occurred on times when the clerical “staff” was
asked to work through their lunch hour. There
were other expenditures which occurred
during the President’s time in Washington
in connection with the Member
Relief Fund/Defense Fund Oversight
Committee which should have been
reimbursed by the national union. As of
the date of my looking at the records, we
had not yet got such reimbursement.
Motion
That the practice of using limousine service for
commuting purposes be immediately curtailed.
That we authorize an audit by our Accountant
of the limousine utilization, the credit card
expenditures, and any other issues which may
expose us to scrutiny by the national union or
the Department of Labor, or which we would
not be proud to expose to our members. This
audit should go back as far as it needs to, and
any improper expenditure should be repaid to
the local.
Motion was seconded. The motion was defeated
with 6 no votes, 1 yes (Bill Henning) 1 abstain
(Linda Jenkins).
Report from the Audit Committee
Concerning President Cheliotes’ expenses in
reference to his elected position on the CWA
National Member Relief Fund/Defense Fund
Oversight Committee, when elected to the position
President Cheliotes discussed his role with
the Local’s executive board. He stated that in
keeping with the practice established by the
previous Defense Fund Committee chairperson
that he would only accept payment from
the National CWA for his hotel bill and no other
reimbursement. The Local’s executive board
was and continues to be in agreement with the
current practice.
Concerning the Local transportation for staff,
at every board meeting the transaction report
indicating the total amount used each month
for car service is presented during the secretary/treasurer’s
report. Any questions about
the usage were answered and accounted for
in accordance with policy and was always followed
with a motion to accept the secretary/
treasurer’s report. Furthermore, the expenditures
are audited by the audit committee and
the Local’s accountant who is a Certified Public
Accountant (CPA).
The issue raised about the undated policy in
reference to the car service is unwarranted. It
was stated by our auditor and accountant, Steve
Schlapp, when he brought to the secretary/treasurer
a number of years ago that we needed a
policy and the board approved.
The specifics associated with the expenditures
are due to a number of factors including the
severe winter we had and well documented
reluctance of NYC taxi drivers to take individuals
to the Bronx and Harlem.
Concerning food orders, all future food orders
will be annotated with the following: A) Name
of the person making the food order and B)
Name(s) of individual or group the food is
ordered for.
In addition, all timesheet submissions shall be in
compliance with the memo issued by secretary/
treasurer Elaine Allman on February 24, 1999.
Please note that the Executive Board Audit
Committee is to review documents for compliance
with established rules and regulations.
In addition, on an ongoing basis, work
with the board to establish needed rules and
regulations.
SECRETARy/TREASuRER’S REPORT
The Transaction Detailed Report and the Profit
and Loss Report were distributed for review.
The finances of the Local are:
In the T.D. Checking Acct. as of 4/19/11 is
$1,043.783.46 and in the Morgan Stanley Account
is $150,192.41.
Gloria attended the Anniversary of Equal Day
Pay for Women at Hunter College’s Roosevelt
House. The panel included a representative
from the New York City Comptroller’s Office.
Gloria brought up the issue of pay equity for the
female members of Local 1180.
Gloria discussed the possibility
of inviting candidates running
for national office in CWA to our
executive board meeting. The idea
was well received and Gloria was
instructed to do so.
Motion was made and carried to accept
the Secretary/Treasurer’s Report
Grievance Manager Report
The report continues to be fine tuned. As of
today among the seven staff reps there are:
248 Records
Step 1 = 144
Step II = 48
Step III = 36
Arbitration = 20
The seven staff reps are to update the Grievance
Manager Report each month.
Venus Williams
Venus submitted a request to the board to have
two staff reps attend the Labor Arbitration:
Labor Law and Labor Arbitration Conference on
June 13-14, 2011. Harlan Reid will be the 1st rep
and the 2nd to be determined.
Motion was made and carried.
ORGAnIzInG COMMITTEE REPORT
Assistant Directors and Associate Directors
at the Health and Hospitals Corporation
(HHC)
Hearings are currently being held by the New
York City Office of Collective Bargaining (OCB),
Board of Certification (BCB). To be considered
at these hearings are whether employees serving
in the titles of Assistant Director, Hospitals
and Associate Director, Hospitals are managerial
and/or confidential under the New York City
Collective Bargaining Law and the New York
State Taylor Law and the appropriate bargaining
unit for any eligible employees. Local 1180
is the petitioner in these proceedings. There
are 650 employees in the Assistant Director title
and 626 Associate Directors in question. The
Organization of Staff Analysts (OSA) has filed as
“intervenors.” We have attended hearings with
CWA Attorney Amy Young during March and
these hearings will continue through at least
December 2011.
If after completion of the hearings, it is determined
by OCB that these titles are eligible for
collective bargaining an election will be held.
OSA will be competing with Local 1180 to represent
these employees. We have held informational
meetings at the various hospitals and
have identified contact persons to help in our
organizing effort. On March 7 we met at East
New York Diagnostic Center and on March 31 at
the Harlem Hospital Center. We have additional
visits planned for April.
Administrative Managers in the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (MTA)
To date we have received 24 signed PERB cards.
The actual target group has not been finalized.
Seventy-two employees have been called from
the Administrative Managers (non-managerial)
promotion list. Several of these employees have
been transferred to other titles. We believe
that the number of Administrative Managers
(non-managerial) is now 51. We will meet with
Management to determine the exact number in
the target group.
Next meeting date is Wednesday, May 18th.
Motion to adjourn at 8:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Gerald Brown

Local 1180 elections coming this fall
Nominations due by September 1, 2011
Elections for Local 1180’s officers,
executive board, and
convention delegates will be
held this October by mail ballot.
The positions to be filled are:
l president
l first vice president
l second vice president
l secretary-treasurer
l recording secretary
l nine at-large executive board
members
The five officers and nine at-large
members together form the union’s
executive board, which constitutes
the governing body of the local and
meets monthly. The executive board
members are also elected as the
local’s delegates to the annual CWA
convention. All terms are for three
years, beginning January 1, 2012.
Any member of Local 1180 in good
standing may nominate herself or
himself, or may nominate another
member in good standing. To make
a nomination, you must submit a
letter to Secretary-Treasurer Gloria
Middleton by September 1, 2011 by
certified mail, return receipt requested.
Send the letter to: Local 1180, 6
Harrison Street, New York, NY 10013.
All nominating letters must include
the name of the person you are nominating,
the position you are nominating
that person for, and must be
received by September 1, 2011.
Ballots will be mailed in October
to all Local 1180 members in good
standing and will be due back in two
or three weeks. As in past years, the
American Arbitration Association
will handle the receipt and counting
of the ballots under the direction of
the Local 1180 election committee.
The pertinent sections of the Local
1180 by-laws governing nominations
and elections are as follows:
ARTICLE XVIII —
NOMINATIONS AND ELECTION OF
OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE
EXECUTIVE BOARD
A. Nominations for the officers and
members of the executive board of
the local are conducted beginning in
October 1972 and every third year
thereafter in the following ways:
1. Any member in good standing
may nominate himself/ herself or
another local member to be a candidate
for local officer or memberat-large
of the executive board by
mailing to the secretary-treasurer
of the local a letter of nomination
sent by certified mail, return receipt
requested.
2. A letter of self-nomination shall
state the member’s desire to be a
nominee for a single specified office.
3. A letter of nomination of another
member shall be accompanied by a
written acceptance by the individual
nominated, which acceptance shall
be witnessed and signed by either a
notary public or a third member.
4. A member may nominate one
individual for each post of local
office and no more than nine individuals
for the posts of executive board
members-at-large.
5. Each letter of nomination
must reach the local on or before
September 1 of the year prior to the
beginning of the new term of office.
Failure of the postal service to deliver
the letter by September 1 shall
not constitute reason for acceptance
of a letter of nomination received
after the September 1 deadline for
the receipt of the nomination letter.
Self-nominees and nominators of
other members should take this provision
into account in determining
when to mail their nominations to
the secretary-treasurer.
6. The secretary-treasurer may
confirm the desire of any member
not self-nominated to run for office
in such manner as he or she deems
appropriate.
7. No member may be a candidate
for more than one post.
8. If a member is notified by the
chairperson of the election committee
that he or she has been inadvertently
nominated for more than one post, the
candidate shall immediately state his
or her choice of post for which he or
C o m m u n i q u e
she wishes to run to the chairperson
of the election committee in writing
or be disqualified from running in
the election. The candidate’s written
selection of the post for which he or
she wishes to run must be received on
or before September 14.
9. Candidates must make the
address and telephone numbers
where they can be reached during the
first two weeks of September of an
election year known to the chairperson
of the election committee so they
can respond immediately to communications
from the election committee.
10. Nominees and nominators are
obligated to fully acquaint themselves
with the provisions of these
bylaws and the rules of the election
committee and to comply with them
as well as all proper directions of
those running elections in the local.
B. The local shall notify the membership
in July of an election year of
the provisions of this ARTICLE XVIII
by publishing them in the local’s
periodical. The local shall also notify
the membership of the tentative
nomination and election schedule
at the same time, the offices to be
filled by election, the date and time
for submitting nominations, and the
place for submitting nominations.
Shop steward
elections slated
According to the union’s bylaws, every
Local 1180 shop must hold a shop
steward election each September. You
can hold the election in whatever way
accurately reflects the will of the members
in your shop.
retired Members chapter Luncheon
hears the truth
Wearing a lot of Thursday red, the Local 1180 Retired Members Chapter heard
Comptroller John Liu talk about the continuing scandal of CityTime and his
determination to make those to blame pay. In photo: Arthur Cheliotes, Sharon
Green, John Liu, and Marlene Ramsey.
Gary schoichet
cAlendAr
J u l y /Au g u s t ’11
all meetings are at 6 pM unless
otherwise noted.
July 5 (Tuesday)
arts & entertainment committee
(chair: Harlan Reid)
August 2 (Tuesday)
arts & entertainment committee
(chair: Harlan Reid)
There’s still time to
register for Workplace
Literacy classes
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communique
11
Official Publication
New York Administrative Employees Local 1180
Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO
6 Harrison Street, 4th Fl., New York, NY 10013-2898
http://www.cwa1180.org
Telephone: 212-226-6565
Security Benefits: 212-966-5353
Retiree Benefits: 212-966-5353
Claim Forms Hotline: 212-925-1091
Retiree Division: 212-226-5800
Tape Message: 212-226-1180
For out-of-town retirees:
Retiree Division: 800-801-2882
Retiree Benefits: 888-966-5353
Executive Board
Arthur Cheliotes, President
Linda Jenkins, 1st Vice President
William F. Henning, Jr., 2nd Vice President
Gloria Middleton, Secretary-Treasurer
Gwen Richardson, Recording Secretary
Members-at-large
Gerald Brown, Charles Garcia, Alan Goldblatt,
Michael Lamb, Harlan Reid, Georgina Strickland,
Lenora Smith, Clarona Williams, Hazel Worley
Gary Schoichet, Editor
Margarita Aguilar, Design
Printed by Content Critical
800 Central Blvd., Carlstadt, N.J. 07072

CWA Local 1180
6 Harrison Street
New York, NY 10013-2898
Communique
RACISM in the
open
The WAR on
women
Inside
Put the banker
crooks in jail
3
4
HRW: A great 8
contract
www.cwa1180.org
Every day take a look at our
website. It’s the place to go for the
most up-to-date union news and
it has a place where you can post
and exchange ideas with other
members about any subject.
Communique radio
5
The cutting edge of labor radio
Wednesdays, 1pm on WYNE, 91.5 FM
Celebration of May Day Caribbean style
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
NEW YORK, NY
FIRST CLASS
It was good homemade food, and lots of it, and music and play as Local 1180’s Caribbean
Committee made the most of the day.
Gary schoichet