Cingular bucks anti-union trend (CNN)

[Omaha Steve]

Full stroy: http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/05/news/companies/pluggedin_fortune/index.htm

Cingular bucks anti-union trend
The nation's largest wireless carrier takes the cooperative approach working out a 'neutrality agreement' with the CWA.

By Marc Gunther, FORTUNE senior writer
June 7, 2006: 7:02 AM EDT

NEW YORK (FORTUNE) - By law, American workers have the right to form unions and bargain over wages and working conditions.

Trying to exercise those right is another matter entirely - workers are routinely fired or discriminated against for supporting unions, most employers hire anti-union consultants to block organizing drives and some go so far as to close down work sites when employees vote for a union.

"There's a crisis in workers' rights," says Mary Beth Maxwell, executive director of an advocacy group called American Rights At Work. "The system is simply not working."

Between 1993 and 2003, an average of 22,633 workers per year were ordered to receive back pay from their employers by the National Labor Relations Board because they were fired, demoted or discriminated against because of union activity, the union-backed group says.

That's why the story of Cingular Wireless and its union, the Communications Workers of America, is so unusual - and worth a closer look.

Back in 2000, Cingular worked out what's called a "neutrality agreement" with the CWA. Each side agreed not to disparage the other, and workers were permitted to form unions at their job sites if a majority signed cards indicating that they wanted to do so. No name calling, no bitter battles, no distractions for the job at hand - which is, after all, providing wireless phone service to customers.

[MasonJar]

1. Good for them. I just got a Cingular cell phone because I could

not find any notice that they had given our info to the government. I also changed from Bellsouth to Earthlink. i am planning to eventually get rid of Bellsouth altogether.

[Vidar]

2. Kudos to Cingular & the union.