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Business
Manager's Report
January 6,
2012
1. Members
at IT&E have voted to ratify the Company’s newest offer.
With 95% of the membership participating in the ratification
vote, the count was 33 yes and 9 no. The contract is for a
little over 2 years and essentially freezes wages, but
maintains health and welfare benefits such as medical,
vacation, holidays and sick leave. The CNMI has been under
tremendous economic pressure with the new immigration laws,
garment factories closing, Government employees placed on an
austerity program, tourism impacted by Japan’s earthquake
and the U.S. economy under tremendous pressure. All have
contributed to perfect storm conditions on Saipan. Also,
with new COO Joe Camacho in charge, employees are asking
that the Board of Directors and owners hold the current
administration accountable. With little experience in the
telecommunications industry, the fear from the employees is
that the gaps displayed by the COO will lead to an erosion
of revenues that will ultimately have a negative impact on
members. A huge thanks to Unit 10 Executive Committee
member Augustin Romolor for his tremendous support during
these tough negotiations.
2. Hawaiian
Telcom troubles continue: Due dates out to February;
Indefinite scheduling of techs 10 hour days 7 days a week;
Contractors continue to make errors (who knows the damage
they will leave behind); more experienced employees leaving
the Company; Leadership still learning the business; and the
neglect of infrastructure, training, backfills are now huge
liabilities for the Company. And as we laid the plan out
for members from bargaining to present, we continue to
execute. Due to bargaining issues on Saipan, HT has agreed
to an extension of the “no strike/no lock out” agreement
while we continue with the litigation process. We thank the
members for staying focused during these times.
3. While
both Companies head towards financial spirals, what does the
future hold for our members? Credibility issues, competency
concerns, morale problems, etc. As we have stated several
times, we cannot count on the Company to protect our future.
We must continue to be good Union members:
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Do
your job safely and with quality
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Educate yourself about your job and learn as much as you
can about the Company, as well
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Get involved with your Union, attend your Unit meetings,
learn your contract, and help out your fellow Sisters
and Brothers
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Get involved with your local politics. Business may
have the money, but it is the voice of the people that
will prevail. Medical costs, Pension problems, Social
Security, Sick Leave, etc. all need relief from
unfriendly employers.
It is
easy to just step aside and let things fall apart, but that
will only accelerate the damage caused by poor decisions.
We must control what we can control. If there are issues
as a result of poor management, then you must let us know as
soon as possible so that we can hold them accountable. This
will continue to be a trying year for all of us, but rather
than let the challenges erode our quality of life, we must
channel our energies towards making our work environment
better, thereby strengthening our position in the industry
and ultimately minimizing any negative effects on the
membership.
Thank
you all for your tremendous support and God Bless!
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