CWA Local 1033

Click here for printable .PDF of CWA Bargaining Report 3/14/18

Brothers and Sisters,

Your CWA Bargaining Committee and the Murphy Administration are currently involved in formal contract negotiations to resolve all legal, contractual and retroactive matters.  As members know, our contract expired in July 2015.  Our bargaining covers all issues retroactive to that date.

We have litigation around step increases and other issues, open clothing allowance disputes, and important contract language at stake.  Both sides are working aggressively to resolve all outstanding issues as quickly as possible.

Bargaining will continue next week and we expect progress to continue until we reach conclusion of these outstanding issues.

The patience and solidarity of our CWA membership has bested every unprecedented attack on us during the last eight years.  Please continue to support your Bargaining Committee in this push to reach a tentative agreement.

You can show your support of the Bargaining Committee by wearing RED on Thursdays, especially over the net two weeks.  Be sure to attend your Local Worksite and Membership Meetings where the most recent developments will be discussed.

Thank you,

Gaye Palmer, President
CWA Local 1033

Brothers and Sisters,

Before the election in November, the State had provided a list of bargaining proposals to CWA which would have rolled back several sections of the contract, including PARs, removed workplace dignity from the contract, and other issues. We discussed many of these bogus proposals in previous bargaining updates.

As you know, Governor Murphy took office January 16. Both CWA and the State have acted quickly since that time to get negotiations back on track and to clear roadblocks the Christie administration left in our path. CWA’s top priorities for our state executive branch membership are to settle our long-expired contract and resolve the dispute over stalled increments as quickly as possible.

Here is what we have done so far:

1. Christie’s challenge at PERC to block our increment grievance was removed from PERC’s agenda.

After the NJ Supreme Court ruled that increment grievances were arbitrable, Christie filed a petition with his hand-picked PERC Commission asking to block our grievance and arbitration. Governor Murphy and CWA jointly requested that Christie’s challenge be removed from PERC’s January 25 meeting agenda. That request was granted.

2. CWA Is Acting Quickly to Open Contract Negotiations with the New Administration

We are setting up formal bargaining dates and the Governor is replacing Christie’s bargaining team with new representatives. We will bargain strongly but quickly because the issues are well-known after three years working without a contract.

3. Critical Appointments are Moving Forward.

Replacements are progressing for the Public Employment Relations Commission, the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, and the Civil Service Commission. PERC oversees arbitration and contract disputes. OER oversees state-wide labor relations issues and the CWA-State contract. The CSC oversees testing, seniority rules, classification and desk audits, hours of work, disciplinary appeals, and other important work rules that affect us every day.

4. In addition, the Murphy Administration has notified the Civil Service Commission to cease its effort to change rules on overtime. The Christie CSC had proposed changes to OT rules that would exclude any benefit leave time from OT calculation and would make it harder for employees to qualify for FMLA.

By illegally stopping the payment of our increments, Governor Christie created a legal and financial mess for our members and for the new Governor. That mess has to be untangled. CWA members are rightfully anxious to receive what we earned and are due under prior contracts, but we are encouraged by the initial steps taken by the new Governor to quickly resolve our outstanding contract negotiations.

Your Bargaining Committee

Dennis Trainor CWA District 1 Vice President

Hetty Rosenstein CWA NJ Area Director

John Rose President CWA Local 1031

Patrick Kavanagh President CWA Local 1032

Gaye Palmer President CWA Local 1033

Adam Liebtag President CWA Local 1036

Ken McNamara President CWA Local 1037

Shawn Ludwig President CWA Local 1038

Joe Diesso Temporary Administrator CWA Local 1039

Carolyn Wade President CWA Local 1040