Vice President Jim Weitkamp's WTF (Where's The Fairness?) Commentary

 WHERE'S THE FAIRNESS?

This simple, direct question is not just a slogan. It is a collective question by workers to their employer. Workers who know they can't get answers to questions like this unless they ask in unison. Workers who have been proud members of their union going back to 1947. Workers whose labor made this company what it is.

Why is the company so afraid of the question? Probably because our members are making it clear that they universally demand an answer backed up by actions. Probably because they know an honest answer would require a fundamental change in the company's behavior. Probably because they don't give a tinker's damn about what the workers demand to know.

The article linked below tells the tale. This company is a behemoth with unlimited power and money. ATT buys politicians, pure and simple. ATT  believes it has the power to remove any remaining regulation that keeps them in check. ATT is a school yard bully that no one stands up to. EXCEPT US.

Over the past week ATT has made a mockery of the concept of good faith bargaining. They made a proposal which we could not agree to in the terms they proposed. They gave us the finger and tried to do it anyway. Our members then stood strong and foiled the plan. ATT is infuriated at this audacity.

The article above documents their power, to be certain, but it also documents their hubris. Ken McNeeley is quoted as saying ATT is a "good corporate citizen". Bah. ATT over just the last two weeks has been fined for defiling the environment in California, sued by the state of Texas for dumping hazardous waste into the Guadalupe river (think about it--their behavior is so bad that TEXAS sued them, for pete's sake) and sued by the US government for fraud in their administration of service programs for the hearing impaired. All this at at the same time that they have adopted  a greed based bargaining strategy that will harm not only our members but the entire working middle class.

We have been, through our mobilization, on the offense in these negotiations. Our members are strong and resolute. This makes the company shudder. How dare we ask these questions? How dare we we stand together?  How dare we not just mindlessly cower and just do what we're told? 

This is the height of chutzpah, but it not surprising coming from a corporation lead by filthy rich modern day robber barons. Where else but ATT can a disastrous decision that resulted in a 4 billion dollar give away, FOR NOTHING,  end with the architect of that decision continuing to live in a walled compound, with security paid for by your labor, with annual compensation that can never be spent in a thousand life times? (In fairness, a concept unknown to this company, it happens in most of the corporations running the world these days.) That 4 billion dollar check was written without batting an eye. That 4 billion dollars could have settled this contract with money left to burn.

This is why we fight, and this is why we don't give up.

We will continue on the offensive until justice is achieved. The simple equation is this: our labor, delivered peacefully, for fair compensation, working conditions and dignity in the workplace. My job is to lead us through the actions we choose, evaluate the effectiveness of those actions and to change them when they are not leading us toward the compensation and conditions necessary to continue delivery of our labor. That buck stops with me, period. I  do not ever take that responsibility lightly.

I am proud of all of the rank and file and the stands they are taking. We are fighting a powerful giant and we take our stands because they are right, not just to feel good.

The following words come from Jimmy Cliff, a wonderful singer and writer:

"The oppressors are trying to bring us down; trying to drive us under ground. But I'd rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave. As sure as the sun will shine, I will get my share; what is mine. The harder they come, the harder they fall, one and all."

In Solidarity,

Jim Weitkamp

To read the full article, click on this link or copy and paste it into your browser:http://www.latimes.com/la-me-att-20120422,0,5002954.story