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Comments on news posted 2012-02-03 09:29:14: Last week Cablevision employees in Brooklyn voted to unionize for the first time in the company's history, a significant move given the fact that just 2-4% of cable technicians are unionized. ..

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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
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Mount Airy, MD

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pnh102

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Fire Them

quote:
Following last week's vote, roughly 120 contracted Bronx technicians briefly walked off their jobs in a "wildcat" strike Thursday protesting a 30% reduction in wages (to $35) for triple play installations.
Wildcat strikes are not legally protected job actions. If Cablevision is smart it would quickly fire every one of these strikers before they cause the company even more grief.
AndyDufresne
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join:2010-10-30
Chanhassen, MN

AndyDufresne

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Corbel Installations paid not Cablevision

These guys are contractors. I got a feeling Corbel will be doing some hiring/training in next couple of weeks.

"A Cablevision spokesman said the strike "is a matter for Corbel" and declined further comment"

FFH5
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join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

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said by AndyDufresne:

These guys are contractors. I got a feeling Corbel will be doing some hiring/training in next couple of weeks.

"A Cablevision spokesman said the strike "is a matter for Corbel" and declined further comment"

These workers weren't union workers. Is it even a strike at all if they aren't in a union? Or is it just workers refusing to work? They could all be fired outright if Corbell had others to replace them.
megatron266
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Miami, FL

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Re: Fire Them

I'm not sure of the conditions these workers have to endure while doing installations but I'm sure it isn't easy. Tight spaces due to overcrowding and compartmentalization along with bug and rodent infestations due to unsanitary conditions. Sitting in a nice office where you can breath clean air and drink filtered water from the water cooler is a lot better than going through a crawl space and having words with a defiant rat. LOL

I say don't fire them but talk with them and see what went wrong here. This must have been brewing for some time now since strikes like these don't just come out of the blue like that. Remember the amount of money these companies make off their customer's. All this is off the back of the employees that get paid just enough to get by in NYC.

Also, they are not Cablevision employees.
moonpuppy (banned)
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD

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Agreed. Let them find work elsewhere while they bite the hand that fed them.
tkdslr
join:2004-04-24
Pompano Beach, FL

tkdslr

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Then Cablevision will have to pay market, (100 to 200$ per), rates for triple play installations.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
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pnh102 to megatron266

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said by megatron266:

I say don't fire them but talk with them and see what went wrong here.

No, in the case of a wildcat strike, the employer must act swiftly and forcefully. These kinds of strikes are not like conventional strikes in which there is no contract between labor and management. If the management tolerates one wildcat strike, there will be more.

The other funny thing is that by engaging in a wildcat strike, this newly formed union just made it that much easier for the company to get rid of it once and for all because there is no legal recourse that can be taken against an employer that fires a worker who engaged in a wildcat strike. That's why most labor unions frown upon them.
moonpuppy (banned)
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD

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said by tkdslr:

Then Cablevision will have to pay market, (100 to 200$ per), rates for triple play installations.

Nope, there are plenty of techs out there looking for work and will work for peanuts since jobs are hard to come by now.
clone (banned)
join:2000-12-11
Portage, IN

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Exactly. Can't have the proles standing up for themselves, you know, demanding a living wage and getting all uppity. It's almost like they think they should be able to hold a card or two in our deck. Ha! Lazy money-hungry bastards. I wish we had some decent robots so we didn't have to use these sub-human pieces of trash for our installations at all.

We've worked hard over the years to break up this kind of collusion between the unwashed masses, and it's high time to start letting them know that we learned from those mistakes and won't be letting the pendulum swing back their way, ever.

So damn right, set that batch of slaves free and find a new bunch that will work for $25 or $30 per installation instead of $35. That's how to be a real job creator.

pnh102
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pnh102

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Do you even know what a wildcat strike is?
viperlmw
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viperlmw to moonpuppy

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said by moonpuppy:

said by tkdslr:

Then Cablevision will have to pay market, (100 to 200$ per), rates for triple play installations.

Nope, there are plenty of techs out there looking for work and will work for peanuts since jobs are hard to come by now.

Not techs with any experience, or who aren't drunks, or who actually care about quality or the customer.

I have just recently been forced to deal with contractor installations in my area, installations that used to be done by company employees. They had no experience, did bad work, much of which had to be completely re-done, ended up costing the company much more, yet that anti-employee agenda just won't let the powers that be realize this. Contractors only care about getting paid for the piece they are doing. Employees tend to care much more about the company they work for and the customers they serve. But there is an agenda out there, 'Get rid of employees, contract it all out'! Then a company with 50,000 employees can pretend they are a small business.
viperlmw

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Re: Corbel Installations paid not Cablevision

said by AndyDufresne:

These guys are contractors. I got a feeling Corbel will be doing some hiring/training in next couple of weeks.

"A Cablevision spokesman said the strike "is a matter for Corbel" and declined further comment"

Nobody wants to pay for training anymore, either.
moonpuppy (banned)
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Glen Burnie, MD

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Re: Fire Them

said by viperlmw:

Not techs with any experience, or who aren't drunks, or who actually care about quality or the customer.

I have just recently been forced to deal with contractor installations in my area, installations that used to be done by company employees. They had no experience, did bad work, much of which had to be completely re-done, ended up costing the company much more, yet that anti-employee agenda just won't let the powers that be realize this. Contractors only care about getting paid for the piece they are doing. Employees tend to care much more about the company they work for and the customers they serve. But there is an agenda out there, 'Get rid of employees, contract it all out'! Then a company with 50,000 employees can pretend they are a small business.

And I had the same experience with company techs who didn't know their rear end from a hole in the ground.

Face facts, the wildcat strike was a form of union intimidation against the company and meant to send a message. All that was sent was a big "screw you" to Cablevision and the message back should be "since you care so much, you can find jobs elsewhere."

Unions are going to have to realize their old tactics don't work anymore. Keep doing them and no one will be on their sides.
clone (banned)
join:2000-12-11
Portage, IN

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Yes, and thanks for asking. Obviously you don't. This was NOT a wildcat strike. These workers are not the ones that unionized. A wildcat strike is one where union workers walk off the job without the approval of their union leaders. But thanks for the cup of smug, anyway, I needed one this morning.

Anyway, these are another group of workers who wish to unionize, so this would just be a work stoppage (and an extremely minimal one at that). Not to say that you can't be fired for that, but I am wholly on their side. It's about time workers started standing together again, instead of being run over slipshod by your precious "job creators".
nutcr0cker
join:2003-04-02
Chandler, AZ

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Re: Corbel Installations paid not Cablevision

simple fire them and get some Chines or Indians on H1B problem solved next

N3OGH
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They would have been better off doing a "sick out".

I can see where they would be pissed, though. A 30% cut is nothing to sneeze at.

I really don't agree with the whole "fire 'em all" notion. Employees who are treated well & well compensated DO NOT JOIN UNIONS.

Employees that are treated like chattel often do join unions, or seek employment in other places.

Given the present job market, many employers have taken the "screw the employee" route whenever they can. The rationale is that there is a large pool of unemployed they can draw from.

The time will eventually come when that will no longer be the case. The employers who treated their employees well will benefit from having loyal, well compensated, and capable employees that will give them maximum productivity through the next economic upswing.

The employers who treated their employees like trained monkeys will be cranking up the HR machine, since anyone worth anything in their organization will jump ship for greener pastures.

They'll be left sorting through the 10% who sat around idle for 3 or so years with no job. Their skills eroding to the point where you would have to teach them how to show up on time again.

Then those same employers will be the ones bitching that their workers are lazy, unskilled, & shiftless since everyone who was industrious, innovative, & motivated went elsewhere.

You can't go wrong treating your employees right. It's easy to keep the unions out of your business. Be a good guy to work for, and none of your employees would even whisper union. As a matter of fact, word gets around and the talent eventually starts finding you. Those are the people that will make you a buck...

ITALIAN926
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Re: Fire Them

Its amazing to me that you jerks actually side with a greedy giant corporation, rather than your fellow HUMAN BEING trying to make a better life for his/her families.

You should all be ashamed, really.
ITALIAN926

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ITALIAN926

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quote:
Omar Hutchinson, one of the technicians who went on strike, said that workers were moved to act by the Cablevision vote in Brooklyn. He said he earns about $600, before taxes and without health insurance, for a seven-day week that can stretch to 50 or 60 hours.


Seriously, you people bashing these workers disgust me ! Afraid of a $10 increase on your TV bill or something? Bunch of losers on this site !

CableTool
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CableTool

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Preemptive "strike"

This is a smart move by the contractor employees. Once cablevision started having Union discussions contractors stock go WAY UP since there is a possibility they will be called to duty IN FORCE soon.
I believe the contractors, knowing this, thought it was a good time to ask for more money.

In the end the customers suffered with all this cat and mouse shit.

Whoever was in this thread bitching about people protecting the "Big Evil Corporation" needs to realize this isnt a movie or a neat little sit in on a college campus. This is real life.
If this Big Evil corporation fails so do many families. Grow up.

pnh102
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Re: Fire Them

said by clone:

This was NOT a wildcat strike.

Only in the technical sense that there is no legally recognized union. It is still an absence without authorization, and thus a fireable offense.
pnh102

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said by ITALIAN926:

Its amazing to me that you jerks actually side with a greedy giant corporation, rather than your fellow HUMAN BEING trying to make a better life for his/her families.

How is the person any less greedy for wanting more money? Why is that person's greed worse than the collective greed of a business?

Woody79_00
I run Linux am I still a PC?
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said by ITALIAN926:

Its amazing to me that you jerks actually side with a greedy giant corporation, rather than your fellow HUMAN BEING trying to make a better life for his/her families.

You should all be ashamed, really.

I agree, but you don't understand...many folks will defend the very same people who rob them blind.

these are not rational thinking people. I know corporations have a place, im not anti-corp...im pro-common sense.

the fact is, if you look a CableVision's Balace sheet, you will find they are not hurting...they can afford to pay their employees a decent salary and still have plenty of money left over to show very good profits for their CEO, shareholders, etc...but they don't want to do that. it is what it is. However, i don't think morality should be legislated...so really..the best they could do is refuse to work under such conditions or form a union.

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine

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said by Woody79_00:

the fact is, if you look a CableVision's Balace sheet, you will find they are not hurting...they can afford to pay their employees a decent salary and still have plenty of money left over to show very good profits for their CEO, shareholders, etc...but they don't want to do that. it is what it is. However, i don't think morality should be legislated...so really..the best they could do is refuse to work under such conditions or form a union.

These aren't cablevision employees. They are contractors. The contracting company pays them a salary, and like most body shops they are cut rate.
clone (banned)
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That's what I said.

However, calling it a "wildcat strike" is used by pro-corporate top 10% of the top 1% loving zealots just to be sensational. You are not part of their club, trust me, you're not. Stop defending them. It makes all of you look foolish.

Any balanced media would call it exactly what it is, a bunch of workers got rightfully pissed about the continuous shafting they get from megacorporations, and failed to show up for work on the same day.

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

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Re: Corbel Installations paid not Cablevision

said by nutcr0cker:

simple fire them and get some Chines or Indians on H1B problem solved next

By law you have to pay H1Bs the prevailing wage.

Pathfinder5
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Re: Fire Them

said by pnh102:

said by ITALIAN926:

Its amazing to me that you jerks actually side with a greedy giant corporation, rather than your fellow HUMAN BEING trying to make a better life for his/her families.

How is the person any less greedy for wanting more money? Why is that person's greed worse than the collective greed of a business?

Did you read the article? They didn't ask for more money. Their company cut their pay by 30%.
I guess you would sit there and smile if your boss came in and told you "Stating next week we're cutting your salary 30%"
Oh thank you sir. I'm just glad I got a job.

Sammael1069
join:2011-06-20
united state

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Re: Preemptive "strike"

+1
said by CableTool:

This is a smart move by the contractor employees. Once cablevision started having Union discussions contractors stock go WAY UP since there is a possibility they will be called to duty IN FORCE soon.
I believe the contractors, knowing this, thought it was a good time to ask for more money.

In the end the customers suffered with all this cat and mouse shit.

Whoever was in this thread bitching about people protecting the "Big Evil Corporation" needs to realize this isnt a movie or a neat little sit in on a college campus. This is real life.
If this Big Evil corporation fails so do many families. Grow up.


ITALIAN926
join:2003-08-16

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ITALIAN926

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quote:
If this Big Evil corporation fails so do many families.
Give me a damn break.

nunya
LXI 483
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nunya

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The scoop

I'd like to clarify a few things for those with an open mind. First and foremost, I am not a union fan boy. I've been on both sides of the fence. Now, as business owner, I can appreciate why some people have a strong dislike for unions.

Many years ago, I was a cable T.V. "sub-contractor". Even though it's been decades, not much has changed, except for the names.
I want to clarify, these guys are not making money hand over fist. In fact, most are probably making around minimum wage. They are called "sub-contractors" and paid by piecework. They have to pay for their own taxes, tools, trucks, gas, insurance, benefits, etc...
This arrangement is 100% illegal, but is standard CATV industry practice. The IRS is cracking down on these "middlemen" companies. The CableCo, like Pontius Pilate, can claim their "hands are clean" in the whole situation.
Basically, these kids doing the work are "sub-contractors" only in name. They are told when to work, where to work, and how to work by the powers that be. In the eyes of the IRS, that makes them employees.
These middleman contractors screw these guys over left and right with bogus "charge-backs" and shorting their pay. It's been that way "ever since".
These operations have a "revolving door". I think the average turnover is around 125% for these places.
Instead of going to a union, these guys would be better off going to an IRS agent.

JRW2
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La La Land

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Re: Fire Them

said by Pathfinder5:

I guess you would sit there and smile if your boss came in and told you "Stating next week we're cutting your salary 30%"
Oh thank you sir. I'm just glad I got a job.

They might...
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