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Cablevision Employees Unionize For First Time Ever
In a Cable Industry Where Just 2-4% Are in Unions
by Karl Bode Friday 27-Jan-2012 tags: legal · business · Cablevision
"It’s very hard to retire here," a Cablevision installer complained to the New York Times earlier this month. "You get hurt, you can’t work as hard and you disappear." A little more than a week later, despite claims from unions that Cablevision tried heavy-handedly to stop it, 282 technicians and dispatchers in Brooklyn have voted to join the CWA. The move marks the first time that Cablevision employees have unionized, in a cable sector where just 2% to 4% of cable TV workers are unionized. That's compared to 90% of telecommunications workers, most notably Cablevision's primary competitor, Verizon.

Cablevision issued a statement noting disappointment:

"We are disappointed by the outcome of this vote. In the worst economy in memory, Cablevision has not laid off a single technician, unlike our competitors who have cut thousands of unionized positions. In fact, Cablevision has created jobs. We value our employees and the work they do and believe the CWA has little to offer them. We are assessing our options."

Cablevision workers make about one-third less than their counterparts at Verizon, according to the CWA. As we recently noted, there are some on Wall Street who'd like to see Verizon get out of landline entirely in large part because of union costs, instead fully focusing on wireless where labor remains ununionized and therefore pension, health and other costs are reduced.

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Dodge
Premium
join:2002-11-27

Incoming price increase to all customers

in 3...2....1...

Linklist
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Williamstown, NJ
kudos:5

Re: Incoming price increase to all customers

said by Dodge:

in 3...2....1...

No. Outsourcing to contractors will eliminate the Cablevision union jobs completely.

The union employees have only won a short term possible pay bump in trade for unemployment in the long term.
Network Guy
Premium
join:2000-08-25
New York

Re: Incoming price increase to all customers

Cablevision already outsources service installers. I suppose they will now also outsource techs.

I mean when it comes right down to it, the job of a cable tech is menial at best, and I work in the IT industry.

datguy11

@verizon.net

Re: Incoming price increase to all customers

Network Guy,

I can say the same insulting things about people in the "IT industry"

Like the "IT guy" who came to "help" me on an installation job and watched me do all the work b/c he didnt know sh*t, but yet got the credit for making sure it was done "right"

or the IT guy in charge of the "telecom" department who "checked" the line at the dmarc and said it was an "outside" problem... Problem is he didnt know how to troubleshoot a simple short circuit and the problem was on HIS end, and with all his degrees and certificates couldnt grasp the simple, menial idea of how a short circuit affects a service.

My opinion of IT people is quite low when they think they know my industry, b/c I have yet to meet an IT person who could troubleshoot any telco/cable service

vztech

@optonline.net

Re: Incoming price increase to all customers

I totally agree!!! A lot of these IT people are forced to be the telecom tech also. They think they know everything under the sun , but when they are proven wrong and that the trouble is to the customers equipment, then this is what you hear ," Are you going to charge us????" in my mind if your pleasant to me , probably not, but if your an asshole, then of course i'm going to bill you
said by Network Guy:

Cablevision already outsources service installers. I suppose they will now also outsource techs.

I mean when it comes right down to it, the job of a cable tech is menial at best, and I work in the IT industry.

Haven't met an "IT" guy yet that can back up his so called credentials. I have met a dozen or so self proclaimed "IT" guys over the years that really worked for the Geek Squad and were total idiots. IT is such a vast term that anyone who can set up a router calls themselves an IT expert nowadays. Hell, if they can set up a DMZ host or port forward they REALLY know their shit! Lol. What a joke. Know your place in the food chain because I know there are tens of thousands of IT people like yourself making $11 per hour at a help desk getting the CEO's secretary who makes 3x your pay rate logged back into her computer. Talk about an entry level position.
Network Guy
Premium
join:2000-08-25
New York
Reviews:
·Optimum Online

Re: Incoming price increase to all customers

Umm.. Okay.. Guess I struck a nerve and my comment was perhaps uncalled for. It's been my experience that beyond running and crimping coax, setting up STBs and calling "home" to activate, that's just about the full scope of work I've witnessed cable guys do. Trust me, I've had people tell me all I do is sit here all day long and do absolutely nothing.

Not many realize this but a good IT guy is usually the one employee that everyone hardly calls. The "IT" guy who talks the most shit is usually not worth his weight on paper. And yes, there are many of us "IT" guys out there who are like this. Sorry you've had to contend with them.

Personally, I run a small home care agency where I am. I'm paid much more than $11/hr, and I'm usually the go-to guy for the same dumbass questions regarding the system day in and day out. What I don't get called on at all is about a server or network down situation, and that to me personally signifies a well-run shop.

JRW2
R.I.P. Mom, Brian, Ziggy, Max and Zen.
Premium
join:2004-12-20
La La Land
kudos:5
Reviews:
·Optimum Online

Re: Incoming price increase to all customers

said by Network Guy:

What I don't get called on at all is about a server or network down situation, and that to me personally signifies a well-run shop.

How many "management" types don't grasp this concept.
They think if you are NOT running around like an idiot, you are not doing your job...
--
Politics is a disease, we need a cure!
In constant search for intelligent life on Earth!
Network Guy
Premium
join:2000-08-25
New York

Re: Incoming price increase to all customers

Fortunately where I am they don't have a choice but to understand that. It's one of the few perks of being a one-man IT shop.


JRW2
R.I.P. Mom, Brian, Ziggy, Max and Zen.
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La La Land
kudos:5
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said by Linklist:

No. Outsourcing to contractors will eliminate the Cablevision union jobs completely.

Depending on how they write the contract, and if CV even goes to the bargaining table, they won't be able to do that..
--
Politics is a disease, we need a cure!
In constant search for intelligent life on Earth!
25139889

join:2011-10-25
Toledo, OH

Re: Incoming price increase to all customers

CV probably won't even go to the table. They'll say screw it. Lock out the Unions at that point, hire a new non-union staff- contractors and be done with it.

JRW2
R.I.P. Mom, Brian, Ziggy, Max and Zen.
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·Optimum Online

Re: Incoming price increase to all customers

said by 25139889:

CV probably won't even go to the table. They'll say screw it. Lock out the Unions at that point, hire a new non-union staff- contractors and be done with it.

While thay can do that, it won't be a cheap option because they could be fined by the NLRB...
--
Politics is a disease, we need a cure!
In constant search for intelligent life on Earth!
slckusr
Premium
join:2003-03-17
Maumee, OH
kudos:1
Reviews:
·AT&T U-Verse

Re: Incoming price increase to all customers

said by JRW2:

said by 25139889:

CV probably won't even go to the table. They'll say screw it. Lock out the Unions at that point, hire a new non-union staff- contractors and be done with it.

While thay can do that, it won't be a cheap option because they could be fined by the NLRB...

One big fine or a lifetime of getting bent over? hmmm

JRW2
R.I.P. Mom, Brian, Ziggy, Max and Zen.
Premium
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La La Land
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Reviews:
·Optimum Online

Re: Incoming price increase to all customers

said by slckusr:

said by JRW2:

said by 25139889:

CV probably won't even go to the table. They'll say screw it. Lock out the Unions at that point, hire a new non-union staff- contractors and be done with it.

While thay can do that, it won't be a cheap option because they could be fined by the NLRB...

One big fine or a lifetime of getting bent over? hmmm

While some may consider it that, not everyone does..

Are you familiar with this company?
»www.usa.philips.com/

As far as I know, they have had two strikes in the last 40 years, one when the employees first organised, lasted several months, and once during the 80's, ended in three days, with the manager who let them strike being fired...

Why, the company made too much money off the workers to allow them to strike for even one day...
--
Politics is a disease, we need a cure!
In constant search for intelligent life on Earth!

fine

@optonline.net
CV would get hit with all sorts of labor charges

CableTool
Poorly Representing MYSELF.
Premium
join:2004-11-12
said by Linklist:

said by Dodge:

in 3...2....1...

The union employees have only won a short term possible pay bump in trade for unemployment in the long term.

Who said they were going to get a bump in pay? People always speak of Unions and highly paid employees in the same breath. I dont see Cablevision, being a largely Non-Union MSO, agreeing to a contract that pays Union Employees more.

Remember, there is a bargaining process to be started.. and the worst case scenario of two sides not agreeing to something? Contract out the work while the employees sit home and earn nothing.

There are no short or long term benefits this late in the game.

What I do see? A bunch of hungry contractors eyeing Brooklyn as their next home.
--
CableTechs.org/"Horrible People with Integrity"

bliss

@centurytel.net
in 3.....2.......1.......price increases coming regardless.
sonicmerlin

join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH
kudos:1
said by Dodge:

in 3...2....1...

If they could increase prices they would have already done so. You think they're just leaving money on the table in case something goes badly? That's idiotic.
Dodge
Premium
join:2002-11-27

Re: Incoming price increase to all customers

said by sonicmerlin:

said by Dodge:

in 3...2....1...

If they could increase prices they would have already done so. You think they're just leaving money on the table in case something goes badly? That's idiotic.

No one is leaving money on the table, however if they have an excuse to raise prices, they will and do a PR campaign blaming the union.

n2jtx

join:2001-01-13
Glen Head, NY

Where?

Is this only Brooklyn or will this effect all operations? Personally, I have never had a genuine CV tech come to my home here on Long Island. They have always been contractors.
--
I support the right to keep and arm bears.
majortom1029

join:2006-10-19
Lindenhurst, NY
kudos:1

Re: Where?

Here also in huntington. I had to go through 2 contractors once before cablevision sent an actual cablevision employee. That employee knew right away it was an outside plant issue and had outside plant in within 10 minutes.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

Heh

In a related note, CableVision decided to fire all its newly-unionized employees and replace them with contractors.
--
"Net Neutrality" zealots - the people you can thank for your capped Internet service.

skeechan
Ai Otsukaholic
Premium
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170
kudos:2

These employees will be sorry

There are few jobs easier to outsource than a tech or dispatcher.

jseymour

join:2009-12-11
Waterford, MI

Not A Fan Of Unions, But...

Cablevision has only itself to blame. Truth is: Most people instinctively grasp that forming an adversarial organization within your employment space has serious downsides. Most people would prefer not to do it. So all an employer need do is treat its employees fairly and with respect, and they can usually keep the unions out.

Look to the foreign, particularly Asian, car companies doing manufacturing here in the U.S. Last I knew: Not a one of them was unionized. Much of that is because European and Asian companies treat their employees much better, on-average, than their U.S. counterparts.

Back in the day, when I was in a management position over people in a manufacturing environment, I treated my people as I would've expected to have been treated were I in their place. That doesn't mean I was a push-over. I demanded, and received, respect and performance. But I also made certain my people were treated fairly. End result was: When I resigned, to move on, my entire team wanted to go with me. Even a woman I'd reluctantly had to let go was anxious to come work for me again.
ShellMMG

join:2009-04-16
Grass Lake, MI

Re: Not A Fan Of Unions, But...

From the link:

"The organizing effort began in October, with more than 70% of workers submitting union cards to the NLRB on Dec. 2, according to CWA. The vote was held on Jan. 26 at three different Cablevision garages in Brooklyn."

On the surface it appears this was a fair organizing effort, but it says that union cards "were submitted" rather than actually saying "X out of a total of Y workers voted to join." This is important.

Here in Michigan, the press reported that day care workers paid by the state Department of Human Services voted to unionize. What was NOT said was only 15% of the workers voted because they'd thrown out the stuff from the union because they (rightfully) thought it was junk mail. They are self-employed contractors, not state employees. So of that 15% that voted, most voted yes, which conscripted ALL of the workers into a new union, created just for them!

I'm not saying if these workers were right or not, but voting to form a union in the current employment environment is rather unwise. Unless, of course, you want to be like Michigan. We've been in a slump the longest, and we'll be the last to improve.
sonicmerlin

join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH
kudos:1

Re: Not A Fan Of Unions, But...

said by ShellMMG:

I'm not saying if these workers were right or not, but voting to form a union in the current employment environment is rather unwise. Unless, of course, you want to be like Michigan. We've been in a slump the longest, and we'll be the last to improve.

Yes you are Glenn Beck.

70% of the voters voted 'yea'. 30% didn't care. Sounds like a win to me.

JRW2
R.I.P. Mom, Brian, Ziggy, Max and Zen.
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La La Land
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said by jseymour:

Cablevision has only itself to blame.

True!

Look to the foreign, particularly Asian, car companies doing manufacturing here in the U.S. Last I knew: Not a one of them was unionized. Much of that is because European and Asian companies treat their employees much better, on-average, than their U.S. counterparts.

Proof that unions even benefit non-union employees...
--
Politics is a disease, we need a cure!
In constant search for intelligent life on Earth!

factchecking

@myvzw.com
Ummm, check ur facts... Toyota, honda, and mitsubishi all have production lines here in the US, staffed by good ole UAW members... A quick check of www.uaw.org will confirm that for you.

KeepCalling

@verizon.net

180-86

180-86 was the final vote. WHOA! question is who's next with scores like that. It amazes me to watch the little guy attacking the little guy but a whore for the corporations. Keep waiting for the trickle down effect, now back to your regular schedule Fox News programming.

Nonewillbe

@optonline.net

Re: 180-86

Watch, no other shops will unionize when the Brooklyn techs realize they won't suddenly make more money than every other Cablevision employee and that they wind up with nothing more than they had before except now they pay union dues.

gar187er
I do this for a living

join:2006-06-24
Dover, DE
kudos:4

Re: 180-86

thats exactly it....they will sit back and wait....
--
I'm better than you!
tmc8080

join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY
Reviews:
·ooma
·Optimum Online
·Verizon FiOS

sooner or later..

a cablevision line/housecall tech only earns about HALF (guessing) what a Verizon (union) worker who works with FTTP/FIOS makes. somtimes they are using their OWN equipment, tools and other resources to do the job which is why they on average earn half what a VZ tech would when you consider benefits, and other obligatory pay perks.

probably a majority of the service calls are done by tri-wire or another 3rd party contractor. unionizing does nothing more than anger the contract hirer which in turn can choose to lock-out the union (with very little recourse against Cablevision) and go with someone else because they are NOT directly hired by Cablevision.

what's going on is probably there are more 3rd party contractors doing less menial work like splitting nodes, troubleshooting nodes, installing fiber routes, and such which in theory should be compensated more the way Verizon workers are.. and maybe they do have a tiered paygrade but it's nowhere near what Verizon level-1 outside plant techs would get.

Brooklyn could quite probably be ground Zero of the broadband war between Cablevision & Verizon where Verizon recently accelerated FIOS build (and shut it down EVERYWHERE ELSE INCLUDING LONG ISLAND SUBURBS). Cablevision has a good chance of losing customers now that Verizon is deploying FIOS. The only backstop is that Verizon recently rai$ed rates.. Can you blame cablevision for wanting to upgrade on the cheap? Sure, if you're a 3rd party contract worker getting peanuts, but not if your a rate payer. You want 50/8 100/15 for as low as possible... maybe one day symmetric broadband. after simple upgrades, Cablevision could easily do 25/25, 35/35, 50/50 and so on upto the Docsis 3 spec'd upload limit. Will they? anyone's guess. Can't really talk smack on advertisements if you're not willing to back it up.. after having a historical rep of delivering 1/3rd the broadband 16/24 hours of the day. Customers will say show me the speedtest.. and throughput at various times of the day/night!

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

First comes the abuse, then comes the Union

If you don't want employees to unionize, don't exploit them.
sides14

join:2007-11-29
Glendale, AZ

Re: First comes the abuse, then comes the Union

And the unions don't exploit the employees.
sonicmerlin

join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH
kudos:1

Re: First comes the abuse, then comes the Union

said by sides14:

And the unions don't exploit the employees.

Can't union members vote for different leadership?

woody7
Premium
join:2000-10-13
Torrance, CA
Bingo you win the prize, most companies don't givea shit, but some do.
--
BlooMe
lijacobs

join:2010-07-30
Lawrence, NY
kudos:1

Congradulations!

I'm very proud of my new brothers in Brooklyn. James Dolan has oppressed his hard working employees for too long. I hope that this win will inspire CV workers in their other operating areas.

CWA 1104 retired

Corehhi

join:2002-01-28
Bluffton, SC

Time to short cablevision stock

I've been short selling any stock with a union for a long time now and it always works out well for me. Last stock was AMR, they went BK, GM they went BK and the list goes on. It's getting harder to find union dominated companies though.
sonicmerlin

join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH
kudos:1

Re: Time to short cablevision stock

said by Corehhi:

I've been short selling any stock with a union for a long time now and it always works out well for me. Last stock was AMR, they went BK, GM they went BK and the list goes on. It's getting harder to find union dominated companies though.

Well yes, labor membership on executive boards in German companies (with 1/3 to 1/2 the board power) has always resulted in corporations with lower stock values than equivalent counterparts in other countries. Those companies also have much longer-term goals and are far less susceptible to stock manipulation.
25139889

join:2011-10-25
Toledo, OH

LOCK

OUT and contractors! That is what's going to happy. CV will start having lay offs now.
ITALIAN926

join:2003-08-16
kudos:1

Re: LOCK

You have mental issues.

N10Cities
Premium
join:2002-05-07
Lavaca, AR
Reviews:
·World Lynx
·Cox HSI

Re: LOCK

said by ITALIAN926:

You have mental issues.

That's just HOTBOIINNC with a new handle. Getting ready to turn on the "Ignore" feature on him again..

viperlmw
Premium
join:2005-01-25

Welcome!

Good luck!
richardak

join:2001-07-08
Seguin, TX

A cable installer expects to be able to RETIRE?

Seriously, how deluded are these people.

You expect to be able to retire and get some sort of retirement package for an entry level job?

S_engineer
Premium
join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL

Re: A cable installer expects to be able to RETIRE?

Most jobs now are entry level jobs thanks to the "free market" at work. What these so called "free-marketeers" fail to say is that many new hires don't receive benefits at all. These workers are forced to receive Medicaid, with is a gov't benefit. So, infact, we've set up a corporate welfare state. Just ask anyone of the poor souls of a Walmart employee. "Applying Wal-Mart's reported percentages of workers and children enrolled in Medicaid/SCHIP implies Wal-Mart workers and children cost $456 million to taxpayers nationally through their use of public health programs. This does not include the costs of adult dependents. "
--
"Thanks for the dance... and cut yourself a slice'a throat! "
- Curly (HOI POLLOI, 1935)

datguy11

@verizon.net
Well thats snide of you.. Insult all cable workers by classifying their jobs as "entry level"

If cable tv work and all thats associated with it (bad weather, working at heights, etc) is entry level, as you say, then what is working at Mcdonalds making fries? Is that the same as cable tv installer?
said by richardak:

Seriously, how deluded are these people.

You expect to be able to retire and get some sort of retirement package for an entry level job?

I know plenty of "entry level" cable guys, both in house and contractors making 80k to 110k per year with benefits that equal another 15k to 20k+ per year. I made 62k last year, have a maxed out matching $0.67/$1.00 401k, guaranteed funds pension, 7 paid weeks off per year, free vehicle to take home including fuel, free video and Internet for life (even after retirement), $75 per week full medical, dental ect for a family of 5, 7k per year schooling reimbursement plus countless other great benefits that I could go on and on about. I still have another $26k per year before I top out in my pay scale, three more weeks of time off to come, 600+ hours of sick time at my disposal, and all this not including OT (and only if I don't move to a higher position with a higher top out pay). Hell, when we were doing HSD only installs as a contractor fifteen years ago we were making $2500 per week and working 40hrs. It's funny when I hear someone talk down to us, talking about their "great income", living in a dump of a house and driving a BMW. Fact of the matter is that my salary is not considered wealthy by any means, but we live within our means, make $120k plus per year combined, will be able to retire before we're 50 if we wanted to and our major expenses (mortgages, vehicles ....) are paid off and we are in our upper 30's. Not to bad for an "entry level medial job". We're laughing all the way to retirement.

Re: A cable installer expects to be able to RETIRE?

..... With that being said, that is the reason why there are people here who have been here for 35 to 40 years and most people at the 15 to 20 year mark. Must be because of low wages and no union. Have fun worrying about your layoffs and keep ranting about all of your "killer" positions that you won't have next year after getting laid off. I'll be retired and waving at you with a smile on my face when I go to Wal Mart and you're the greeter still working when your 70.
qworster

join:2001-11-25
Bryn Mawr, PA
Reviews:
·MSN

2 edits

Why are you all so anti worker (union)?

American workers are treated worse then any other first world country worker. We work longer hours, have less time off and generally work in more dangerous conditions. Many of us work weekends and on vacations - and our employers EXPECT us to!
A 40 day week? What a joke THAT is!

Unions try to keep the playing field level. Are they perfect? No, but they do make a difference. My father in law worked 30 years for Ford in Mahwah, NJ. He worked hard for Ford (assigned almost a dozen engine patents to them) and when they closed that plant he would have received almost NOTHING had the union not negotiated a settlement for him and the others affected. Thanks to them, he got to keep the small condo they owned and his wife has a modest pension and decent health insurance in her old age.

What's so bad about that?

aannoonn

@optonline.net

Re: Why are you all so anti worker (union)?

said by qworster:

Why are you all so anti worker (union)?

Because they're still living with mommy and daddy and don't have to get a real job yet.
Hellrazor

join:2002-02-02
Abyss, PA
said by qworster:

A 40 day week? What a joke THAT is!

Yup. Those 40 day weeks are a real SOB.
ShellMMG

join:2009-04-16
Grass Lake, MI
The union that represented your father is NOT the union of today. I come from a long line of auto workers; one worked for Pontiac, the other for Fisher Body (GM). My father-in-law retired from Chrysler and I worked contract for GM. One of the things that shocked me in the late 80's was when my maternal grandfather, a long-time union man, confessed that the behavior of the UAW was "making him vote Republican."

Union dues are being diverted to support causes and politicians that have ideas completely contrary to union members. They've deviated a long way from representing worker safety and improving performance; my husband was conscripted into the UAW for many years even though he worked as a social worker in Detroit.

Performance doesn't really matter, it's all seniority. He just taught a class in Detroit and is continuously appalled at the total lack of professionalism (let alone literacy) of long-term state human services employees who cannot or will not be fired because it's too expensive to fight the unions.
sonicmerlin

join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH
kudos:1

Re: Why are you all so anti worker (union)?

You're a woman?

Also can't union workers vote for new leadership if they feel current leaders aren't serving members properly?

tmob_subsc

@rr.com
We are also one of the only first world countries with a very large and cheap illegal alien labor pool. That' s what driving labor costs down. Tradional blue collar jobs like construction, automechanic, cooks and even cable contractors are staffed almost exclusivly by immigrants, most working on the cheap. I am not anti immigrant, but I have to admit , they are taking a toll on the blue collar work force.

volntn
The Volunteer
Premium
join:2002-01-05
Cleveland, TN

GM

Give it a few years and the next headline will be "Cablevision files for bankruptcy"

uknowjack

@verizon.net

Re: GM

said by volntn:

Give it a few years and the next headline will be "Cablevision files for bankruptcy"

umm a unionized work force in small portion of cablevisions massive territory will hardly bankrupt the company but may hit earnings somewhat. this is not a hostess\wonderbread situation where 80percent of work force is unionized. att and verizon are heavily unionized and I don't see them bankrupt.

aannoonn

@optonline.net

Oh, no!

Dolan may have to get a smaller yacht!
tmc8080

join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY
Reviews:
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·Optimum Online
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1 edit

bets?

anyone wanna take bets this makes it to old media news @ 5pm?

update: nope-- didn't fit one of the cateGORies enough:
murder, rape, robbery, fire, political news, gentrification of NYC (also fits in the rape category), etc. this is why you don't bother to watch old media.. the agenda is relatively fixed..

ExCVRep

@djreprints.com

Good for them

I was working at CV's call center 8 years ago. Can you imagine people working 10+ years and making less than 20 bucks an hour?
The whole thing there was a very unpleassant experience. Always on a clock, if you need to go to the restroom, you couldn't be absent for more than a certain amount of time, otherwise they would start really tracking your time after few times. The same goes for your lunch break, and god forbid you take it a minute before you are scheduled.
You couldn't do this, you couldn't do that. I once couldn't reach something, so I had to climb on my desk. A floor supervisor was right on my ass reprimanding me for doing this.

People kept calling the whole establishement "gestapo".

There was a guy whose schedule was shifted. The only problem was nobody cared to let him know. So, after 3 days of coming to work for what he thought was his schedule he was fired for not being there in time.

I quit the job after only few months. Got another job that I've kept for nearly 8 years.

I am saying this because I was there, I saw conditions and the way people get treated there. They deserve to be in the union to get some kind of protection and get paid what they are due.

Back in the days there were talks about unionizing but nithing had happened. I am glad to see some progress. I hiope the call center folks will do it, too. They deserved it long time ago.

gar187er
I do this for a living

join:2006-06-24
Dover, DE
kudos:4

Re: Good for them

said by ExCVRep :

I was working at CV's call center 8 years ago. Can you imagine people working 10+ years and making less than 20 bucks an hour?

in a call center, yes i can believe that.....not thats a menial job, and the turn over shows it....

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I'm better than you!

IowaCowboy
Want to go back to Iowa
Premium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
Reviews:
·Comcast
·Verizon Broadban..

When the workers go on strike

When the workers go on strike, the replacement workers will be in the form of contractors. My mother's job with the school district just unionized. They should really bargain for job security as opposed to benefits and pay. I think one industry that should unionize is the amusement park workers as many theme park workers are subject to the summer heat, harsh working conditions, and long hours. My former job at a theme park was exempt from overtime laws and working 50-60 hours a week (open to close) at minimum wage has its challenges.

Also, structured employment programs for workers with disabilities can pay as little as $1.25 an hour as there is what is called the special needs minimum wage.
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All of my CPE (including my EMTA) is customer owned. The only Comcast owned equipment in my house is the CableCards in the two TiVO boxes I own.

datguy11

@verizon.net

its about time

Im tired of seeing all these sub-contractors driving around with ladders tied to the roof of their beat up station wagon or mini-van.

How does a company worth millions allow this to happen?

These subs work only wearing a shirt that says "cable tv" ,driving their own personal vehicles and working without safety gear.

Are you allowed, in New York State, to do work on poles and run wires across streets using a vehicle with PASSENGER PLATES?

I thought you have to have COMMERICAL PLATES when doing work for a cable company who rents space on telephone poles and has right of way priveledges??

Bottom line, if you are taking a ladder of a vehicle and working in the public area (the street, the pole, etc) shouldnt you be a bonafide business?

What if the guys ladder slips off and loses control and crashes on to your car or your kid? Who do you sue? Cablevision? The guy?

Im sure if you sue the guy you will get nothing, I mean who takes a job as a cable tv sub contractor? You have to be desperate for work ,right?

Bottom line, cablevision is know as one of the cheapest cable companies out there

Its about time they are forced to be more responsible and stop low balling the cable employees!

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