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Sprint La Conexion Familiar
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Date: 10 Jan 97 09:27:33 EST From: "Eduardo E. Diaz" <76221.3145@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Sprint La Conexion Familiar
CWA News Release
For More Information: Jeff Miller, CWA Communications Dept, 202/434-1168 Candice Johnson, CWA Communications Dept, 202/434-1347 December 30, 1996
SPRINT CORP. ORDERED TO REHIRE AND PAY BACK WAGES TO 177 LATINO TELEMARKETERS FIRED IN 1994 FOR UNION ORGANIZING
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LABOR BOARD PANEL IN WASHINGTON BACKS CWA APPEAL OVER SHUTDOWN OF SPRINT/LA CONEXION FAMILIAR IN SAN FRANCISCO
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) upheld an appeal by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and ruled that the Sprint Corp. must rehire and pay full back wage and benefit compensation to 177 workers, mostly Hispanic women, whose San Francisco telemarketing office was shut down during a union organizing drive in July of 1994.
A 3-member NLRB panel "amended" an earlier decision by an administrative law judge and stated that Sprint's sudden closing of the marketing office, known as La Conexion Familiar, just one week before a scheduled union election was a violation of federal labor law.
The NLRB panel rejected Sprint's contention that it closed the facility because it was losing money, citing falsification of documents by a Sprint vice president to create a "paper trail" making it look like the Sprint board was more concerned about LCF's financial situation than it actually was.
In the earlier court case in late 1994, NLRB investigators in San Francisco charged Sprint with more than 50 labor law violations including intimidating and spying on union activists and threatening that Sprint would close the office if workers voted for union representation.
Sprint admitted to the anti-union activity of Sprint/LCF managers but claimed the actual shutdown was a financial decision. The administrative law judge, in a ruling handed down August 30, 1995, declined to provide a remedy for the workers even though he noted that he had never seen so many labor law violations stipulated in such a case.
The NLRB decision announced today requires Sprint to rehire the La Conexion workers and give them "a position in its existing operations that is substantially equivalent to the employees' former position." Sprint must provide "appropriate moving expenses" and pay them compensation for wages and benefits, plus interest, from the date of the closing to the date they are rehired.
Further, "because of (Sprint's) widespread misconduct, demonstrating a general disregard for the employees' fundamental rights," the NLRB panel issued a broad order for Sprint to cease and desist from "threatening employees with the closure of any of its facilities if the union comes in," as well as from coercing, interrogating and spying on workers for union activity.
Sprint's long distance operation is completely non-union, and the corporation gives each of its managers a "Sprint Union Free Management Guide" which makes clear that a manager has no greater responsibility than to keep workers from unionizing.
CWA President Morton Bahr stated: "Sprint's brutal treatment of the La Conexion Familiar workers was the worst case of union-busting and human rights abuse that we have seen in telecommunications and among the worst in any industry for that matter. This decision belatedly brings a measure of justice to these workers, and we would hope that Sprint will comply with the NLRB order and turn the page on this ugly chapter in its corporate history."
The NLRB panel included Chairman William B. Gould IV and board members Margaret A. Browning and Sarah M. Fox.
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The Communications Workers of America represents more than 600,000 workers in telecommunications, broadcasting and cable TV, journalism and publishing, and the public service sector. ```
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