Labor & Employment Law

Comcast Repair Techs Choose IBEW

By James Parks

Installation repair technicians at Comcast in Fairfield, N.J., withstood a strong anti-union campaign by the employer and voted last week to join Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 827.

The vote, which was administered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), signals a change in the way the company’s installation repair technicians are standing up for their rights on the job, said Local 827 Organizing Chair Jason D’Errico:

The win is groundbreaking for these workers. This is their first step toward gaining a collective bargaining agreement. The Comcast workers have stood strong against this multibillion-dollar giant.

Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company, aggressively fights to deny its workers the freedom to join a union. 

Union leaders say this latest win will likely have a ripple effect, setting a precedent for future efforts. IBEW Telecommunications Director Martha Pultar said this victory is a good sign for more than a dozen other ongoing Comcast campaigns from New England to Washington and Oregon.

Solidarity among the workers was the key to the win. As IBEW President Edwin Hill put it:

This victory is another example of how the union movement ensures that more and more hard-working Americans maintain footing in this slippery economic climate. The stronger our numbers, the better we can advocate for working men and women in this ever-changing industry.

For more information on the ongoing Comcast campaign, click here.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on March 05, 2010 (boomark / email).