With the vast amount of job openings in the industry that keeps the internet working, you’re bound to come across many positions — be it as a broadband technician or support representative — that are unionized, often through the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
For those who aren't familiar with union labor, we sat down with one of CWA’s National Broadband Leads, Misty Robertson, to go over the ins and outs of getting started in a position at a unionized workplace, or “shop.”
As we honor our workforces on Labor Day, dive into the specs of how unionized positions work in broadband and the range of benefits they offer:
Applying for a unionized position
When applying for a job that is already unionized, there will be a slight variance on the initial process depending on if you are in a “right-to-work" state or not.
Basically, “right to work” refers to the ability to work for a union shop without having to join the union or pay agency fees. Historically, this came in context with “closed-shop” states which required employees to be a part of a specific union to work at these shops, but that was made illegal through the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act.
Today, the difference is slight in that if you join in a right-to-work state, you will be presented with the option of whether you would like to pay dues and gain benefits. In a state that is not right to work, you will be presented with the option of joining the union and paying dues for all its benefits or paying a state agency fee — typically around 75%-100% of the union due rate, Robertson explained.
State agency fees are negotiated in these states to help promote fairness amongst all workers in the shop. The union is required to represent all workers when bargaining pay rates, benefits etc., so agency fees prevent non-members from benefitting from the union’s bargaining efforts without contributing financially — sometimes referred to as preventing ‘free riders.’
Union dues & benefits
Dues are negotiated based on a contract between an employer and union, so they may vary shop to shop.
Still, Robertson explained that they will likely range between two and three hours of work per month — several AT&T shops unionized in the Southeast for example are at around 2.5 hours. She reasoned that what comes with this contribution is worth far more.
Here is a broad overview of the benefits provided:
Wage protection and set increases: Coming on board to a unionized job will mean pre-negotiated pay rates based on the worker’s experience, including transparent pay increases, protection against any wage reduction and cost-of-living adjustments.
Health & retirement benefits: Unions negotiate extensive health care insurance plans for technicians and their families, through benchmarks of employer contributions, premium costs and overall coverage. The same bargaining power is used for comprehensive retirement plans and pensions to promote long-term financial stability. For this reason, union workers are far more likely to have both health care and pension benefits.
Workplace protections: One major provision in having a unionized role is the collective representation and protection in unfair terminations, outsourcing and layoffs. This includes having local union support to help with things like seniority rights and protection in cases of workforce reductions, wrongful or discriminatory terminations and more.
This can range from having a union steward present in conflicts and write-up processes, all the way to the "difference between a paid attorney and a public defender,” as Robertson put it, in larger issues like wrongful termination.
Training & career development: Unions are not only in place for employee protection and bargaining power but also career development. This investment comes in many forms — from apprenticeships and mentoring to tuition assistance towards certifications and certain degrees.
“Everything is about equality [and] transparency,” said Robertson.
She elaborated on this support through several examples, one including what is referred to as “equalization.” In the event in which there is not enough work to warrant all the staffed technicians to work their hours, equalization is the process to ensure fairness in the process and order of who is sent home, so that no one is being unfairly kept from an equal number of hours.
Robertson spoke of several other personal contexts that they helped bargain for, from negotiating “closed key time” for call center representatives, to disputing wrongful termination with restored employment and backpay.
You’re hired for a unionized position, what’s next?
Once hired, you will typically be asked to sign a card and receive a handbook detailing all union provisions.
There will likely also be a 30-minute built in meeting or “class” for a union steward to go over your benefits with you. But after you sign the union card, “there’s no follow up,” Robertson said. “That’s where the member has to be proactive.”
She noted that plenty of workers who get their union card and pay their dues aren’t taking full advantage of the union’s provisions. This is why she advises all newcomers to "get involved,” which you can kickstart in three basic steps:
Find your steward that represents your work area
Find out when and where union meetings in your area take place
Meet your union local and president
Attending these events and meeting reps in your area will help you familiarize yourself with the support systems in place, form questions you might have and better understand your rights, protections and benefits as a union worker.
Hear directly from technicians working unionized positions on training, health care and more
Britni Cuington, Premise Technician working with AT&T:
Sandra Guardado, Premise technician:
Corbin Baker, Fiber Technician with AT&T:
Jose Ortiz, Cable Splicing Technician:
Candice Harper, Premise Technician:
Interested in learning more about the broadband technician trade? Explore training, job opportunities and more.