IBEW Local 3 to March Across George Washington Bridge

Union Video Allegedly Captures Violation
of New York City Franchise Agreement

The following commentary was submitted by Marvin Billups, a construction foreman with IBEW Local 3. 

The striking technicians of Spectrum are having a rally at the Spectrum payment center on 178st and Broadway on August 25, 2017, at 3 p.m. Public support and the support of elected officials would be greatly appreciated.

The company has prevented our strike from receiving news coverage, so we have had to take drastic measures to inform the public of our plight, which includes the use of YouTube. We have been out of work since March 28, 2017, and Spectrum refuses to negotiate in good faith. They appear to be trying to starve us out and make us return to work under a contract that removes $30,000 in health, welfare and retirement benefits, annually and per member, and charge us an additional $10,000 per year for health benefits that provide significantly less than our current plans due with extremely high deductibles. 

I have read the responses Spectrum sent to our supporters in response to their request that the company return to the negotiating table in good faith.  Spectrum claims to be offering us a 22% pay raise and as much as a 55% to some of the lower level technicians. What Spectrum doesn’t say is that in additional to the severe cuts in our benefits plan, they want to do the following:

Blame technicians for repeat calls when they are being sent out to service customers with inadequate, outdated and often re-furbished equipment

Maintain the New York City cable system, which has not been upgraded since 1992. This is a major reason why customers continue to complain about outages and unreliable service.

Eradicate all union health, pension and welfare plans that have been in place for over 40 years

In addition, Spectrum lies when they say they are following the New York City franchise agreement. In reality, they are using out-of-town contractors, which is in direct violation of the terms of the agreement. These out-of-state workers are not being vetted or screened properly and are not held to the strict public safety and security standards as Local 3 members. 

I have enclosed a flier about the march on the George Washington Bridge. If you would like more information or have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at Marvbillups@aol.com. 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Click on the flier to increase its size. 

Video source: IBEW Local 3

Note: From The G-Man cannot confirm that every vehicle showcased in the video was in the state of New York when photographed or that they were operated and owned by Charter Communications.