Members Protest Cuts at Cincinnati Bell

December 4, 2006

CWA members at Cincinnati Bell are protesting layoffs that have eliminated entire departments as the company turns to outsourced labor.

The company, which serves Cincinnati and parts of Kentucky and Indiana, offered to spare the jobs only if Locals 4400 and 4401 would accept drastic concessions in virtually every area of their contract. The two locals represent 1,400 Cincinnati Bell employees.

"We negotiated for several months in trying to keep these jobs rather than the company outsourcing them, but what they wanted were concessions far more extreme than we were willing to accept," CWA Representative Henley Johns said. "They wanted cuts in health care, hourly wages, pensions, overtime -- you name it."

Departments being outsourced include fleet, mail room, purchasing, business collections and the data center. So far, 45 people have lost their jobs, about a third of the total to be laid off.

About 200 CWA members protested recently outside Cincinnati Bell headquarters the day of the first round of layoffs.  Some noted the irony of their situation in interviews with the Cincinnati Enquirer, citing the Bell company's $22 million profit in the third quarter and the $1.6 million it paid in bonuses to its five top officers.

Johns said the company's action doesn't violate the letter of the union contract, meaning the union can't pursue unfair labor practice complaints. But he said CWA members aren't letting the company off the hook.

The locals plan ongoing protests continuing right into 2008 as CWA gets ready for bargaining, with demonstrations.