Taking On Employee Intimidation at T-Mobile USA

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from Der Spiegel:





A new trans-Atlantic effort aims to expose alleged harassment and poor working conditions for workers at T-Mobile, the US subsidiary of German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom. The union-driven campaign plans to expose damning employee reports to politicians and the media.

The conference hotel, located in an area known as Cargo City Süd at the edge of the Frankfurt Airport, was chosen deliberately for the anonymity its meeting rooms offered, allowing the two powerful union representatives who met there to retreat discreetly if necessary. One man, Lothar Schröder, is deputy chair of the supervisory board at Deutsche Telekom AG and national chair of powerful German trade union Ver.di. The other, Larry Cohen, heads the 700,000-member union, the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

Over the course of two days, these two union representatives worked out a unique new campaign. In the coming weeks, they plan to mobilize employees on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as bringing the United States Congress, German parliament and various ministries into position and providing the media with sensitive information. The target: German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom, headquartered in Bonn. The issue: alleged harassment and poor working conditions at the company's subsidiary T-Mobile USA.

For years, union representatives have accused the company of preventing the election of workers' representatives and suppressing any form of employee codetermination. The American subsidiary's management doesn't shrink from "dismissals, defamation and intimidating employees," the unions say. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/union-campaign-takes-on-t-mobile-usa-working-conditions-a-868525.html

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