New
Routing with Cisco
In another development, Cisco Systems, the company
that manufacturers about 85 percent of the routing equipment used
to send messages through the Internet, came to CWA to ask for help
in the employment arena. What made this especially interesting was
that Cisco is a nonunion manufacturer.
A
lot of what we're doing
in New Jersey is trying to
secure recognition for
the skills that people have in
jobs that aren't necessarily
considered skilled jobs
Michael Merrill
|
Despite some reservations, the union agreed to discuss how the company
and the union could work together. Leaders at Cisco pointed out that
the CWA represents a lot of people with expertise that could be important
and useful as the Internet and other data networks expand - especially
as voice and data transportation merge. That makes them a ready workforce
to install and maintain Cisco's products.
Cisco has also developed a 280-hour curriculum to
train high school students in some 1,200 high schools around the
country to become certified customer network associates capable
of installing and maintaining simple computer networks. These young
people are going to need jobs, and Cisco was interested in having
their graduates be able to enroll with the union's employment centers.
Cisco represents a new breed of high tech enterprises. These new
companies have no historical ties to unions, but are open to cooperation
and partnership if they are convinced that the union brings value
to the partnership. Moreover, clearly, unions have something to
bring to the table. That includes access to new and experienced
workers, experience with training and retraining, the ability to
stabilize workforces and increase productivity and loyalty, and
a wide range of ties to the larger political and economic world.
That's not to say that future relationships will be easy or simple,
but where there are advantages to be had on both sides, the possibility
of a new kind of relationship is possible.
New Connections
The CWA is looking now to expand on these efforts. They are working
with Arizona State University on a program to assess the skills
of their members and others in relationship to the needs of today's
workplace so that people can be channeled into appropriate training
programs. They are working on distance learning and computer-based
training programs and collaborating with community based organizations
on new work recruitment and training.
The union represents translators, "independent
contractors" in the computer industry, and semi-independent
technicians in a number of industries. Employment centers or associations
of workers are being considered as a way to address their unique
employment situations.
The workplaces of the future will be skill-based. If the union movement
is to maintain its position in the American economy and do the job
it was created to do for workers, new strategies are required to
bring these workers into the union fold. Training and help with
employment are powerful tools as unions move forward into the future.
The challenge is nothing new to the union movement. Samuel Gompers
said: "There is no such thing as an unskilled worker; there
are only unorganized workers." Giving these high tech workers
the skills they need to be successful remains at the heart of what
unions do.
| Contributors |
This
article is based on presentations and discussion from:
Paul Anderson, Director of Apprenticeship,
Benefits & Employment
Communications of Workers of America
501 3rd Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Fax: 202-434-1252
Email: panderson@cwa-union.org |
Michael
Merrill, Director of Education & Training
New Jersey State AFL-CIO
106 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608
Fax: 609-989-8734
Email: merril@njaflcio.org |
Ellen
Scully, Skills Strategy Coordinator
AFL-CIO Working for America Institute
815 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
Fax: 202-331-5869
Email: escully@workingforamerica.org |
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