Testimony from June 16, 1999

Prepared Testimony from Morton Bahr, CWA

Good Morning, Mr. Chairman: Thank you for this opportunity to offer the
views of my union and organized labor on some of the significant issues involving the rapid introduction
of technology in America's workplaces. The Communications Workers of America represents 620,000
men and women employed in telecommunications, broadcasting, cable TV, newspapers, publishing, law
enforcement, higher education, government and in numerous other professional, technical and
administrative jobs that are most affected by new technologies. Our members have worked at the
frontiers of technological change since the introduction of the dial telephone more than 50 years ago. We
have embraced new technologies and tried to make it work for us. If the U.S. is to be successful in the
global economy of the 21' Century, we must develop an economy that encourages high performance -
high skill workplaces. The challenge to us is that such workplaces require employees who receive
continuous skills training, become capable of working with evolving technologies, make decisions on the
floor and can work in teams. This may seem a simple concept. But, unfortunately, relatively few frontline
workers receive education benefits from their employers to prepare themselves for the future. I served as
chairman of the Kellogg Foundation's National Commission for Lifelong Learning. For two years, we
examined adult learning in the U.S. We issued our recommendations in November 1997. An astounding
75 percent of the current workforce will still be in the workforce of 201 0, and will need significant
retraining to meet the requirements of their jobs. I am pleased that the Administration and the Congress
acted on a number of the Commission's recommendations. They include extension of Section 127 of the
IRS code to make employer-paid education tuition non-taxable. The President urged permanent
legislation. Congress, however, only extended it until this year, so we need to revisit that again. We have
solid evidence to prove that when employer-paid tuition is taxed, enrollment drops sharply. Tax free
tuition should be made permanent, and Congress should look to extend it to post graduate work as well.
Mr. Chairman, if we are to realize the full economic benefits of future technology, ongoing skills
improvement and expanded educational opportunities for all workers are a critical mission for our nation.
Organized labor plays a very valuable role in meeting this challenge. Through the collective bargaining
process, we have worked with our employers in the telecommunications industry to develop a wide range
of educational opportunities for our members. In 1986, we established the Alliance for Employee Growth
and Development with AT&T; the first non-profit, jointly owned education and training corporation in the
telecommunications industry. Workers receive fully paid tuition to train for new jobs In the company or to
prepare themselves for entirely new careers outside the company. In Its first ten full years of operation,
the Alliance served more than 100,000 employees. Similar joint programs exist with all the telephone
companies and Lucent Technologies. Last year, we created a labor-management coalition to respond to
the potential skills shortage in the U.S. The National Advisory Coalition for Telecommunications
Education and Learning (NACTEL) was formed to train network technicians in the telecommunications
industry. Bell Atlantic, GTE, SBC, U S WEST and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
are part of the coalition. The Sloan Foundation gave us $1.2 million to help us get started. We intend to
create a talent pool of trained U.S. workers that our employers can tap to fill good paying
telecommunications jobs. These are substantial pools of untapped resources in our country. Last January,
CISCO Systems and CWA joined in a partnership with the military to train outgoing service personnel in
telecommunications technology. CISCO provides the equipment, and the union does the training and
placing of new technicians. CWA's apprenticeship program with U S WEST provides for school-to- work
opportunities for high school students who move into skilled positions. These are just a few examples of
how a partnership of labor and management can work toward upgrading the skills of Americans, and fill
the jobs of the future. Instead, we hear demands to allow more foreign workers Into the U.S. under the
H-1 (b) program. Just last month, the INS reported details of widespread abuse and fraud in the H-1 (b)
program to a House subcommittee. The INS also said that it is understaffed, ill-equipped and unable to
deal with the problem. Organized labor will present its views in detail on this issue when it comes before
Congress. We reject a future economy that is based on part-time, free lance, temporary or contracted-out
employment. Last year, several young high tech workers came to see me. They were active members of
the so-called Free Agent Nation that we hear so much about. They didn't mind working as perma-temps.
They didn't mind working 60 or 70-hour weeks, for months. They are exempt from overtime pay, but
they didn't care. They had fun. But something happened to them. They got older. They got married.
They had children. Suddenly, mundane things such as mandatory long work weeks, pensions, health
insurance, sick leave, vacations, job stress and a permanent place to live became very important to them.
They asked if CWA could help. We formed a new organization called the Washington Alliance of
Technology Workers based in Seattle, Washington. We can't do collective bargaining because neither the
agencies nor the companies they are contracted to want to claim them as employees, which is a serious
weakness in labor law. But Wash-Tech provides them with an organized voice to make their concerns
known, to exchange information and to gain access to some benefits. Indeed, the most threatening aspect
of the New Economy is the creation of a contingent workforce that the Department of Labor calls a
"social time bomb" that will go off in the next 15 or 20 years, when these workers discover they have
meager pensions, unaffordable health care, little job protection and outdated skills. Education and training
is just one area where organized labor is uniquely suited to meet the demands of the new workforce- We
can negotiate multi-employer health care plans, create industry-wide talent pools, develop portable
pension plans, engage in employee participation processes and experiment with other programs that
respond to both the needs of workers and industry. We are already implementing many of these
innovations in telecommunications. But this vision will never become reality in a union-free America.
Review the testimony you have heard over the past three days. Only organized labor gives voice to the
people-issues that concern working Americans about our technological future. The future of technology
holds the power to improve our lives - - on the job, in our communities and at home. Technology also has
the power to de-skill, disenfranchise and de-value work. Our union is committed to make future
technology work for our members, our employers and our communities. We invite all those who share
our values to join with us. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present our views.