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International conference condemns TMUS and Deutsche Telekom for anti-union actions

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, this week, information technology and telecommunications workers from a dozen nations unanimously declared their support for T-Mobile US employees’ freedom of association and condemned T-Mobile and its parent company, Deutsche Telekom, for suppressing workers’ attempts to form a union. The declaration took place at UNI Global Union’s ICTS Americas Conference, a gathering of union representatives seeking to strengthen workers’ power in the IT and telecom sectors. Nations represented at the conference included Argentina, Mexico, Bermuda, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Nicaragua, Perú, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and the United States.

The UNI Global Union statement cited pressure on workers who engage in union activities at T-Mobile, an “atmosphere of fear at the workplace,” and the establishment of a company-controlled union as evidence that T-Mobile is violating International Labour Organization conventions. The assembly also said that T-Mobile US is violating the United Nations Global Compact upholding workers’ right to organize and Deutsche Telekom’s “long tradition of social dialogue.”

The statement concluded with a call for action by both T-Mobile CEO John Legere and Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Höttges:

. . . we oppose any attacks on the right to organize and urge T-Mobile US CEO John Legere to respect workers´ rights to form a union and bargain collectively.

We also urge Deutsche Telekom AG CEO Timotheus Höttges to demand that T-Mobile US management respect T-Mobile employees´ right to collective representation and follow the path of social dialogue, as the German parent company does in its operations in Germany.

Teresa Casertano, CWA Global Campaigns Organizing Coordinator and current President of UNI ICTS Americas, introduced the resolution. “I was proud to present the resolution, which highlights the anti-worker atmosphere that members of T-Mobile Workers United deal with every day,” she explained. “The conference delegates were surprised and quite shocked and indignant that workers would be subjected to such resistance to their fundamental rights. They supported our resolution unanimously.”

In addition, dozens of delegates took photos holding a sign reading “UNI ICTS Stands With T-Mobile Workers United!” in an effort to send a message of global solidarity to T-Mobile workers fighting for their union in the United States.

See all photos on Facebook here

https://www.facebook.com/TMobileWorkers/posts/775857212570705