NEW YORK — Hundreds of workers rallied to back International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3 members on strike against Charter Communications/Spectrum March 28 outside the company’s headquarters in midtown Manhattan.
The spirited demonstration marked the one-year anniversary of the walkout of some 1,800 technicians, dispatchers, constructors, engineers and warehouse workers. The strike was precipitated by the bosses’ demands for deep cuts in medical benefits, pensions and other concessions. The company has refused to negotiate and has hired scabs to replace union workers.
“These workers, with a lot of experience, have been out on strike for a year because of company greed,” IBEW Local 3 electrician Patricia Mitchell told the Militant at the union rally. “Many of them have other jobs, including as helpers on IBEW Local 3 construction sites, but they are still fighting to get their jobs back without giving up their health care and pensions.”
Charter Communications purchased Time Warner Cable in 2016 for $56 billion and renamed the local cable TV, internet and phone services Spectrum. The company raked in $41.6 billion in revenue last year with profits of $9.9 billion. Some $9.3 billion of that came from the federal tax bill passed in December.