The $1,500 lump sum will be on our 7/27 paychecks.
The 5% contract negotiated pay increase will be seen on the 8/10 pay.
Be sure to thank your Negotiations Team.
CWA 4502 Negotiations Team at the Kickoff of negotiations
Your Team in red on Thursday is available to take member’s questions on the Tentative Agreement (TA).
Please call 614-485-1265. We are taking calls Friday and Monday too.
By now members should have received an email from Susan Wilson via Survey Monkey to cast your vote for the contract.
Voting is open to members until noon on Monday, June 26.
Only members get to share their voice.
Officers and Reps are available to answer questions on the TA.
For questions about the Tentative Agreement (TA), members can call the union hall at: 614-485-1265.
The Negotiations Team is here taking questions during business hours Wednesday, 6/21 through Friday, 6/23; and again on Monday June 26.
Contract Ratification Voting will begin at noon Thursday, June 22. Watch for an email at your city account from Survey Monkey (via Susan Wilson). Please also check your spam filter settings and folders. Voting will remain open until 11:59 a.m. Monday, June 26.
This evening our Negotiations Team reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) with the city. The team will be working Friday to prepare a packet that will be posted online ASAP, but no later than Tuesday.
Don’t forget Monday is the Juneteenth holiday. Please be thoughtful in your celebrations and enjoy the day.
I am as excited as any to know the details of our TA, and I assure you information will be shared as rapidly as possible. I remain confident that our team is bringing us the best contract possible and very likely our best yet.
Very briefly on the process going forward: a contract ratification vote will be held electronically; if approved by our membership, the contract will go to City Council for approval. If turned down, we face the options of returning to the table or going to a Fact Finder.
Watch your city email for a message from Survey Monkey via Susan Wilson to vote on the contract; most likely on Thursday or Friday. We are voting electronically and will be conducting the vote as soon as possible to get ahead of the City Council summer break, and to get your benefits and money to you quickly.
William T. Mahaffey II age 79, passed away peacefully at his residence on May 16, 2023. Mahaffey was one of the founding members of the Columbus Municipal Association of Government Employees (CMAGE), known today as CWA Local 4502. Mahaffey was instrumental in the union’s formation and eventual affiliation with CWA. He was a long-term board member and a champion of the professional workers in the city of Columbus – they had gone several years with no pay increases prior to the formation of CMAGE. He dedicated 19 years to the cause and served the city for 37 years, working in the Division of Water. He was a US Army Veteran, an active board member with The National Management Association (Columbus Public Service Chapter), a die-hard Buckeye and Yankee fan, an avid gardener, and outdoorsman.
“CWA Local 4502 is broken-hearted at the news of our brother Bill Mahaffey’s passing. Bill was very instrumental in the organizing of the Columbus Municipal Association of Government Employees (CMAGE) and in CMAGE’s affiliation with CWA. He was an original member of our Retirees Chapter. Bill was a friend, confidante, and mentor. I signed my union card because of Bill. Bill is remembered as being quick with a joke, having a positive outlook, and always knowing the right thing to say. I was priviledged to work with Bill and will miss him greatly.” Susan Wilson, President CWA Local 4502.
Friends will be received Friday, May 26, 2023 from 2-6 pm, at the MAEDER-QUINT-TIBERI FUNERAL HOME, 1068 South High Street. Burial is at 10 am Wednesday, May 31 at St. Joseph Cemetery – Our Mother of Sorrows Chapel, 6440 South High Street.
Full Obituary: maederquinttiberi.com/obituary/william-mahaffey-ii
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Disabled American Veterans at www.dav.org.
Dear CWA 4502 Members,
Many of you have received deceptive “Opt Out” email from the so-called Freedom Foundation — a shadowy, extremist organization funded by billionaires and anti-union fanatics.
Make no mistake, the Freedom Foundation has one goal: to weaken CWA Local 4502 right before we start contract negotiations with the City of Columbus.
Don’t be distracted by their patronizing breakup-themed email. The only thing the Freedom Foundation wants to break up is yours and your co-workers’ collective bargaining strength so we can’t improve your pay, benefits and working conditions. Apparently, the very idea of employees having a strong union as their advocate at work threatens the extremists behind the misleading email you received.
The Freedom Foundation knows how powerful a union voice can be — that’s why they’re spending so much money and time to mine your personal data and contact you at work. Let’s show them that we understand what a strong union is worth by remaining loyal Union members and negotiating a good contract with the City of Columbus.
The email they sent you should have an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom. Click to unsubscribe. If you are emailed again after you unsubscribe, please let us know.
Let’s stick together going into negotiations with the City and show everyone what the power of a union really brings. If you have not yet responded to your Union’s survey, please do so by February 26th. If you have not yet received a link to the survey, please contact Joyce at [email protected].
If you have not yet received a link to the survey, please contact Joyce at [email protected].
United We Bargain. Divided We Beg.
Membership has it’s privileges. Join today.
Only members can: provide input for contract negotiations, vote on the contract (negotiations begin 2/27/23), vote this fall for officers and board members, participate in the ASH gift card program, participate in scholarship opportunities (two more with April 2023 deadlines), attend membership meetings (2/28, 5/10 coming up), join committees to further advance the local and support the community.
Please fill out both sides of the Membership Application and return to:
CWA Local 4502
399 East Main Street, S 200
Columbus, OH 43215
Membership gives you a voice. Don’t miss out on the current member survey (provide input for contract negotiations), upcoming membership meetings, contract ratification vote, officer/board elections. We are stronger together.
I Love my CWA Negotiations Team, seen here hard at work again today! Left to right: Hugh Williams, Brent Writesel, Jim Weber, Susan Wilson, (Eric Cunningham – absent) and Sarah Ingles (attorney).
The team along with our attorney have been meeting twice per week since January, (now three times per week) in preparation to begin negotiations February 27.
Members wishing to receive negotiations updates should provide their home/personal email address and home/cell phone to: [email protected].
I Love my CWA Negotiations Team, seen here hard at work again today! Left to right: Hugh Williams, Brent Writesel, Jim Weber, Susan Wilson, (Eric Cunningham – absent) and Sarah Ingles (attorney).
Did you know that labor unions made the following 36 things possible?
- Weekends without work
- All breaks at work, including your lunch breaks
- Paid vacation
- Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Sick leave
- Social Security
- Minimum wage
- Civil Rights Act/Title VII – prohibits employer discrimination
- 8-hour workday
- Overtime pay
- Child labor laws
- Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
- 40-hour work week
- Workers’ compensation (workers’ comp)
- Unemployment insurance
- Pensions
- Workplace safety standards and regulations
- Employer health care insurance
- Collective bargaining rights for employees
- Wrongful termination laws
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
- Whistleblower protection laws
- Veteran’s Employment and Training Services (VETS)
- Compensation increases and evaluations (i.e. raises)
- Sexual harassment laws
- American Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Holiday pay
- Employer dental, life, and vision insurance
- Privacy rights
- Pregnancy and parental leave
- Military leave
- The right to strike
- Public education for children
- Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 – requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work
- Laws ending sweatshops in the United States
Thank Your Union!
If you are not yet a full-dues paying member, join CWA Local 4502 today. Contact a CWA Rep or reach out to Wayne Trakas-Lawyor at 614-485-1265.
Strong union membership is key to raising income levels, providing benefits such as retirement security, health insurance, and giving workers a voice when it comes to negotiating and enforcing our contracts. By being united with other CWA Local 4502 members our voices will be stronger, and we will be able to negotiate contracts with better pay, benefits, and working conditions.
Join together for a stronger voice for better wages and working conditions!
- The higher our membership, the more power we have at the bargaining table, and the better our chances of winning a good contract. The power of our union is in its numbers.
- Only members have a vote — in choosing who runs the union, whether we go on strike, and whether or not to ratify a contract or increase dues.
- Members are eligible for many benefits, including scholarship awards, services, discounts, and coupons.