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Dear Colleagues,

The employees of SQ Technologies, an IBM Korea subsidiary, need your help.

SQT employees have faced numerous difficulties since the company's acquisition by IBM in 2003. The SQT Union believes these difficulties stem from IBM's excessive pursuit of capital gains through an unrealistic royalty system, capital reduction and excessive distribution of cash dividends to shareholders, which have plunged SQT into crisis and put employees' jobs at risk. The union has also taken issue with disrespect for the union and employees by corporate officers appointed by IBM Korea.

The SQT union has repeatedly tried to contact the CEO and other representatives of IBM Korea in the hopes of starting a dialogue over the critical issues facing employees and the company. These pleas have been repeatedly ignored.

Recently, the union has made a renewed request to the CEOs of IBM and IBM Korea to begin dialogue immediately. We are demanding that IBM immediately begin negotiations with the SQT employees and their union to reach a fair resolution to these issues.

We ask that you send a message to IBM CEO Virginia Rometty and IBM CEO Hui-seong Lee asking them to immediately begin a dialogue with the SQT Union.

The click'n go message is here --
http://www.uniglobalunion.org/uniindep.nsf/protestIBMKorea?OpenForm

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Support IBM Workers - unfair pay cuts when the company makes billions
12/01/2011
United States, IBM
UNI affiliates are writing to IBM CEO Palmisano to express their outrage at the recent decision by IBM to cut pay and reduce band levels for SSR's and service workers in the US.

Follow the link below to register your support for US IBM workers:
http://www.uniglobalunion.org/uniindep.nsf/protestIBM?OpenForm

IBM continues to make billions of dollars in profit and the hardworking employees of IBM should share in that success.

As a one of the world's largest companies, IBM must take responsibility for the impact it has on the global economy. To pull the global economy out of the recession, multinational giants like IBM should increase workers' pay to ensure a continuing demand for product and services. Cutting workersâ?? pay right now, when IBM is reaping huge profits, damages not only the economic future of your workers and their families but also weakens the global economy.

We ask you to express your support for IBM workers and call on the company to immediately reverse this decision.

Sign the petition now http://www.uniglobalunion.org/uniindep.nsf/protestIBM?OpenForm

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The Alliance@IBM CWA Local 1701 is asking for your urgent support in fighting the announced pay cut and band level reduction for SSR's and other support workers in the IBM Retail Services Division in the US.
Last week IBM executives informed SSR's (service techs) and other support groups that band levels would be lowered and they would face pay cuts up to 10% starting January 1st 2012.
This attack on the standard of living of IBM's service employees is unacceptable and demeaning. In fact many support workers have received very little in pay increases over the years.
Last year IBM had record net income of $53 billion and free cash flow of $8 billion. IBM is not a company in distress.
There is no need to decrease the pay of hard working IBM employees.
Please send emails this week to the following list of IBM management asking them to reverse this decision to cut pay and band levels. An injury to one is an injury to all!

Please send letters to:
Sam Palmisano sam@us.ibm.com
Virginia Rometty grometty@us.ibm.com
Michael Daniels medan@us.ibm.com
Robert Zapfel zapfel@us.ibm.com
Richard Rosso rrosso@us.ibm.com
Larry Arrington arringto@us.ibm.com
Phillip Cunningham cunningp@us.ibm.com

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IBM Argentina union to strike July 28

For those of you who cannot read Spanish, the headline says it all. Huelga en IBM: Strike at IBM. The union is Union Informatica, Argentina, affiliated with the much larger labour federation, CGT. The bargaining unit is only a few months old with a membership of 500. The strike date has been set. July 28, 2011. If pay increases of 0%, 8% and 14% look good to you, consider that IBM Argentina has also been threatening to move its work to India. I have been told that quite a bit of that work, software packaging, used to be done in Canada. I have also been told that the rate of inflation in Argentina is running at 20% annually, that the annual starting salary is around $8,000 USD with a top end of about $50,000 USD.

http://tiempo.elargentino.com/notas/huelga-ibm

http://translate.google.com/

Sent to the Alliance by the IBM Canada union, CEP

 

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IBM Union news from Chile and Bulgaria

June 20th, 2011

Chile:
On June 15th, 2011, IBM delivered to the Union Directors of SNTI ( IBM Chile union) their response to the collective bargaining agreement draft presented on April 27th, 2011. IBM Chile SAC has rejected all the topics on the proposed draft for the collective bargaining agreement
There are 23 points, and IBM is refusing to modify and improve working conditions.

Bulgaria:
The 100th anniversary of our great company has been unfortunately tarnished by the excessive measures undertaken by the management of IBM, GDC - Sofia and is against the values of IBM.
On June 14 in the morning and for no apparent reason our management of IBM, GDC Bulgaria deployed security guards on the floors of IBM as well as the entrances of the building.
The purpose of this activity was to hinder our union activities at the company and we cannot distribute any leaflets.
Our management is afraid that the truth about their behavior, which is inconsistent with the core values of IBM, will spread through our site. After starting a discussion with the security personnel, we learned that these measures are at the request of our site director Mr. Parakram Lazarus.

We therefore see these acts as despicable and we will file a complaint for obstruction of trade union rights in the coming days.
For this anniversary were able to note once again the growing anti-unionism of IBM, GDC Bulgaria which still does not meet our most basic rights.

--
Lee Conrad
International Coordinator
IBM Global Union Alliance
(UNI,IMF,IWIS)

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Worldwide Day of Action
June 14, 2011
US IBM workers wear
black and blue
to call attention to
job cuts
and
declining work conditions.

Press Release-Day Of Action:
pressrelease_dayofaction.pdf

Download Flyers:
GlobalDayofAction-p1.pdf
GlobalUnionDayofAction-p2.pdf
LeafletActionDayinIBM-English.pdf

Day Of Action....

Day of Action Photos

Spirit of celebration missing for many
as IBM gears up for 100th anniversary:
read here

IBM Global Unions wish IBM
happy 100th birthday:
YouTube Video

 

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IBM Global Union Alliance

has launched ~~~ an evolution ~~~

SWITZERLAND: At a combined global union meeting on May 6 at UNI's offices in Nyon, Switzerland, affiliates from the IMF, the EMF and UNI that have membership in IBM unanimously endorsed a document that creates a Global Union Alliance in IBM. According to the agreement signed by the three federations, unions in IBM commit themselves to working together at global level to strengthen cooperation and implement joint action, with a view to engaging IBM in dialogue at global level and increasing union membership at IBM.

Having endorsed the formation of the Alliance, unions present agreed that the first joint action of the Alliance should be held in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of IBM which will be celebrated by the company on June 16. Unions worldwide in IBM will mark the anniversary of the company by joining in actions which will promote the important role of unions in looking after worker interests in the company and demand respect for IBM employees, including respect for their union rights.

The IBM unions also agreed that the Global Union Alliance should work to increase unionization in the company, share information on collective agreements with IBM and support unions facing anti-union actions by the company. May 09, 2011 ~-~ Jenny Holdcroft

Lee Conrad, national coordinator of Alliance@IBM CWA Local 1701
and international coordinator of IBM Workers International Solidarity (IWIS)
will continue his work as international coordinator of the new IBM Global Union Alliance

 

link: European Metalworkers' Federation

link: UNI Global union

 

IBM Global Union Alliance
© Copyright 2012