Union Busting at Lumen Must Stop
Captive audience meetings to deter workers from organizing. Level 3 workers were required to attend a captive audience meeting in the months prior to the acquisition by CenturyLink in 2017. At those meetings, employees received anti-union messages disguised as “education” and “information”. Sadly, these meetings were neither educational, nor informational but rather were a one-sided presentation designed to discourage workers from unionizing. A worker at Broomfield, CO who attended the meeting described it in this way: “It was union-busting, pure and simple. I definitely got the message that Level 3 leadership was trying to pressure us against organizing.”
Daily pressure when workers organize. When Lumen workers in Alabama attempted to form a union in 2019, the company bombarded the employees with anti-union fliers, one-sided FAQs, captive audience meetings, one-on-ones, ride-alongs and negative messaging. The small group of fewer than 30 employees received daily anti union pressure from their management chain and Lumen labor relations higher-ups.
Laying off union workers and hiring non-union workers for the same or similar work. In the last year Lumen has been laying off union workers and hiring lower wage, non-union workers to do similar work -- often in the same city or area.
Excluding union workers from MLK Day Holiday. An all-company LUMEN email informed employees that as of 2021, MLK Day would be a US company paid holiday for the first time in the company’s history. Yet, union workers were not given the new paid holiday, even after members asked for it. Union workers were told they could bring up the holiday at their next contract expiration, as far away as 2023. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for workers’ rights and unions as part of the struggle for civil rights. MLK famously declared, “The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress.” Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis while supporting sanitation workers in their union efforts. For LUMEN / CenturyLink to exclude employees who belong to a union from the holiday is directly counter to Dr. King’s message and legacy of fighting for workers’ rights. It’s also a form of union-busting. Hear from LUMEN workers directly about why this decision is so deeply offensive and counter to Dr. King’s message. Sign our petition calling on Lumen to do the right thing.
What we can do about it.
Don’t fall for the anti-worker, anti-union messaging. Call on Lumen to stop union-busting and respect workers rights to organize. Demand Good Jobs and Broadband for All from our Congressmembers and state elected officials. Want to organize your work place? Contact us here.