A scare tactic and constant lie. Will ATS hire outside contractors If YOU vote “YES” For A Union? Will they shut YOU down, keep YOU off-the-loop, abandon YOU, or let you go because YOU decided to have someone else deal with the B.S. from Altice? Because YOU decided to show up on time, do your job and go home in peace?
Forget about Altice agreeing to not cut customer-facing jobs with the PSC? Forget about the politicians and news media getting involved once it's out in the open. Hiring outside contractors to do what YOU do in the same professional manner.... well, IT AIN'T GONNA WORK.
The constant lie of a false future without the need of job security for YOU and your career is repeated over and over again. ATS will never get rid of you by surprise. ALL LIES. And the imposing "threat" of using a 3rd party to do your job should YOU decide to go union....well, HOW PATHETIC and STUPID for Altice to consider that Cablevision technicians are that naive and weak.
Altice needs to be reminded.... they're NOT in Europe!
Hiring contractors will be one huge monster headache for Altice (ATS). Back in 2008 Cablevision paid $61 to a contracting company for a single-box install. That company, in turn, paid the technician $28. In 2010 Cablevision squeezed it down to $48. The contracting tech received $15. I can't imagine what it is today. The install can take 30 minutes, an hour, maybe two. The amount stayed the same. In that same year, contractors were paid $6 - $8 for a change of service. A CHANGE OF SERVICE! Again, it can take 30 minutes, an hour or two.
If in-house service technicians on a TC ever wondered “why” these guys didn’t bother to change the fitting, rerun inside wiring, staple or secure the line to the wall, created shortcut runs between point A and point B, steal a drop, tapped into another sub’s line, or rushed to finish the job….then, I hope I’ve answered that question.
I spent close to 10 years dealing with contractors who did CVC work. Despite Cablevision rules prohibiting the offering of a lending hand or training… I did so anyway. Yes, they weren’t company employees, but… but they were dealing with OUR customers. If they looked bad, then so did Cablevision. That ain't happening. The math was simple.
If Altice (ATS) decided to outsource or hire outside contractors to do YOUR job…. Then ATS is screwed! Big time. They know it and here’s why.
I’ve said it before. Put yourself in their shoes. Here’s a scenario: Oakland voted YES. Say, for example, ATS decides to find 70 “replacements.”.
Now Altice (ATS) would have to make calls to find 70 QUALIFIED technicians. Will they come from one company or a few? And that company, or companies, would all have to agree on any rules and guidelines ATS will impose. No special treatment here. Optimum trucks will be rarely seen. There goes free advertising.
That’s 70 field service techs who report, NOT to ATS but to their parent company. We’ll call the company ABC Tech. If in-house does a job and a customer disliked the service for whatever reason (and there are many), in-house would be informed by their supervisor and thus, a "go back.” In this case, ATS would inform the company ABC Tech of a "go back", and ABC Tech would inform their technician the same… assuming they’re able to pass the message through. In other words… there are too many people involved.
NO CONTROL! ATS’ Achilles heel.
Contractors are paid in either three ways: a low hourly wage, a low hourly wage plus a few extra dollars per job, or “piece work” all the way. Is there any wonder why these guys will rush to complete a job? Some contracting companies require their techs to use their private own vehicles, pay for gas and/or tolls, pay for parking tickets and possess their own tools. Teamwork is almost non-existent. Unless the "second-hand" you need “gets a piece of the action”, then he’s not showing up. Why should he?
More questions will arise.
Will ABC Tech have bucket trucks available for those “impossible” runs, or will ATS OSP have to respond? What role will ATS supervisors play since there are no ATS technicians around? Does ABC Tech have enough supplies in their warehouse (cable boxes, modems, cable wiring, fittings, splitters, etc) on hand? Were cable box remote controllers programmed to the TVs after install? Were Welcome Kits issued? Are the techs aware or properly informed of the latest updates or changes in the system? Are their meters up-to-date or working properly? Can they make their appointments on time? Will there be an attendance problem during bad weather conditions? Will they “LOOK LIKE” technicians when they knock on the door? Will they be able to communicate with customers in a manner as to not leave the customers dumbfounded, “Did he understand my question? And if he did… I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND A WORD HE SAID.”
ALL BETS ARE OFF. Altice will have to rely on a 3rd party to do the right thing. It is unfair how these guys are paid for their services. If they weren’t low-balled, their quality of work would be better. But FOR MONEY, YOU GET HONEY. You get what you pay for. Your new owner has REPEATLY said, ““I don’t like to pay salaries. I pay as little as I can.” And lest we forget, contractors will not be allowed to use ATS facilities or equipment. Insurance companies will have a fit.
The point is ATS will lose control of the whole situation. They will have to pray to God that everything will go smoothly. It can not. It will not. IT WILL BE A LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARE.
There was one rule that absolutely killed contractors. And NO DOUBT Altice will follow this rule, perhaps make it worse. A financial penalty was imposed on any negative survey feedback, customer complaints or shoddy work performed. So now you have an outside contractor, not making much in the first place, finding out he’s been short-changed on his next paycheck. He will NOT be a happy camper. Therefore, I will not bring out the question concerning the morale in their warehouse. Trust me....YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW.
I assure YOU there is NOTHING TO FEAR if this course of action is taken. Cablevision technicians have a HUGE ADVANTAGE over contractors. Cablevision technicians are simply bad azzes.
Customer service will go downhill and "repeats" will be second nature. Altice (ATS) will THINK they can weather the storm. Altice will think that American workers are similar to European workers. Altice will think American workers can be treated in the same manner.
But in the way the American forces defeated the Germans in France and greeted with cheers from the French people, your union can defeat ATS in their willingness to kill the spirit of the American worker. Only if YOU want them to.
And just to keep you informed, a famous leader of a once powerful German nation in the 1940's once said,
“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed. “
His name isn’t worth mentioning, but his initials will do.
A.H.
I'll be darn. Another long essay from this guy who cares about the technicians. Didn't we get rid of him?
Management probably thought I disappeared. I can imagine the celebration and jubilee I might have caused. Sorry to disappointment. There goes my review,
Their B.S. might continue.
But mine stops here.
ALL DEPOTS..... especially NEWARK and SUDDENLINK employees....
YOU need to YOU-nionize..... before it is too late.