Contractors file suit against union.Two telecommunications installation contractors, U.S. Information Systems, Inc. (USIS USIS United States Information Service USIS United States Imagery System USIS United States Investigations Services USIS Ugandan Schools Information Service USIS User-to-User Indicator (Signaling System #7) ) and Odyssey Group, Inc. (Odyssey), filed a lawsuit last week in federal district court in Manhattan alleging antitrust violations by Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a labor union which represents workers in the electrical industry in the United States and Canada, particularly electricians, or Inside Wiremen, in the construction industry and linemen and other employees of public (IBEW IBEW n abbr (US) (= International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) → sindicato internacional de electricistas IBEW n abbr (US) (= International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers ) and several electrical contractors that employ Local 3 workers. The suit alleges that IBEW Local 3 and the electrical contractors are conspiring to take over the market for installation of telecommunications wiring and systems in the New York metropolitan area New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island is the most populous metropolitan area in the United States and the third most populous in the world, after Tokyo and Mexico City. . According to the complaint, the following actions by the defendants are part of a concerted effort to exclude USIS and Odyssey from telecommunications installation work in the area: * Threats of disruptions and delays in construction projects unless Local 3 electrical contractors also do the telecommunications work; * False statements about the plaintiffs and their businesses; and * Jobsite intimidation, harassment and vandalism Tactics used by the defendants to extend their electrical installation monopoly into the telecommunications installation business, according to the complaint, include statements that buildings are "Local 3 only" buildings and threats of labor unrest if IBEW Local 3 workers are not employed. In addition, the complaint alleges that the defendants have taken actions to keep the plaintiffs off bidding lists, had the plaintiffs' telecommunications installation jobs reassigned to electrical contractors, and interfered with the plaintiffs' work, equipment and personnel. USIS and Odyssey employ Communications Workers of America Communications Workers of America (CWA) is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States (the union also has locals in Canada), representing over 700,000 workers in both the private and public sectors. (CWA CWA Clean Water Act (33 USC) CWA Communications Workers of America CWA Concerned Women for America CWA CEN Workshop Agreement (European pre-normative document) CWA County Warning Area CWA Clean Water Action ) employees and have in the past filed several complaints against the IBEW Local 3 with the National Labor Relations Board National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), independent agency of the U.S. government created under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Wagner Act), and amended by the acts of 1947 (Taft-Hartley Labor Act) and 1959 (Landrum-Griffin Act), which affirmed labor's right , alleging unfair labor practices. The plaintiffs have prevailed in all instances, but the defendants' behavior continued at future work sites, which compelled Odyssey and USIS to file this action in federal court to address the fact that the defendants' ongoing actions have caused them antitrust injuries. |
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