New York, NY
WHEREAS, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is on record with the Attorney General of the United States and members of Congress opposing the merger of Echostar and Direct TV;
WHEREAS, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is on record with the Attorney General of the United States and members of Congress opposing the merger of Echostar and Direct TV;
WHEREAS, the Communications Workers of America filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission on February 4, 2002, opposing the merger of Echostar and Direct TV;
WHEREAS, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have won representation elections on behalf of installation and service technicians at various facilities of Echostar's Dish Network in the United States;
WHEREAS, Echostar's Dish Network has refused to engage in serious collective bargaining with such unions and has taken actions designed to undermine employees' right to free association under the National Labor Relations Act, including the discharge of union activists without just cause and the rescission of announced pay increases;
WHEREAS, the unions of the AFL-CIO have an interest in this proceeding as consumers and workers and those who live in rural communities;
WHEREAS, the proposed merger of Echostar and Direct TV would combine the only two national and competing Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) service providers into one provider serving over 90 percent of the satellite programming market;
WHEREAS, there are an estimated 20-25 million U.S. households that do not have access to cable television and rely solely on satellite for multi-channel video programming;
WHEREAS, the merger would create a national monopoly in satellite DBS service providers that would result in higher prices for consumers and program providers, particularly in rural areas, and a lower standard of service for consumers which would be contrary to the public interest;
WHEREAS, the creation of such a monopoly would result in serious anti-competitive harm and is in clear violation of U.S. anti-trust laws;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the AFL-CIO go on record opposing the merger of Echostar and Direct TV by sending a copy of this resolution to every member of Congress and to each Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission.