The video: "Mr. Roberts, Does Comcast Really Care?" features an appeal to Mr. Brian Roberts, Comcast CEO, by Mr. William Goodo, a former Oakland Comcast employee and union activist, wrongfully terminated from his position as a dispatcher one year ago, January 23, 2006.
Mr. Goodo, a nine-year Comcast employee, was terminated due to an alleged customer complaint. The customer in question, however, submitted a letter denying that he ever complained.
Goodo, who was working with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) to organize fellow Comcast dispatchers, was fired shortly after testifying against the company at an Oakland City Council public hearing on December 6, 2005. Goodo spoke in support of an ordinance that would make it easier for Mr. Goodo and his co-workers to form a union.
Even though an internal investigation by Comcast found that there was no wrongdoing, a recent National Labor Relations Board memo states that "the evidence thus indicates that the customer made no complaint" and refers to the company's position in this regard as a "fabrication," a "false explanation," and a "lie." The NLRB memo refused to issue a complaint against Comcast and is currently on appeal.
Comcast adamantly refuses to acknowledge that there is evidence that a customer complaint was never made against Mr. Goodo.
The video is sponsored by Religious Leaders for Justice at Comcast, a group of religious leaders from Comcast viewing areas who have been advocating for the moral right of Comcast workers to freely associate to gain union representation in their workplace. The video was filmed during Goodo's November 2006 trip to Comcast corporate headquarters in Philadelphia.
Tags: william goodo comcast unionize cwa afl-cio nlrb brian ralph roberts oakland philadelphia jewish labor committee
