AT&T Employees Continue To Work Despite Expired Labor Deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than 40,000 employees at AT&T Inc will keep working under the terms of an expired labor contract while their union continues negotiations with the telephone company, averting a potentially costly strike for now.

The workers in AT&T's traditional wireline telephone business and some other units voted recently to give their union, the Communications Workers of America, authority to call a strike ahead of the expiration of four separate labor contracts at midnight local time April 7.

AT&T, whose total workforce is roughly 256,000, is looking to trim worker benefits to cut costs in its wireline business, which has declined rapidly in recent years. But the union says AT&T is seeking too many concessions. In particular, it says that AT&T wants to significantly increase healthcare costs for workers.

At midnight eastern time April 7, contracts expired for almost 10,000 workers, including almost 6,000 so-called legacy AT&T workers in various states and about 4,000 workers in the eastern United States.

The union said just after midnight eastern time on Saturday that it made "some progress" but had "a lot of ground yet to cover" to reach agreement with the company. At midnight central time, a contract covering thousands more AT&T workers in the midwest region expired. AT&T said that the midwest contract covers 13,000 people while the union said it covers 15,000.

At midnight Pacific time, a fourth contract that the union said covered about 18,000 workers in western states such as California and Nevada also expired. Negotiations were continuing in that region as well, according to a union statement.

AT&T said the negotiations reflected "the spirit of the longstanding relationship" between AT&T and the union.

Last August, AT&T's rival, Verizon Communications, had to cope with a two-week strike after contracts expired for 45,000 workers. Roughly eight months later, Verizon is still negotiating with unions for a new contract.

AT&T has been negotiating with the CWA on the four contracts since February. Contracts covering another 30,000 AT&T wireline workers expire in coming months, the company said.

The last time AT&T faced a big strike was in 2004 when 100,000 workers walked out for four days on the company, which was then known as SBC Communications. SBC changed its name to AT&T Inc after it bought AT&T Corp in 2005.

(Reporting By Sinead Carew; Editing by Ron Popeski)

Comments

[CWil70]

02:48 PM on 04/11/2012

Here is the simple bottom line. Like most of us who earn an honest living in the United States, if we do not like what our employers are offering us, we look elsewhere for employment. So if the CWA members don't like the more than generous package they get from AT&T, then they should peddle their wares somewhere else. But alas, this is problem. These folks who are demanding more than what they are worth in the free market cannot possibly command their current salary and benefits anywhere else, much less the new salaries and benefits they are asking from AT&T. Knowing this, they have no option but to hold companies like AT&T hostage until they hopefully get their way. I am my own union. I bargain for myself. If I don't like the offer I go somewhere else...I don't parade outside the company's headquarters like a spoiled child asking for something that I have no God-given right to. The next time you see one of these entitled CWA workers ask them this very simple question - "If your current employer is being so unfair to you and you feel they do not value your work, then why would you want to work for them? Why not look elsewhere for employment?" They will start spouting off about everything except the answer to that one very simple question.

[jim dorino]

09:31 PM on 04/12/2012

Why don't I go look elsewhere? Here's your answer--- I've got 20 years invested in this company and I'm not going to quit without a fight just because the executives want all the profits for themselves. I love the way you'll defend 50 million dollars going to 2 executives but begrudge a middle class worker having healthcare and a pension! How about the outsourcing og American jobs? Is this ok with you too?

[CWil70]

12:13 AM on 04/13/2012

Funny you mentioned outsourcing. As you probably know wireless has become one of the most competitive markets in the U.S. with ever-shrinking margins. The big wireless companies employ tens of thousands of call center reps and basic installers (i.e. uverse, which is a very low skill I&R job). Although many union jobs are medium to high skill, the type of jobs I just mentioned can be easily done by high school or GED grads. But since they are in the union they are demanding pay and benefit levels way above what those positions are actually worth. And the company simply can't sustain these jobs with rising healthcare costs and built in annual raises that the unions have extorted over the years. So to be competitive they have to outsource. And I have to admit that this is total karma for the entitlement minded unions. You are chasing your own jobs offshore and then blaming everyone else but yourselves.

[CWil70]

12:15 AM on 04/13/2012

And please, will you people get over the fact that you live in a capitalistic economy that has always been this way since the country was founded. This class envy from your ilk is pitiful. I am sure that when you are watching your Sunday football/baseball/basketball/hockey or whatever that you aren't constantly railing against how much the head coach makes or the quarterback makes.. It's all about supply and demand...what the market will bear. Unfortunately your skill and experience is not in much demand, so your value is not very high. It's called capitalism. That's the way it is and the way it always has been in the great old U.S. of A. You truly are much better suited to live in France, Italy or Greece than a free enterprise system like America. You don't deserve the freedom she offers. Shame on you.

[jim dorino]

07:49 PM on 04/13/2012

Wow, where do I start ?

By your own admission

1. you regularly work 50,60 or 70 hours a week with no overtime.
2. You take your laptop on vacation so you can work on projects.
3.You worked on Easter Sunday.
4.You dont get as many holidays off as a union employee.
5.You don't have job security like a union employee.
6.You dont get raises like a union employee

but yet you don't begrudge the 25 million $$ a year executives
that are obviously taking gross advantage of you and instead have misplaced anger at the middle class union workers like myself.

Sounds like "Stockholm Syndrome" to me. Shame on you.

[CWil70]

11:02 PM on 04/16/2012

Jim, you can twist the argument any way you choose for your brand of situational ethics. The bottom line is that I choose to either work under that scenario or not. I have the FREEDOM to leave any time that I want. You and your union buddies are always playing the victim card. If you are not getting what you want then someone must be 'taking advantage of you'. The only way that someone can take advantage of YOU is if YOU let them. For crying out loud, START TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN LIFE PEOPLE !! I am perfectly happy working under the conditions I mentioned in exchange for $95k per year and great benefits. You and your ilk are obviously not happy with what AT&T and Verizon offer you, so go work somewhere else. We are all so tired of hearing you bellyache about your position in life as if it is everyone elses fault but your own that you have worked 20 years for a company that, when push comes to shove, sees you as expendable. Accept it, deal with it, move on.

[edenooch]

11:00 AM on 04/09/2012

ATT =greed

[bave]

10:19 AM on 04/09/2012

Just like the Verizon landline idiots. This is a dying business by and large. Yet the unions don't want to accept layoffs?

Screw that, fire em all and start over.

[alreadybad]

10:13 AM on 04/09/2012

It always amazes me how absorbed people are in the myth of wireless. It all goes back to land, get it?

[rt1027]

01:52 AM on 04/09/2012

too funny

[thats2much]

11:17 PM on 04/08/2012

wireline employees... get a grip, your raise and benefits went out the window with the 6B ATT paid Tmobile for the failed merger... uhmmm hostile takeover...I fault the unions for not having the foresight to combine the wireless and wireline employees into one big happy family. These legacy companies have transformed and soon the wireline business will be exstinct...

[rt1027]

01:17 AM on 04/09/2012

at least one more union is to go with it.....too funny

[pinetrale]

07:53 PM on 04/08/2012

Didn't companys use to buy out their workers early with much bigger settlements than today? It use to be like 1-2 and a half years, and continued health benifits and even large cash payouts? Now you hear a few thousand severance, or 3-6 months, and no health benifits.

[stevenurke]

04:53 PM on 04/08/2012

Gee brilliant move? Reported rate of 8.2%. Real rate approaching 15% and underemployment around 25%, I know, let's go on strike.

[rt1027]

01:19 AM on 04/09/2012

good choice .......right?

[smoker]

06:10 AM on 04/09/2012

Learn how the business operates and then comment. Your AT&T wireless cell operates because it is grounded to the land. Landline does not mean just the telephone system only. Any how come the CEOs, board directors and other top execs are not taking a pay cut too? Are they not workers too?

[Flight]

04:42 PM on 04/08/2012

AT&T has made billions in profits over recent years. They way over pay its CEO and other execs, but don't mind paying that money. Paid millions in endorsements to Tiger before his situation created the need to back away from him. Paid BILLIONS to buy T-Mobile even after it failed. So, they have no room to accuse workers who pretty much put the money in the bank for the company they deserve to pay more for what they've worked for.

[Concerned Vet 5]

02:27 PM on 04/08/2012

@jim_dorino. Great post!!! I wish more would provide actual information like yourself. You are correct...the media will not take time to explain these things. You should be contributing to huff-po. Think about it. They could use the help.

[jim dorino]

12:52 PM on 04/08/2012

Fellow cwa members,
I'm a Verizon union member who's been fighting this fight since last August. Now you watch as almost every article and radio & TV news story on this issue will state that "the union members
are from the shrinking /unprofitable landline side of the business." Do not let these disingenuous SOB's control the narrative like they did with us. How does their wireless traffic and Uverse (in our case FIOS) get through without the landline side of the business? Are all those circuits that we maintain from T1 to OC192 level that keep banks, businesses, hospitals, airports, police, fire, & government up and running money losers too? You've got to educate the public every chance you get because the news media is not going to do it.
Another point is that the top execs pulled down 25 million each and are sending loads of American jobs overseas. Foreign countries now have access to Americas communication network.Why does this not set off alarm bells with the super patriotic right wing? Is this ok with you union haters too? This is a race to the bottom where the middle class is fighting with each other as the top dogs laugh all the way to the bank.

[brooklands]

02:07 PM on 04/08/2012

Thanks, know just what you mean....3 years ago at contract time I spent my days in a big at&t central office building 400GB DWDM rings that supported Uverse, cellular, gigabit ethernet, etc...all the modern services the company pushes....then would go home and read news and company press releases that said that wireline employees only worked an antiquated and obsolete equipment and services, absolutely maddening. A lot of people thing cellular service is completely wireless and the company promotes this idea too, but ALL cell towers connect to a WIRELINE central office and use interoffice links to communicate

[pinetrale]

07:56 PM on 04/08/2012

of course. But they don't teach about antennas in high schools. So people haven't a clue.

[MaineJayne]

06:59 AM on 04/09/2012

Jim has nailed it exactly! I work for Fairpoint and am a member of IBEW and the same thing is happening to us. All the same backbone is used for the new fiber products as the traditional wire line service but the company it doing everything it can to move our work against agreements under the guise of 'it's different work'. The top executives are extremely well compensated at the expense of the middle class.

[kame2comm]

12:19 PM on 04/08/2012

ah these big companies always cry when contract time comes around

[Boomerwoman]

01:27 PM on 04/08/2012

Especially the big companies who support ALEC and other extreme right wing 'think' tanks and activist organizations.

[stevenurke]

04:57 PM on 04/08/2012

You mean like Goldman Sachs, GE, Apple, Google and all the other "right wing" companies? The left wing is the side moving jobs overseas dudette. Open your eyes for once and you just might learn something. But go ahead and pretend that Buffett, Gates, Soros, Dimon, Immelt, etal care about you. Most of them made money moving offshore.

Can you please explain why George Soros owns Quantum Fund and it is headquartered in Netherland Antilles and Grand Cayman Islands? Two tax havens! Hmmm. Soros is no republican. A communist, as long as you leave him alone, maybe but not a conservative.