Bargaining Update

AT&T National Internet Contract

CWA's bargaining team representing 2,000 CWA members covered by the AT&T National Internet Contract reached a three-year tentative agreement providing substantial wage increases and other improved benefits.

"This tentative agreement is a huge victory for our members who fought hard and mobilized for a fair deal," said CWA Vice President for Telecommunications & Technologies Lisa Bolton. "Not only will this new contract provide significant wage increases, but it will also protect health care benefits and provide improvements in job security, scheduling, and other working conditions."

The tentative agreement contains general wage increases, including significant increases in the current wage schedules for workers in the two lowest paid job titles. These are life-changing wage and benefit increases for these workers, who have struggled to keep up, especially in higher cost areas like Las Vegas. These workers, Internet Assistants and Customer Assistants, will see an overall pay raise of $5,000 to $8,100 over the life of the contract. Workers in all other titles will receive a compounded wage increase of 7.7 percent over the contract term.

The bargaining team included Staff Rep. Ruth Marriott, Mayette Arii of CWA Local 9413, and Tim Skaggs of CWA Local 6215.

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DirecTV

CWA reached tentative agreements with DirecTV covering 2,100 technicians, warehouse, and administrative workers in the Southeast (1,088 workers in District 3), the Midwest (153 workers in District 4) and the Southwest (896 workers in District 6).

Effective Dec. 25, 2016, the 2,100 DirecTV workers will be covered by the wage progression schedules in contracts covering CWA members at AT&T in those regions, depending on workers’ job titles. The DirecTV workers also will receive wage increases every six month until they achieve the top of the wage progression scale.

The tentative agreement provides for health care coverage; disability, savings, and pension benefits; a grievance and arbitration process; coverage under the national transfer plan and other benefits.

Ratification votes will follow the regular guidelines used by each of the respective districts. DirecTV workers will be receiving details and more information. The ratification must be completed by Nov. 1.

More than 10,000 DirecTV workers, including technicians, customer service representatives, and administrative workers have joined CWA in the past year. These are the first tentative contracts negotiated for DirecTV workers.

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Time Inc.

NewsGuild-CWA members at Time Inc. approved a revised settlement offer by a 3-to-1 margin, ending a two-year dispute with the company.

Guild-covered employees, who work for Time, Sports Illustrated, People, Fortune and Money, will receive raises totaling 14 percent over the term of the contract, which ends March 31, 2019, a year longer than Time Inc. offered in a June proposal that was rejected. Additionally, all bargaining unit employees will receive a $2,500 signing bonus.

The contract strengthens certain job protections and entitles employees who are laid off in certain cases – such as subcontracting, out-of-seniority layoffs, or layoffs conducted without first seeking volunteers – to receive an extra week of severance pay for each year of service.

Learn more here.