Bargaining Update

AT&T Midwest and AT&T Legacy T

Elected officials continue to pressure AT&T to live up to the promises the company made on creating jobs with its massive profits from the Republican corporate tax cut bill.

This week, Ohio State Senate minority leader Kenny Yuko, along with all of the Democratic members of the Ohio State Senate, sent a letter to AT&T Ohio President Adam Grzybicki calling on the company to bargain a fair contract with CWA members at AT&T Midwest and AT&T Legacy T that addresses job security and the return of offshored and outsourced work.

Before the tax bill passed, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson pledged at least $1 billion in tax savings to create "7,000 good jobs for the middle class." Instead, ongoing layoffs have compounded workers' concerns about the company's practice of shifting work to low-wage overseas contractors.

"We stand with the workers of Ohio and we support the CWA's bargaining position for job security, healthcare, and the return of contracted outsourced and offshored jobs," the Senators wrote. Read the full letter here.

CWA also launched a first wave of radio ads to raise awareness of AT&T's broken promise to use a portion of its $20 billion tax break to create jobs and to ask members of Congress who voted for AT&T's $20 billon tax break to hold the company accountable. Listen to the ads here.

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Consolidated Communications

An overwhelming majority of union members at Consolidated Communications in Northern New England have authorized leaders to call a strike if negotiations do not lead to an acceptable outcome. CWA Local 1400 and IBEW System Council T-9 together represent more than 1,000 workers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont at the company. Negotiations began in April on a contract that expires August 4. 

"The goal is to reach a fair agreement and avoid a strike, but our members are unified and ready to stand together for a fair deal, no matter how long it takes," said Don Trementozzi, President of CWA Local 1400 and co-chair of the bargaining team. "Just three and a half years ago, our members walked the picket lines for 131 days in a historic strike that garnered massive support from our communities. If we have to, we're ready to do it again."