Community Leaders Call on PUCO to Reject AT&T's Request to Drop Out of Lifeline Program

CWAers joined a group of community leaders at an event at the Ohio Statehouse to call on the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to reject AT&T's request to drop out of the Lifeline program.

On Tuesday, CWAers joined a group including the NAACP, Ohio Poverty Law Center, Alliance for Retired Americans, and ProgressOhio at an event at the Ohio Statehouse to call on the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to reject AT&T's request to drop out of the Lifeline program. AT&T's abandonment of the Lifeline program, which subsidizes vital phone and internet services, would harm more than 10,000 of their Ohio customers – including the elderly, veterans, and low-income households.

"AT&T continues to put corporate profits over the needs of working families at every turn," said Ron Gay, Jr., CWA District 4 Staff Representative. "From their broken jobs promises following the tax windfall, to the call center closures and job cuts that have hit hard here in the Midwest, now this threat of withdrawal from Lifeline is just the latest attack. We aren't simply going to accept their behavior. We are organizing and will work to hold them accountable at every turn."

AT&T withdrew from the Lifeline low-income discount program in 12 other states in 2017. In Ohio, there are a total of 1,597,000 households that qualify for the program, including 157,000 veterans and 452,000 households with children.

Ohioans can submit comments via ProgressOhio here or on PUCO's website here.