Could the T-Mobile-Sprint Merger Drive Down Wages at Verizon and AT&T?

Could the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint drive down wages across the entire wireless industry – including Verizon and AT&T?

On Monday, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) released groundbreaking new research quantifying the effects of the proposed merger on the wages of retail wireless workers. Their analysis finds that weekly earnings for wireless workers across the industry could decline by about $3,276 per year as a result of the merger.

At an event in Washington, D.C., unveiling the new report, Vanessa Villalta, a retail sales representative at a T-Mobile retail store in Houston, Texas, explained how many of her coworkers move from one wireless company to another when they are seeking better job opportunities, and how the T-Mobile/Sprint merger depressing the wages of workers could spread throughout the industry.

Villalta also cited concerns about job loss from the potential merger. "I can tell you that my co-workers are very worried about our jobs after the merger," she said. "CWA's research finds that 30,000 of us are likely to lose our jobs after the merger."

CWA is calling for the proposed merger to be blocked unless T-Mobile commits to regulators that it will not lay off employees as a result of the merger and will agree to respect workers' legal right to have a union on the job.

Vanessa Villalta, a retail sales representative at a T-Mobile retail store in Houston, Texas, spoke about how the T-Mobile-Sprint merger depressing the wages of workers could spread throughout the industry.