AT&T Legacy T Bargaining Report #34

Legacy T Bargaining Report #34

We said at expiration that there can be NO BUSINESS AS USUAL.  That will be true for the bargaining table also. 

On Wednesday the Union made a proposal to the Company with the aim of moving this bargaining forward.  We said at the time that if the Company doesn’t respond with some serious movement of their own, our offer would be withdrawn.  Instead, the puppeteers in Dallas again sent their team back to our table with little change from their last offers - still excessive increases in medical costs for our members, a woefully inadequate wage proposal, a low watermark and no change on any of our key issues.

In response, Bill Bates withdrew our last proposal and informed the Company for the 100^th time that we will not continue to bargain this way indefinitely.  It is an insult to our Bargaining Team and our Members.  Our elected bargainers will be going back to their Locals until such time as meaningful bargaining can begin again.  The Union is NOT refusing to bargain.  We’re just refusing to bargain the way the Dallas czars want us to bargain.  Bill and his staff will continue to meet with the Company and be in constant contact with the full team but they will not come back to Washington until the Company gives us some serious proposals for all of us to discuss.

This is not a time to slow down our activities on the job.  If anything this should inspire our Locals to double their efforts. 

Your Bargaining Team,

Bill Bates

Laura Unger

Lois Grimes-Patow

Martha Flagge

Mary Ellen Mazzeo

LaNell Piercy

Roy Hegenbart