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Bargaining Brings Job Security, Wage Gains at AT&T
A marathon 24-hour bargaining session resulted in an early tentative agreement at AT&T that provided improvements in wages, benefits and job security and staved off the company’s giveback demands.
Negotiators reached the tentative agreement covering 28,000 workers one month prior to the May 11 contract expiration.
The 18-month agreement achieved many of CWA's bargaining goals, including maintaining quality health care coverage for active workers and retirees, expanding retirement security and building job security, said Ralph Maly, CWA vice president for communications and technologies.
“This contract includes none of the retrogressive demands the company had been pressing for over the past few weeks. We successfully fought the company’s demand for cost shifting in medical benefits and prescription drugs, as well as other giveback demands, and won real improvements in our jobs and working conditions,” he said.
CWA successfully turned back AT&T’s demand to limit disability benefits, cut termination pay and raid workers’ pensions, Maly added.
The 18-month contract term was very important in blocking the company’s effort to shift health care costs to active employees and retirees, Maly said. For example, AT&T proposals for a four-year agreement would have hit active workers with increased health care costs and forced retirees to pay as much as $4,000 a year, he noted.
Contract explanation meetings will be held over the next few weeks to provide information and answer questions about the settlement.
The operations agreement provides a 6 percent wage increase over the 18-month term in 2 percent intervals, effective May 12 and November 10, 2002 and May 11, 2003. Upon ratification, workers also will receive a $250 signing bonus.
Both the traditional pension plan bands and the cash balance credits will increase by 8 percent and the interest rate for the cash balance accounts effective July 1 will be 5.5 percent.
On employment security, CWA won an extension of the current procedures used to determine the return of work to the bargaining unit.
A Constructive Relationship Council, to include senior leaders from AT&T and CWA, was created to discuss employment security and industry concerns on an on-going basis. Under this structure, a new committee was established to review and provide alternatives to contracting out. In addition, CWA will continue to have the customer service subcommittee work to maintain and expand bargaining unit work.
In other job security gains, AT&T agreed to work with CWA on expanding and developing work opportunities for operators. The company also agreed that workers at the residential customer centers will handle “unlimited plan” customers who are signing up or switching to AT&T as a result of the company’s new flat rate long distance plan.
The neutrality and consent election provisions were continued for the core company. CWA also won card check recognition for workers at all Dual Party Relay centers AT&T plans to open.
Tentative agreements also were reached covering workers at AT&T’s local network services and in Puerto Rico. LNS workers will receive a 6 percent wage increase over the 18-month contract term, in separate LNS agreements. AT&T workers in Puerto Rico will receive a 65-cent wage increase effective Sept. 1 with an additional 32-cent increase effective March 1, 2003.
Negotiators reached the tentative agreement covering 28,000 workers one month prior to the May 11 contract expiration.
The 18-month agreement achieved many of CWA's bargaining goals, including maintaining quality health care coverage for active workers and retirees, expanding retirement security and building job security, said Ralph Maly, CWA vice president for communications and technologies.
“This contract includes none of the retrogressive demands the company had been pressing for over the past few weeks. We successfully fought the company’s demand for cost shifting in medical benefits and prescription drugs, as well as other giveback demands, and won real improvements in our jobs and working conditions,” he said.
CWA successfully turned back AT&T’s demand to limit disability benefits, cut termination pay and raid workers’ pensions, Maly added.
The 18-month contract term was very important in blocking the company’s effort to shift health care costs to active employees and retirees, Maly said. For example, AT&T proposals for a four-year agreement would have hit active workers with increased health care costs and forced retirees to pay as much as $4,000 a year, he noted.
Contract explanation meetings will be held over the next few weeks to provide information and answer questions about the settlement.
The operations agreement provides a 6 percent wage increase over the 18-month term in 2 percent intervals, effective May 12 and November 10, 2002 and May 11, 2003. Upon ratification, workers also will receive a $250 signing bonus.
Both the traditional pension plan bands and the cash balance credits will increase by 8 percent and the interest rate for the cash balance accounts effective July 1 will be 5.5 percent.
On employment security, CWA won an extension of the current procedures used to determine the return of work to the bargaining unit.
A Constructive Relationship Council, to include senior leaders from AT&T and CWA, was created to discuss employment security and industry concerns on an on-going basis. Under this structure, a new committee was established to review and provide alternatives to contracting out. In addition, CWA will continue to have the customer service subcommittee work to maintain and expand bargaining unit work.
In other job security gains, AT&T agreed to work with CWA on expanding and developing work opportunities for operators. The company also agreed that workers at the residential customer centers will handle “unlimited plan” customers who are signing up or switching to AT&T as a result of the company’s new flat rate long distance plan.
The neutrality and consent election provisions were continued for the core company. CWA also won card check recognition for workers at all Dual Party Relay centers AT&T plans to open.
Tentative agreements also were reached covering workers at AT&T’s local network services and in Puerto Rico. LNS workers will receive a 6 percent wage increase over the 18-month contract term, in separate LNS agreements. AT&T workers in Puerto Rico will receive a 65-cent wage increase effective Sept. 1 with an additional 32-cent increase effective March 1, 2003.