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BellSouth Rewards Shareholders
CWA District 3 Vice President Jimmy Smith called BellSouth Corp.'s demand to shift substantial health care costs to workers and retirees an insult to the workers who have built the company's success.
Smith pointed out that BellSouth had again raised its quarterly dividend on July 29, and has now boosted the dividend by 42 percent over the past 27 months.
However at the bargaining table, BellSouth is making draconian demands that would shift unreasonable costs to active employees, require new hires to pay the majority costs of health care coverage and possibly result in no health care coverage at all for future retirees.
"CWA has made its position clear: if shareholders are entitled to the dividend increase, our members who have built this company are entitled to quality health care with no cost shifting, protection for our retirees and a fair wage increase. We will not negotiate a plan that sacrifices new hires and retirees and shifts unreasonable costs to active employees," he said.
Smith cited BellSouth's increase in profits - up 46.7 percent since 2001 - and its profit per employee that has increased by 69.6 percent in that same period as an important factor in this round of bargaining.
BellSouth's excellent customer service, a key factor in its profits, also must be recognized by management, he said. BellSouth's customer service, documented by the American Customer Satisfaction Index that is conducted by the University of Michigan Business School, shows BellSouth has ranked number one among telecom companies for the past 10 years.
Smith urged CWA members at BellSouth to keep up their mobilization and support for the bargaining team and to get the word out that "if shareholders are entitled to 42 percent, then we are entitled to continued health care benefits with no cost shifting, protection for our retirees and a substantial wage increase."
The current contract, which expires Aug. 7, covers 48,000 workers in nine states in the Southeast.
Smith pointed out that BellSouth had again raised its quarterly dividend on July 29, and has now boosted the dividend by 42 percent over the past 27 months.
However at the bargaining table, BellSouth is making draconian demands that would shift unreasonable costs to active employees, require new hires to pay the majority costs of health care coverage and possibly result in no health care coverage at all for future retirees.
"CWA has made its position clear: if shareholders are entitled to the dividend increase, our members who have built this company are entitled to quality health care with no cost shifting, protection for our retirees and a fair wage increase. We will not negotiate a plan that sacrifices new hires and retirees and shifts unreasonable costs to active employees," he said.
Smith cited BellSouth's increase in profits - up 46.7 percent since 2001 - and its profit per employee that has increased by 69.6 percent in that same period as an important factor in this round of bargaining.
BellSouth's excellent customer service, a key factor in its profits, also must be recognized by management, he said. BellSouth's customer service, documented by the American Customer Satisfaction Index that is conducted by the University of Michigan Business School, shows BellSouth has ranked number one among telecom companies for the past 10 years.
Smith urged CWA members at BellSouth to keep up their mobilization and support for the bargaining team and to get the word out that "if shareholders are entitled to 42 percent, then we are entitled to continued health care benefits with no cost shifting, protection for our retirees and a substantial wage increase."
The current contract, which expires Aug. 7, covers 48,000 workers in nine states in the Southeast.