California Local Pushes AT&T on Safety as Street Crime Threatens Technicians

For AT&T technicians in Oakland and Richmond in northern California, work was getting dangerous. Gang members broke into their trucks while technicians worked just yards away. Some workers were assaulted. A year ago, a technician who witnessed a shooting was stalked and threatened by a gang.

That was when leaders of CWA Local 9415 went to AT&T management and pushed for a workplace safety agreement that would help protect their members from street violence.

Now, technicians who want to work with a partner must be given one. If workers have good reason for concern in a certain area of the cities, they can refuse an assignment there, without fear of retaliation or suspension. Except in emergencies, they won't work after dark.

"We know this isn't isolated to our area, but we wanted to set a standard for safety that we hope can be expanded around the state," said Randy Christensen, chair of Local 9415's safety committee.

As the economy has suffered, Christensen said technicians have seen crime and violence rise. "We'll be working on a neighborhood box and someone will come up and jump you," he said. "We'll be standing six feet away and they break into our trucks and steal the computers."

He said local leaders worked with AT&T management and used "street sense" to craft a policy to keep members safe. For instance, they are trying to make most calls in certain areas in the morning – a part of the day that police widely recognize as quiet because so many criminals who operate late into the night are sleeping.

"Local 9415 saw a problem, identified a solution and reached an agreement that helps safeguard our members and the community," said District 9 Vice President Jim Weitkamp. "We're proud of them and we hope other locals will follow suit."

Val Afanasiev, District 9 administrative director, said he's talked with members of the district's joint safety committee about Local 9415's agreement and it has been provided to all locals in the two states. Some locals may be able to negotiate agreements on their own with AT&T, but he said he hopes that eventually it will become a blanket policy.

Local 9417 in Stockton, has a similar type of agreement, he said. "In that case, it says that if our members go out to difficult areas in the evening or during the night, Stockton police can be contacted to come by and make sure everything is okay."