CWA, AT&T Mobility Reach Tentative Agreement

Tremendous unity and mobilization by CWAers at AT&T Mobility nationwide resulted in a new tentative contract. Above, CWAers from Local 7250 in Minneapolis leaflet outside a retail store.

CWA reached a tentative agreement with AT&T Mobility for the "Orange contract" that provides real gains for workers, including improvements in the retail stores compensation plan and the establishment of a new career path for customer service representatives.

The CWA bargaining committee was determined to make inroads in these critical areas and succeeded, resulting in a tentative agreement that provides good economic gains for Mobility workers and addresses workers' priority issues. There are more than 20,000 CWA members covered by the "Orange" contract; another 22,000 CWA members at Mobility are covered by separate agreements.

The proposed settlement provides for a compounded wage increase of 8.8 percent over the four-year contract term, along with a $500 bonus. More than 11,000 retail sales consultants now will earn a minimum monthly commission of $1,000 if sales goals are met. In addition, some 500 consumer care workers will receive job upgrades and additional pay increases, as will 50-70 wireless technicians. Other important improvements addressed monitoring and quota relief.

CWA Executive Vice President Annie Hill said the bargaining team worked long and hard hours, "displaying both patience and toughness" to get a good agreement that addresses Mobility workers' critical issues.

Contract explanation materials will be made available to members in advance of the membership ratification vote.

Mobilization by Mobility workers throughout the "Orange" territory – Districts 1, 2, 4, 7, 9 and 13 – made a tremendous difference as did support from CWA Mobility members in Districts 3 and 6 and from CWA members at "core" AT&T operations.

Bargaining covering 125,000 CWA-represented workers at AT&T got underway Feb. 24.