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CWA Begins Historic Bargaining Round at AT&T
It's no surprise that jobs, employment stability and health care are the big bargaining issues as negotiations between CWA and AT&T get underway Nov. 1 in Washington, D.C.
The contract covering the 11,000 AT&T workers expires Dec. 10. That's also International Human Rights Day, when union members nationwide will spotlight the attack on workers' rights that has crippled true democracy in America.
CWA Vice President Ralph Maly said "members are worried about losing their jobs" in light of the nearly finalized merger with SBC Communications and the history of mismanagement at AT&T that has cost workers thousands of jobs, particularly in recent years. "Given the merger and the climate in the telecom industry as a whole, we anticipate this round of bargaining to be the toughest" we've experienced, he said.
Since divestiture, AT&T management has followed the wrong road, making business and judgment errors that our members have paid for through downsizing, Maly said. "We need to reverse the movement of our work to non-union contractors and management and protect AT&T members' jobs as we are merged into SBC," he said.
Maly noted that this is an historic round of bargaining, because it is the last with AT&T as a stand-alone company. But the AT&T name will continue, with SBC announcing that it will keep the AT&T brand and use it for all SBC operations.
Since 1998, AT&T members have not seen any changes in their health care benefits because CWA successfully bargained two contract extensions - in 2002 and 2003. Over the past seven years, members and retirees were protected from management efforts to shift health care costs and cut benefits, Maly said. "Our priority will be to maintain quality health care coverage for all of our members and retirees," he stressed.
The contract covering the 11,000 AT&T workers expires Dec. 10. That's also International Human Rights Day, when union members nationwide will spotlight the attack on workers' rights that has crippled true democracy in America.
CWA Vice President Ralph Maly said "members are worried about losing their jobs" in light of the nearly finalized merger with SBC Communications and the history of mismanagement at AT&T that has cost workers thousands of jobs, particularly in recent years. "Given the merger and the climate in the telecom industry as a whole, we anticipate this round of bargaining to be the toughest" we've experienced, he said.
Since divestiture, AT&T management has followed the wrong road, making business and judgment errors that our members have paid for through downsizing, Maly said. "We need to reverse the movement of our work to non-union contractors and management and protect AT&T members' jobs as we are merged into SBC," he said.
Maly noted that this is an historic round of bargaining, because it is the last with AT&T as a stand-alone company. But the AT&T name will continue, with SBC announcing that it will keep the AT&T brand and use it for all SBC operations.
Since 1998, AT&T members have not seen any changes in their health care benefits because CWA successfully bargained two contract extensions - in 2002 and 2003. Over the past seven years, members and retirees were protected from management efforts to shift health care costs and cut benefits, Maly said. "Our priority will be to maintain quality health care coverage for all of our members and retirees," he stressed.