CWA, California Splicing Techs Win AT&T Arbitration

In a big victory for CWA in California and Local 9421 splicing technicians who lost hundreds of hours of overtime to contractors hired by AT&T, an arbitrator has ruled that the company violated its bargaining agreement with CWA.

"This is a magnificent win for us," CWA District 9 Vice President Jim Weitkamp said in a letter to CWA locals. "It is your win, due in large part to the district-wide mobilization on the contracting issue that we started after the 2006 convention."

A monetary award is yet to be determined but Weitcamp said it could exceed $1 million. Arbitrator Barry Winograd directed the union and company to meet and negotiate over the amount owed.

"Monetary relief is justified to compensate for the company's failure, well into 2006 and 2007, to utilize employment options under the labor agreement as alternatives to its excessive reliance on contractors," Winograd wrote in his 72-page decision.

The subcontracting mainly involved work on AT&T's Project Light Speed, the company's fiber-optic network. The company tried to claim that past practices made its contracting legal.

Winograd placed a conditional order on AT&T requiring it to "cease and desist" subcontracting on the splicers' work for Project Light Speed. If the company decides to resume contracting out, it must give CWA at least 60 days notice and promptly "negotiate over the effects of that decision, including the prospect of hiring regular, term, temporary and occasional employees, undertaking internal upgrades and transfer, and increasing overtime opportunities for company employees."