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CWA Campaign Wins Breakthrough at AT&T
The mobilization of thousands of CWA members and a very effective corporate campaign produced an agreement to resolve major problems for members at AT&T and to help build a more constructive relationship at the company.
Direct talks held by CWA President Morton Bahr and AT&T Chief Executive Officer and Chairman C. Michael Armstrong brought about the agreement, which fixes the broken arbitration process, begins a process to bring work back into the bargaining unit and establishes a national contract template that is an option for locals in cable bargaining.
Following the agreement, settlements were reached quickly for 11 new Broadband contracts, with improvements in wages, back pay and other benefits, and negotiations are ongoing at several other locations.
The agreement calls for compliance by Broadband management and all of AT&T with workers’ organizing rights, and the neutrality and consent election language will be monitored quarterly and reviewed by the CEO.
“In these negotiations, we have focused the attention of CEO Michael Armstrong on our core issues. This represents the potential to change AT&T,” said Ralph Maly, CWA vice president for communications and technologies.
The agreement also “commits AT&T to abiding by the ‘L’ title arbitration,” which covers thousands of members, and successfully resolves more than 250 outstanding grievances and arbitrations, Maly said in a letter to AT&T local union presidents.
The accord also establishes a process, with the participation of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, to bring jobs back to the bargaining unit.
Bahr and Armstrong will review the status of the agreement, and if positive results are not in place, CWA will resume its mobilization with special focus on actions around AT&T’s May 23 shareholders meeting in Cincinnati.
Maly credited the solidarity and mobilization activities of CWA locals with making the agreement possible. “This agreement represents a potential success and defines a process to move forward," he said. “Although the proof will be in the results, we will never have a better opportunity to make progress on these issues,” he added.
Direct talks held by CWA President Morton Bahr and AT&T Chief Executive Officer and Chairman C. Michael Armstrong brought about the agreement, which fixes the broken arbitration process, begins a process to bring work back into the bargaining unit and establishes a national contract template that is an option for locals in cable bargaining.
Following the agreement, settlements were reached quickly for 11 new Broadband contracts, with improvements in wages, back pay and other benefits, and negotiations are ongoing at several other locations.
The agreement calls for compliance by Broadband management and all of AT&T with workers’ organizing rights, and the neutrality and consent election language will be monitored quarterly and reviewed by the CEO.
“In these negotiations, we have focused the attention of CEO Michael Armstrong on our core issues. This represents the potential to change AT&T,” said Ralph Maly, CWA vice president for communications and technologies.
The agreement also “commits AT&T to abiding by the ‘L’ title arbitration,” which covers thousands of members, and successfully resolves more than 250 outstanding grievances and arbitrations, Maly said in a letter to AT&T local union presidents.
The accord also establishes a process, with the participation of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, to bring jobs back to the bargaining unit.
Bahr and Armstrong will review the status of the agreement, and if positive results are not in place, CWA will resume its mobilization with special focus on actions around AT&T’s May 23 shareholders meeting in Cincinnati.
Maly credited the solidarity and mobilization activities of CWA locals with making the agreement possible. “This agreement represents a potential success and defines a process to move forward," he said. “Although the proof will be in the results, we will never have a better opportunity to make progress on these issues,” he added.